The final race to the Chase starts at Michigan and today’s Carfax 400.
I’ve been away from the blog all week and have yet to look at the numbers but I don’t require a statistical advance to tell me that Jimmie Johnson is really good here. Despite always contending, the four-time champion has actually gone winless at MIS.
After qualifying on the outside pole on Friday and leading happy hour on Saturday, Johnson could end his recent slump this afternoon. But that will mean getting past pole-sitter and future Hendrick teammate Kasey Kahne, who smoked the field on Friday after clearing up his contract situation over the past week.
Pre-race coverage will be provided by ESPN Countdown (12ET) and SPEED Raceday (10ET). Live race coverage will air on ESPN starting at 1 p.m./ET. Green flag is set for 1:35 with Marty Reid, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree providing the call.
News, notes and a starting lineup can be found after the jump!
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Michigan International Speedway
CARFAX 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, August 13, 2010 @ 05:12 PM Eastern
Track Race Record: Dale Jarrett 06/13/99 02:17:56 173.997
| Row | Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 1 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser Ford | 38.465 | 187.183 |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe’s Chevrolet | 38.485 | 187.086 | |
| 2 | 3 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet | 38.590 | 186.577 |
| 4 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet | 38.591 | 186.572 | |
| 3 | 5 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Target Chevrolet | 38.614 | 186.461 |
| 6 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 3M Ford | 38.637 | 186.350 | |
| 4 | 7 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Crown Royal Ford | 38.654 | 186.268 |
| 8 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet | 38.673 | 186.176 | |
| 5 | 9 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | NAPA Toyota | 38.675 | 186.167 |
| 10 | 98 | Paul Menard | Mastercraft/Menards Ford | 38.728 | 185.912 | |
| 6 | 11 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Cat Financial Chevrolet | 38.766 | 185.730 |
| 12 | 5 | Mark Martin | GoDaddy.com Chevrolet | 38.769 | 185.715 | |
| 7 | 13 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite/Vortex Dodge | 38.794 | 185.596 |
| 14 | 00 | David Reutimann | Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota | 38.794 | 185.596 | |
| 8 | 15 | 09 | Landon Cassill | Phoenix Construction Chevrolet | 38.821 | 185.467 |
| 16 | 43 | A J Allmendinger | Insignia HDTV Ford | 38.831 | 185.419 | |
| 9 | 17 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Tornados Chevrolet | 38.849 | 185.333 |
| 18 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 38.858 | 185.290 | |
| 10 | 19 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Philips Norelco Chevrolet | 38.861 | 185.276 |
| 20 | 78 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet | 38.904 | 185.071 | |
| 11 | 21 | 13 | Max Papis | GEICO Toyota | 38.929 | 184.952 |
| 22 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports Toyota | 38.945 | 184.876 | |
| 12 | 23 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Henry Ford Museum: Racing in America Ford | 38.947 | 184.867 |
| 24 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Aflac Ford | 38.966 | 184.776 | |
| 13 | 25 | 26 | Patrick Carpentier | Air Guard Ford | 38.976 | 184.729 |
| 26 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | No. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge | 38.996 | 184.634 | |
| 14 | 27 | 20 | Joey Logano | Home Depot Toyota | 39.000 | 184.615 |
| 28 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Mobil 1 Dodge | 39.007 | 184.582 | |
| 15 | 29 | 6 | David Ragan | UPS Ford | 39.017 | 184.535 |
| 30 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford | 39.039 | 184.431 | |
| 16 | 31 | 82 | Scott Speed | Red Bull Toyota | 39.042 | 184.417 |
| 32 | 38 | Travis Kvapil | Long John Silver’s Ford | 39.058 | 184.341 | |
| 17 | 33 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 39.155 | 183.885 |
| 34 | 83 | Reed Sorenson | Red Bull Toyota | 39.158 | 183.870 | |
| 18 | 35 | 07 | Robby Gordon | SpeedFactory.TV Toyota | 39.185 | 183.744 |
| 36 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont Chevrolet | 39.250 | 183.439 | |
| 19 | 37 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Little Debbie Toyota | 39.261 | 183.388 |
| 38 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Ntnl Grd Drive the Guard/AMP Energy Chev | 39.272 | 183.337 | |
| 20 | 39 | 34 | Tony Raines | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 39.395 | 182.764 |
| 40 | 71 | Bobby Labonte | TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet | Owner Points | ||
| 21 | 41 | 7 | P J Jones | SpeedFactory.TV Toyota | Owner Points | |
| 42 | 37 | David Gilliland | Taco Bell Ford | Owner Points | ||
| 22 | 43 | 55 | Michael McDowell | PRISM Motorsports Toyota | 39.289 | 183.257 |
Did Not Qualify: # 32 Mike Bliss; # 46 J J Yeley; # 66 Scott Riggs; # 36 Casey Mears.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 14 1 Ford 13 0
