NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top Story News Schedule Race Update/Results Statistics Point Standings Starting Grid Race Preview Driver Info Team Info Track Info Season Chart All-Time Wins Odds Weather NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Pure Michigan 400 Preview From The Sports Network   DATE: Sunday, August 19th SITE: Michigan International Speedway (1968) -- Brooklyn, Michigan TRACK: two-mile oval - 3,600 feet (Frontstretch); 2,242 feet (Backstretch) CAPACITY: 84,000 (Grandstand Seating) ANNUAL: 43rd TELEVISION: ESPN ANNOUNCERS: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio START TIME: 1 p.m. (ET)/Green Flag: 1:16 p.m. (ET) DEFENDING CHAMPION: Kyle Busch RUNNER-UP: Jimmie Johnson POLE WINNER: Greg Biffle (Finished 20th) LAPS: 200 MILES: 400 QUALIFYING RECORD: Marcos Ambrose, 2012 (203.241 m.p.h.) RACE RECORD: Dale Jarrett, 1999 (173.997 m.p.h.) TOTAL PURSE: $5,079,398 (2011 figures) PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $204,941; 2nd Place - $175,661; 3rd Place - $136,108 2011 Finish Finish Driver Start Finish Driver Start 1 Kyle Busch 17 6 Jeff Gordon 9 2 Jimmie Johnson 19 7 Kasey Kahne 14 3 Brad Keselowski 6 8 Clint Bowyer 35 4 Mark Martin 5 9 Tony Stewart 18 5 Ryan Newman 3 10 Matt Kenseth 2 2011 Pure Michigan 400 Facts and Figures AVERAGE SPEED: 150.898 m.p.h. TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 41 minutes, 26 seconds MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.568 second CAUTION FLAGS: 5 for 21 laps LEAD CHANGES: 20 among 10 drivers POLE WINNER: Greg Biffle (190.345 m.p.h.) Past Pure Michigan 400 Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed 2011 -- Kyle Busch (17th) -- Toyota -- 150.898 m.p.h. 2010 -- Kevin Harvick (8th) -- Chevrolet -- 144.029 m.p.h. 2009 -- Brian Vickers (1st) -- Toyota -- 131.531 m.p.h. 2008 -- Carl Edwards (27th) -- Ford -- 140.351 m.p.h. 2007 -- Kurt Busch (15th) -- Dodge -- 117.012 m.p.h. 2006 -- Matt Kenseth (3rd) -- Ford) -- 135.097 m.p.h. 2005 -- Jeremy Mayfield (11th) -- Dodge -- 141.551 m.p.h. 2004 -- Greg Biffle (24th) -- Ford -- 139.063 m.p.h. 2003 -- Ryan Newman (2nd) -- Dodge -- 127.310 m.p.h. 2002 -- Dale Jarrett (8th) -- Ford -- 140.556 m.p.h. 2001 -- Sterling Marlin (15th) -- Dodge -- 140.513 m.p.h. 2000 -- Rusty Wallace (10th) -- Ford -- 132.597 m.p.h. 1999 -- Bobby Labonte (19th) -- Pontiac -- 144.332 m.p.h. 1998 -- Jeff Gordon (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 151.995 m.p.h. 1997 -- Mark Martin (2nd) -- Ford -- 126.883 m.p.h. 1996 -- Dale Jarrett (11th) -- Ford -- 139.792 m.p.h. 1995 -- Bobby Labonte (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 157.739 m.p.h. 1994 -- Geoff Bodine (1st) -- Ford -- 139.914 m.p.h. 1993 -- Mark Martin (12th) -- Ford -- (144.564 m.p.h. 1992 -- Harry Gant (24th) -- Oldsmobile -- 146.056 m.p.h. 1991 -- Dale Jarrett (11th) -- Ford -- 142.972 m.p.h. 1990 -- Mark Martin (5th) -- Ford -- 138.822 m.p.h. 1989 -- Rusty Wallace (2nd) -- Pontiac -- 157.704 m.p.h. 1988 -- Davey Allison (4th) -- Ford -- 156.863 m.p.h. 1987 -- Bill Elliott (3rd) -- Ford -- 138.648 m.p.h. 1986 -- Bill Elliott (3rd) -- Ford -- 135.376 m.p.h. 1985 -- Bill Elliott (1st) -- Ford -- 137.430 m.p.h. 1984 -- Darrell Waltrip (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 153.863 m.p.h. 1983 -- Cale Yarborough (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 147.511 m.p.h. 1982 -- Bobby Allison (10th) -- Buick -- 136.454 m.p.h. 1981 -- Richard Petty (7th) -- Buick -- 123.457 m.p.h. 1980 -- Cale Yarborough (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 145.352 m.p.h. 1979 -- Richard Petty (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 130.376 m.p.h. 1978 -- David Pearson (1st) -- Mercury -- 129.566 m.p.h. 1977 -- Darrell Waltrip (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 137.944 m.p.h. 1976 -- David Pearson (1st) -- Mercury -- 140.078 m.p.h. 1975 -- Richard Petty (4th) -- Dodge -- 107.583 m.p.h. 1974 -- David Pearson (1st) -- Mercury -- 133.045 m.p.h. 1973 -- Not Held 1972 -- David Pearson (4th) -- Mercury -- 134.416 m.p.h. 1971 -- Bobby Allison (2nd) -- Mercury -- 149.862 m.p.h. 1970 -- Charlie Glotzbach (1st) -- Dodge -- 147.571 m.p.h. 1969 -- David Pearson (1st) -- Ford -- 115.508 m.p.h. NOTE: Formerly called Yankee 600 (1969), Yankee 400 (1970-1974), Champion Spark Plug 400 (1975-93), GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 (1994-96), DevilBliss 400 (1997), Pepsi 400 (1998-2002), GFS Marketplace 400 (2003-06) 3M Performance 400 (2007-08), CARFAX 400 (2009-10). Race changed from 600 to 400 miles (1970). Past Pure Michigan 400 Pole Winners (Finish) 2011 -- Greg Biffle -- 20th 2010 -- Kasey Kahne -- 14th 2009 - Brian Vickers -- 1st 2008 -- Brian Vickers -- 7th 2007 -- Jeff Gordon -- 27th 2006 -- Jeff Burton -- 42nd 2005 -- Joe Nemechek -- 8th 2004 -- None -- Weather 2003 -- Bobby Labonte -- 37th 2002 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr -- 10th 2001 -- Ricky Craven -- 2nd 2000 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr -- 31st 1999 -- Ward Burton -- 43rd 1998 -- Ernie Irvan -- 6th 1997 -- Johnny Benson Jr -- 24th 1996 -- Jeff Burton -- 9th 1995 -- Bobby Labonte -- 1st 1994 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 1st 1993 -- Ken Schrader -- 27th 1992 -- Alan Kulwicki -- 14th 1991 -- Alan Kulwicki -- 8th 1990 -- Alan Kulwicki -- 11th 1989 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 5th 1988 -- Bill Elliott -- 3rd 1987 -- Davey Allison -- 5th 1986 -- Benny Parsons -- 26th 1985 -- Bill Elliott -- 1st 1984 -- Bill Elliott -- 3rd 1983 -- Terry Labonte -- 4th 1982 -- Bill Elliott -- 27th 1981 -- Ron Bouchard -- 29th 1980 -- Buddy Baker -- 6th 1979 -- David Pearson -- 4th 1978 -- David Pearson -- 1st 1977 -- David Pearson -- 2nd 1976 -- David Pearson -- 1st 1975 -- David Pearson -- 2nd 1974 -- David Pearson -- 1st 1973 -- Not Held 1972 -- Richard Petty -- 4th 1971 -- Pete Hamilton -- 31st 1970 -- Charlie Glotzbach -- 1st 1969 -- David Pearson -- 1st Last Race Results RACE: Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen (August 12th) SITE: Watkins Glen International -- Watkins Glen, New York MILES: 220.5 LAPS: 90 WINNER: Marcos Ambrose RUNNER-UP: Brad Keselowski THIRD: Jimmie Johnson FOURTH: Clint Bowyer FIFTH: Sam Hornish Jr. POLE WINNER: Juan Pablo Montoya (Finished 33rd) TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 14 minutes, 48 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 98.145 m.p.h. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.571 second CAUTION FLAGS: 4 for 13 laps LEAD CHANGES: 10 among 5 drivers LAP LEADERS: J. Montoya - pole; Kyle Busch 1-26; J. Montoya 27; B. Keselowski 28-38; M. Ambrose 39-45; B. Keselowski 46-56; Kyle Busch 57-58; C. Edwards 59; B. Keselowski 60-74; Kyle Busch 75-89; M. Ambrose 90. Pure Michigan 400 Entry List Car Driver, Hometown Car/Name 1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops 2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Dodge/Miller Lite 5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Farmer's Insurance 9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Stanley 10 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing 11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Office 13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/Geico 14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Mobil 1/Office Depot 15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy 16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M 17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/Fifth Third 18 * Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/Interstate Batteries 19 Jason Leffler (Long Beach, CA) Ford/Humphrey Smith Racing 20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Home Depot 21 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire 22 Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) Dodge/Shell/Pennzoil 23 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Chevrolet/North Texas Pipe 24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger 26 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport 27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Pitt. Paint 29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Jimmy Johns 30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Inception Motorsports 31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Wheaties 32 Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO) Ford/TBA 33 Stephen Leicht (Asheville, NC) Chevrolet/littlejoesautos.com 34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/Long John Silver's 36 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing 37 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/TBA 38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Taco Bell 39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Wix 42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target 43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Eckrich 47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Clorox 48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's 51 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/hendrickcars.com 55 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine 56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 78 Regan Smith (Cato, NY) Chevrolet/Furniture Row 83 Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) Toyota/Burger King 87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/AM FM Energy Wood&Pellet 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Diet Mt. Dew/Nat Guard 91 Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) Toyota/Humphrey Smith Racing 93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King 98 Mike Skinner (Susanville, CA) Ford/Phil Parsons Racing 99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Geek Squad * - Defending champion Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) Driver 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Kyle Busch --- --- 43rd 39th 13th 2nd 23rd 18th Won Jimmie Johnson 27th 40th 10th 13th 3rd 17th 34th 12th 2nd Brad Keselowski --- --- --- --- --- --- 24th 34th 3rd Mark Martin 17th 2nd 17th 5th 42nd 6th 31st 28th 4th Ryan Newman Won 14th 12th 25th 16th 21st 15th 23rd 5th Jeff Gordon 30th 7th 15th 2nd 27th 42nd 2nd 27th 6th Kasey Kahne --- 5th 29th 4th 31st 40th 11th 14th 7th Clint Bowyer --- --- --- 33rd 17th 20th 8th 13th 8th Tony Stewart 3rd 9th 5th 3rd 10th 12th 17th 6th 9th Matt Kenseth 9th 8th 3rd Won 4th 5th 14th 5th 10th Dale Earnhardt Jr 32nd 21st 18th 6th 12th 23rd 3rd 19th 14th Jeff Burton 11th 12th 26th 42nd 14th 11th 18th 24th 17th Martin Truex Jr --- --- --- 30th 2nd 16th 21st 8th 19th Greg Biffle 4th Won 6th 7th 19th 4th 20th 4th 20th Joey Logano --- --- --- --- --- --- 7th 10th 21st Kevin Harvick 2nd 16th 22nd 11th 15th 8th 12th Won 22nd Jamie McMurray 36th 4th 20th 17th 30th 10th 32nd 20th 23rd Juan Pablo Montoya --- --- --- --- 26th 25th 19th 7th 25th Paul Menard --- --- --- 20th 39th 24th 26th 35th 26th Marcos Ambrose --- --- --- --- --- 43rd 35th 15th 27th Kurt Busch 18th 6th 7th 40th Won 36th 36th 40th 34th Denny Hamlin --- --- --- 9th 5th 39th 10th 2nd 35th Carl Edwards --- 10th 4th 22nd 7th Won 4th 3rd 36th Mover of the Week Travis Kvapil - Started in the 42nd position and finished 24th Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Brad Keselowski Darkhorse - Jamie McMurray Last Week's Pick to Win (Jimmie Johnson) - Finished 3rd Last Week's Darkhorse (Kurt Busch) - Finished 31st NOTES: The Sprint Cup Series returns to Michigan International Speedway for the second time in two months this weekend. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended his four year, 143-race winless streak when the series ran at this two-mile racetrack for the first time this season the third weekend June. Kyle Busch won at Michigan one year ago. Busch made a late-race pass on Jimmie Johnson for the lead and then held off Johnson during a green-white-checkered finish for his fourth Sprint Cup win of the season and the 23rd of his career. Busch, who led in the point standings at the time, became the first driver to clinch a spot in the 12-member field for last year's championship Chase. He has only one Sprint Cup victory since the Aug. 2011 race at Michigan. Busch won this year's spring event at Richmond. Johnson's second-place run one year ago at Michigan marked his career-best finish there. Michigan is one of five tracks on the current Sprint Cup schedule where Johnson has yet to win. Chicagoland, Homestead, Kentucky and Watkins Glen are the others. David Pearson holds the record for most Cup wins at Michigan with nine. Cale Yarborough is second with eight, followed by seven for Bill Elliott. Of the 45 drivers entered for the Pure Michigan 400, Mark Martin leads the way with five victories at this racetrack. Martin is running a limited schedule in the series this season. Since the series began competing at Michigan in 1969, there have been seven season-sweeps there. Bobby Labonte was the last driver to win both races at Michigan in the same season, doing so in 1995. Elliott won four straight races there from 1985-86. Sixteen of 86 races at Michigan have been won from the pole position. Brian Vickers is the last driver to start on the pole and win there. Vickers did it in Aug. 2009. Carl Edwards and Landon Cassill are those active drivers who made their first career Sprint Cup starts at Michigan. In June, Marcos Ambrose claimed his first pole in the series with a new qualifying record at this track. Jeff Burton and J.J. Yeley's maiden poles also came at Michigan. No active driver has scored his inaugural race win there. The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Aug. 25 Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski is the defending race winner. 08/14 17:17:49 ET As of August 14, 2012, at 05:18 PM ET