Michigan Pure 400

Hello Angels,

Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 race at Michigan International Raceway sure seemed like a short race. In fact it was, time-wise anyway compared to the last couple of races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. The previous two races, the first at Pocono Raceway and last week’s road-course race at Watkins Glen took more than five hours to get in, with the latter being postponed a day for better weather.

The Irish Springs of Michigan brought, for the most part, sunny skies and good racing weather. Drivers didn’t have to worry about racing the weather, but each other instead.

Early in the race, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth stole the show with both of them on the front row to start the race. Few cautions meant little time to correct any handling issues and once Biffle, who won the Coors Light Pole award, got back in traffic, his car’s handling issues got worse. Kenseth didn’t have a problem staying up front but because of pit strategy at the end, got shuffled back to a 10th place finish. Biffle finished 20th. Carl Edwards had an engine issue early in the race and fell 15 or 16 laps back. He finished 36th.

Denny Hamlin used a new engine from a partnership between Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Racing Development to try to give new life to Hamlin’s Chase contention. Unfortunately for Hamlin, not only did he have an engine issue with leaking fluids on the track, but he also had a tire issue resulting in a broken splitter on the front of the car that sent the former title contender down 15 laps. Hamlin finished 35th, the second race in a row 35th or worse.

In the end, it came down to two drivers – Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson. With a green-white-checkered finish because of a crash by Dave Blaney with four laps left, the two drivers had a sprint to the finish with Johnson leading and then Busch cleanly passing after the restart. With Busch winning the race and Edwards finishing 36th, Busch took control of the points lead and locked himself into the chase with four wins this season.

The top-10 finishing order is Busch, Johnson, Brad Keselowski (who has a first, second and third place finish in the last three races), Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Kenseth.

For us Angels, I believe a record was set today by an Angel earning three consecutive CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARDS. By earning this week’s TAA, my team has earned its third consecutive TAA, this week with an 8.6 average finish. Busch won the race, Johnson finished second, Keselowski finished third and Gordon finished sixth. Way down in 31st place is Landon Cassill, who finished the race two laps down.

We have a tie for this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD between Vivian and Madison and their 21.4 average finishes.

Madison, you need to be careful with your driver picks for next week. Just as my team earned three consecutive TAAs to set a Charlie’s Angels’ record, if you pick up a third consecutive GCA, that too will set a league, and much more dubious, record as well. That said, this week your drivers of Kahne, Kenseth, David Reutimann, Hamlin and Edwards earned your team the GCA tie after they finished seventh, 10th, 19th, 35th and 36th respectively. Much better luck next week Madison.

Vivian, of your five drivers – Stewart, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, and Edwards – only Stewart didn’t have an issue (that I’m aware of anyway) at Michigan on Sunday. Stewart finished ninth. Burton hit the wall on the final lap, while Harvick hit the wall early in the race. McMurray ran into the back of Kurt Busch when the latter hit the wall late in the race and suffered the consequences. Burton finished 17th, while Harvick and McMurray finished 22nd and 23rd respectively. Edwards had his engine issue and finished 36th, several laps down. Much better luck to you next week as well.

This week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ RUNNER-UP ANGEL is CorWin and his drivers’ 10.4 average finish. Finishing in the top-10 for CorWin are Keselowski in third; Martin in fourth; and Gordon in sixth. Regan Smith had a quiet day and a 13th place finish to show for it. Paul Menard didn’t have as great a day, but still finished on the lead lap in 26th place.

Pete, for you, Keselowski and Kenseth teamed up to give you a top-10 finish respectively. Keselowski finished third, while Kenseth, who led a few times, finished 10th. David Ragan, who had that horrific crash last week to finish the road-course race at Watkins Glen, finished 12th overall this week. McMurray and Biffle round out your team with their 23rd and 20th place finishes respectively. Your average finish is 13.6.

Evelyn, for you, Gordon and Stewart are your top-two drivers with their sixth and ninth place finishes respectively. Dale Earnhardt Jr., had a top-10 car for most of the race, but fell back to 14th place during the green-white-checkered finish. Burton hit the wall on the last lap and Trevor Bayne never had his name mentioned during the actual race (that I remember anyway…). Burton finished 17th, while Bayne finished 24th. Your average finish is 14 even.

Knox’Ville, you had three drivers – Busch, Johnson and Gordon – finish in the top-10 on Sunday. Busch and Johnson finished one and two respectively, as Gordon, who led a large portion of the laps but whose car faded because of overheating and handling issues, finished back in sixth place. Andy Lally finished one-lap down in 29th place, while Hamlin had his engine and tire issues and subsequent 35th place finish. Your drivers’ average finish is 14.6.

Kris, you had three drivers with solid finishes, but Harvick and Edwards are the two drivers who wished, like you, they had better finishes. Harvick had handling issues all race long and finished 22nd. Edwards had an engine issue early in the race and finished 36th. Keselowski on the other hand finished third, while Gordon finished sixth to Kahne’s seventh place finish. Your drivers’ average finish is 14.8.

Kelly, for you, Keselowski and Gordon are the best two drivers of your five on Sunday. Gordon led a bunch of laps, but could only manage a sixth place finish. Keselowski didn’t lead a lap (that I saw) and finished third. Burton, Joey Logano and Hamlin round out your team with their 17th, 21st and 35th place finishes respectively. Logano had the chance to catch a break and go to the front of the field when a caution came out after he started down pit road…but in the end, failed to stop and complete his pit stop. Because of that, he went to the back of the field after having to come back into the pits for service on the next lap. Your drivers’ average finish is 16.4.

Mr. X and Candy Man, you both tie average finishes of 16.8 to earn this week’s No. 8 Angels’ spot.

Candy Man, for you, Martin and Kahne had decent runs and finishes with their fourth and seventh places respectively. Burton and Biffle had better days than their 17th and 20th place finishes show, while Edwards had a miserable day with his 36th place finish.

Mr. X, for you, Keseslowski and Kenseth race each other cleanly, but for whatever reason, Kenseth’s car faded late in the race. He finished 10th to Keselowski’s third place finish. Burton, Martin Truex Jr., and Edwards round out your team with their 17th, 18th and 36th place finishes respectively.

Julie, you had two drivers – Keselowski and Stewart – finish in the top-10 with the former earning a third place finish to earn his third consecutive top-three finish. The latter, while finishing ninth, looked and sounded completely defeated after the race. Obviously the Stewart camp has some work to do to not only get better in the points, but to get some confidence into their driver/owner. Earnhardt finished 14th, while Bayne and Edwards round out your team with their 24th and 36th place finishes respectively. Your drivers’ average finish is 17.2.

Gibbons, you only had one driver finish inside the top-10 on Sunday. That driver is Johnson, who earned a second place finish. Ragan finished 12th, while Bayne and Menard finished within two spots of each other in 24th and 26th places respectively. Hamlin rounds out your team with his 35th place. Your drivers’ average finish is 19.8.

Next week’s race is NASCAR’s return to Saturday night racing with the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

Don’t forget to check the ESPN Stock Car Challenge website to see where you stack up against the other Angels after Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 race at Michigan International Raceway.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie