SPRINT 3M Performance 400
Final
for this game
3M Performance 400 Preview
Aug 14, 2008 - 10:23 AMAugust 17, 2008
Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
Race 23 of 37 on Sprint Cup circuit
TV: ESPN, 1 p.m. EDT
Laps: 200
Track length: 2 miles
Race length: 400 miles
Qualifying Record: Ryan Newman, Dodge, 194.232 mph, June 2005
Race Record: Dale Jarrett, Ford, 173.997 mph, June 1999
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Jeff Burton
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $3,487,414
One of the circuit's most consistent drivers has struggled of
late; ran in the top 15 through the first 17 races, but has an
average finish of 20th over past five starts - including just
one top 10 which came at the Brickyard; finished 17th at Watkins
Glen and remained fifth in the standings, 309 points behind
leader Kyle Busch; won at Bristol for lone victory of the
season; had 10 top 10s through first 19 races; finished eighth
in last season's standings, one year after placing seventh;
finished in the top 10 in half of the races last season,
including nine top fives; lone win of the 2007 season came in
April at Texas; finished the season strong with five top 10s
over the final six races; ran 14th in this race last season.
Kyle Busch
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 18 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $4,966,063
Is in the midst of a stellar first season with Joe Gibbs Racing,
winning eight races and posting 13 top fives through 22 races;
lead increased to 242 points atop the standings after winning at
Watkins Glen; win at the Glen gave him a sweep of the road
courses following victory at Sonoma in June; prior to win at the
Glen had "slumped" with a 15th at the Brickyard and 36th at
Pocono; also ran dead last at the first Pocono race; finished
13th at first Michigan race; ran 17th at Bristol after power
steering failed and transmission issues relegated him to 38th
at Martinsville; won at Atlanta, Talladega, Darlington, Dover
and the second Daytona race; runner-up finish at Richmond was
marred by a late-race incident with Dale Earnhardt Jr.; had the
dominant car and led the most laps at the Daytona 500; is
building off a sensational run at Hendrick Motorsports in his
move to JGR and Toyota; finished fifth in the final 2007
standings after qualifying for the Chase for the second
consecutive season; had 20 top-10 finishes last season,
including 11 top fives; lone win came during the first Bristol
race - the inaugural Car of Tomorrow event; ran 13th in this
race last season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $3,217,470
The circuit's most popular driver dropped to fourth in the
standings, 269 points behind Kyle Busch after running 22nd at
Watkins Glen; snapped a 76-race winless stretch by winning at
Michigan on fumes; in seven races since has an average finish
of 15 and just one top 10; nearly snapped winless skid but
was involved in a late-race incident with Busch at Richmond
and wound up 15th; has 12 top 10s through 22 races; ran fifth
at Bristol after a third at Atlanta and second at Las Vegas;
was the top finishing Hendrick car at the Daytona 500 with a
ninth-place showing; was involved in an early race crash at
California and finished 40th; made the move from his father's
Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he won 17 Cup events, to Hendrick
Motorsports; got off to a good start with his new team by
winning the Bud Shootout; suffered through a tough final season
at DEI, finishing 16th in the standings; had 12 top 10s last
season, but also posted 11 finishes of 25th or worse; finished
12th in this race last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 99 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $4,873,125
Earned fourth win of the season two weeks ago at Pocono, then
ran ninth at Watkins Glen; jumped up to second in the standings,
242 points behind Kyle Busch; finished second to Jimmie Johnson
at the Brickyard - his fourth runner-up this season; was also
second to Busch at Darlington, Dover and the second Daytona
race; won at Texas for his third win of the season; was docked
100 points and fell from the top spot in the standings after
being penalized after his win at Las Vegas; victory at Texas was
his 10th career Cup win; had the dominant car again at Atlanta,
but blew an engine and finished 42nd; ran 19th in the Daytona
500; qualified for the Chase last year and won at Dover after
placing 12th at New Hampshire, but failed post-race inspection
and was docked 25 points; penalty dropped him from third to
sixth in the standings and he never recovered; won the 2007
NASCAR Busch Series championship; finished seventh here last
year.
Jeff Gordon
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $3,686,471
Ran 10th at Pocono for his 10th top 10 of the season, but
slipped to 29th at Watkins Glen to remain sixth in the
standings; has yet to win this season but has eight top-fives;
already has three DNFs this season after posting just one last
year; rebounded to finish fifth at Atlanta after being involved
in a scary late-race crash at Las Vegas where he finished 35th;
bounced back with a third at California after opening 2008
season with a disappointing 39th in the Daytona 500; only a
dominant finish by teammate Jimmie Johnson kept him from
capturing a fifth championship last season; finished with 10
top-10 finishes in the final 11 races - the other finish in
that span was an 11th at Dover; totaled a remarkable 30 top-10
finishes and 21 top fives in 36 races last year; had six
checkered flags last season and 81 career, just two shy of
tying Cale Yarborough for fifth place all-time; ran 27th in this
race last year.
Jimmie Johnson
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $4,433,187
Continued recent strong stretch by running seventh at Watkins
Glen to move up to third in the standings; finished third at
Pocono following a win at the Brickyard and runner-up at
Chicago; two-time defending series champion blew a motor at
Lowe's and finished in 39th place; bounced back with three
top 10s, including a sixth at Michigan; picked up his first win
of the season at Phoenix; had a disappointing three-race stretch
at Las Vegas, Atlanta and Bristol when his average finish was
20th; ran second at California after starting this campaign with
a 27th at the Daytona 500; battled teammate Gordon for the top
spot in the Chase early last season, then took off - winning
four straight races over the second half of the Chase; finished
last season with 10 wins, 20 top fives, 24 top 10s, yet failed
to finish four races; finished third in this race last year.
Kasey Kahne
Team: Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Car: No. 9 Dodge
2008 Earnings: $4,582,810
Finished 14th at Watkins Glen and dropped to eighth in the
standings; bounced back from disappointing 33rd at Sonoma and
30th at Loudon by running seventh at Daytona, 15th at Chicago
and seventh at the Brickyard; finished second to Dale Earnhardt
Jr. at Michigan; won first Pocono race from the pole; had a
stellar two weeks at Lowe's, winning the Sprint All-Star Challenge
then snapping a 52-race winless skid by taking the checkered flag
in the Coca-Cola 600; has 11 top 10s this season; after winning
six races in 2006, struggled in 2007 when he finished 19th in the
standings with just one top five and eight top 10s; also had six
DNFs and dipped as low as 36th in the standings at one point; took
on the famed Budweiser sponsorship after Earnhardt moved to
Hendrick Motorsports; finished 31st in this race last year.
Matt Kenseth
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $3,508,540
Finished 12th at Watkins Glen and sits 12th in the standings;
ran third at Daytona and Michigan; finished 38th at Richmond
and 41st at Talladega; ran 38th at Phoenix following a ninth at
Texas and 30th at Martinsville; had consecutive top 10s at
Bristol and Atlanta; was 20th at Las Vegas due to a late-race
incident with Jeff Gordon; ran fifth at California, fresh off a
disappointing 35th place showing at the Daytona 500; last season
had a late-Chase surge with a win at the season-ending race at
Homestead, following a third at Phoenix and a second at Texas;
finished fourth in the final standings; had 13 top five finishes
and 22 top 10s last season; won the series championship in 2003
despite capturing only one checkered flag, prompting NASCAR to
change to its current Chase format; enters this season without
long-time crew chief Robbie Reiser who has been replaced atop
the box by Chip Bolin; ran fourth in this race last year.
Tony Stewart
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $4,204,778
Finished second the past two weeks; slid to a 23rd-place finish
after running well at the Brickyard; finished fifth at Chicago
in first race since announcing he will leave JGR at the end of
the season to drive for his own Stewart-Haas Racing team next
season; fell ill at Daytona and was relieved by J.J. Yeley who
finished 20th; was involved in an early crash at Dover and
finished 41st; came close to winning at Lowe's, but cut down a
tire with three laps remaining while leading and finished 18th;
finished 38th at Talladega then bounced back to finish fourth at
Richmond; ran 14th at Phoenix following back-to-back top-10
finishes at Martinsville and Texas; finished second to teammate
Kyle Busch at Atlanta, but was vocal about the poor Goodyear
tire quality; suffered a hard crash at Las Vegas, injured his
ankle and finished last; had another disappointment in the
Daytona 500, finishing third despite having the lead with one
lap to go; finished 10th in this race last year.
2007 Top 10
-----------
1. Kurt Busch (2), Dodge
2. Martin Truex Jr. (1), Chevrolet
3. Jimmie Johnson (48), Chevrolet
4. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
5. Denny Hamlin (11), Chevrolet
6. Dave Blaney (22), Dodge
7. Carl Edwards (99), Ford
8. Brian Vickers (83), Toyota
9. Bobby Labonte (43), Dodge
10. Tony Stewart (20), Chevrolet
Past Champions
--------------
2007 Kurt Busch, Dodge, 117.012 mph
2006 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 135.097 mph
2005 Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 141.551 mph
2004 Greg Biffle, Ford, 139.063 mph
2003 Ryan Newman, Dodge, 127.310 mph
2002 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 140.556 mph
2001 Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 140.513 mph
2000 Rusty Wallace, Ford, 132.586 mph
1999 Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 144.332 mph
1998 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 151.99 mph
1997 Mark Martin, Ford, 126.88 mph
1996 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 139.792 mph
1995 Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 157.739 mph
1994 Geoff Bodine, Ford, 139.914 mph
1993 Mark Martin, Ford, 144.564 mph
1992 Harry Grant, Oldsmobile, 146.056 mph
1991 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 142.972 mph
1990 Mark Martin, Ford, 138.822 mph
1989 Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 157.704 mph
1988 Davey Allison, Ford, 156.863 mph
1987 Bill Elliott, Ford, 138.648 mph
1986 Bill Elliott, Ford, 135.376 mph
1985 Bill Elliott, Ford, 137.430 mph
1984 Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 153.863 mph
1983 Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 147.511 mph
1982 Bobby Allison, Buick, 136.454 mph
1981 Richard Petty, Buick, 123.457 mph
1980 Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 145.352 mph
1979 Richard Petty, Chevrolet, 130.376 mph
1978 David Pearson, Mercury, 129.566 mph
1977 Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 137.944 mph
1976 David Pearson, Mercury, 140.078 mph
1975 Richard Petty, 74 Dodge, 107.583 mph
1974 David Pearson, 73 Mercury, 133.045 mph
1972 David Pearson, 71 Mercury, 134.416 mph
1971 Bobby Allison, 69 Mercury, 149.862 mph
1970+ Charlie Glotzbach, 69 Dodge, 147.571 mph
1969 David Pearson, 69 Ford, 115.508 mph
+ Race changed from 600 to 400 miles
