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Aug. 18, 2012

NASCAR Wire Service

BROOKLYN, Mich — Spin to win.

What looked like a disaster early on for Nelson Piquet Jr. — a spin on lap 56 — turned fortuitous as green flags clicked by to close the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

Piquet and crew chief Chris Carrier employed a brilliant — and race-winning — strategy to capture the Brazilian’s first victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The duo chose to stay out on the race track while the front-runners pitted under green, and milked a huge lead that ballooned to over 15 seconds with seven laps remaining.

Continue reading “Nelson Piquet Jr. Rallies At Michigan For Breakthrough Truck Win”

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SHOW #215 – Guests: Dustin Long (SI.com USAToday), Marcos Ambrose – We recap the road course racing from Watkins Glen, discuss oil-gate, Sam Hornish focuses on Montreal, Michigan preview, Fantasy Racing picks, and Toby looks into his Danica crystal ball. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie.
 (47:50 mins)

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Continue reading “The Final Lap Weekly #215 – Dustin Long, Marcos Ambrose Michigan / Montreal NASCAR Preview”

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Michigan was a drought-buster for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in June as the driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet snapped a winless streak of 143 races. Earnhardt is one of four drivers ranked in the top 10 entering Sunday’s race with multiple victories at the 2.0-mile superspeedway. Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin also have two victories apiece. Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart has won once as has Kevin Harvick, one of two drivers among the top 10 still winless this season.

Continue reading “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Looks For Win No. 3 At Michigan”

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Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 gives four competitors the opportunity to clinch a top-10 spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™. The current top four in NASCAR Sprint Cup standings – Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – can lock themselves into the post season by leaving Michigan with a lead of at least 145 points over the 11th-place driver with three races remaining in the Race to the Chase. Biffle, who trails Johnson by a single point, is the only one of the four failing to make the Chase a year ago.

Continue reading “Top Four Cup Series Drivers Can Clinch ‘Chase’ Spots In Michigan”

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A third-place finish at Watkins Glen International has placed Jimmie Johnson in the championship lead for the ninth consecutive season, marking the longest streak since the current position-based points structure went into effect in 1975.

Johnson was 37th in the standings following a 42nd-place finish in February’s Daytona 500. He last led the points nearly one year ago following the Sept. 6 Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Johnson, Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski remain the top contenders for the No. 1 seed for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™. Each has three victories worth nine bonus points that would be added to a base of 2,000 points when the standings are reset following the Sept. 8 Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.