Week23 — Michigan (Part II)
To quote Supertramp, "It's rainin' again," which means that for the second week in a row the field for the GFS Marketplace 400 will be set by owner points. Pretty cool if you're a Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson fan and you want that clean air in front of you as you're leading, say, the first 180 laps.
Dare I further tip my hand as to this week's predictions, here is Glenn's Ten:
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- It's time for the #48 bunch to have a good weekend following two disastrous weeks in which Jimmie's margin as the points leader shrank by about 200. Kyle Busch summed it up nicely on Saturday when the Busch Series version of the Lowe's car went to victory lane: Hendrick motors may have had some problems the past couple of weeks, but they are second to none in quality. Something tells me Hendrick will turn things around this weekend.
The rest of the top 10 (in no particular order):
* Jeff Gordon -- We'll forget about the June debacle when his engine expired after he had led the first 85 laps or so.
* Ryan Newman -- Can he win three in a row here? No. But he is out of the top 10 in points, and if that isn't a wake-up call then I don't know what is. Plus, anyone with the Justice League on the hood of his car should exhibit superhero capabilities.
* Kasey Kahne -- Tired of running second. Maybe this is the day...
* Jeremy Mayfield -- Hey, he's a Chase contender now. Better keep up the good finishes if you hope to stay there.
* Dale Jarrett -- DJ loves Michigan. Still looking to break the winless drought since Rockingham 2003.
* Elliott Sadler -- Fastest in practice. Still in the thick of the points chase, following good runs at Indy and the Glen.
* Mark Martin -- Finished second in Saturday's Busch event after starting deep in the field, but then a zillion cautions didn't hurt that effort. Watch out for the Rousch cars Sunday.
* Matt Kenseth -- Watch out for the Rousch cars on Sunday...
* Tony Stewart -- He's had a week to get over the tummy troubles.
Sleeper picks: Casey Mears (After finishing fourth last weekend there isn't much left left to achieve -- oh yeah, a win would be nice.)... Kurt Busch (See notes with Martin, Kenseth. Also doesn't hurt that l'il bro won here Saturday.)... Rusty Wallace (Had a little extra practice Saturday, finishing sixth in the Busch race.)
And why not... Dale Earnhardt Jr. (This is Michigan, not Talladega. DEI struggles at this place)... Bobby Labonte (Used to run well here. Where's Fatback???)... Greg Biffle (Who's he gonna hit this time?)
We'll be watching... Jeff Burton (In his first run with the AOL #30. Not expecting anything yet.)... Carl Edwards (First appearance in the former Jeff Burton machine. Likewise, not expecting anything yet.)
