Photo – Getty Images

Last June when the Sprint Cup Series was at Michigan, a long winless streak was broken by NASCAR’s most popular driver. Junior Nation rejoiced as Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled into victory lane to celebrate his first Cup win since 2008. It was a day that Earnhardt Jr. and his fans won’t soon forget, but they are also hoping they can get to victory lane again sometime soon. Earnhardt Jr. showed his strength on the freshly repaved Michigan and that could give him a leg-up for this weekend. It’s anyone’s game with the Gen 6 car at Michigan, so it could be Junior celebrating at the end of the race or it could be another driver looking to break through for a victory.

The Quicken Loans 400 is schedule to take place on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16, 2013. Green-flag time is at 1:16 PM EST. The race length is 200 fast laps and 400 exciting miles. Sunday’s weather forecast shows a chance of rain, but there is a 60% chance of sunshine with scattered thunderstorms. Fans can catch the race through TNT’s broadcast or on the radio at MRN.

There was a party among Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans last year when he won this race to break his four-year dry-spell. He didn’t just get lucky and win, he was competing up front for most of the afternoon. The track was extremely fast last August after the repave, but with the Gen 6 car this year, it could be even faster. Earnhardt Jr. will definitely have a shot at winning this weekend, but he’ll need an exceptional performance to repeat his victory.

At Michigan this weekend, many drivers are hoping to run well attempting to stay in Chase contention. One driver that will likely run well on Sunday and really doesn’t need to, is Jimmie Johnson. He hasn’t seemed to miss a beat this season and his point lead stretches a full-race over his closest competitors. All that sounds good, but could it be gone in one weekend? Likely not, but Johnson’s track record at Michigan doesn’t favor him performing exceptionally well. He’s either on it or not on it at Michigan and is one of the few tracks where he has not scored a victory; he now sits at 0-22.

Of course, there are more drivers than just Johnson in the field on Sunday. Other drivers  likely to run up front include, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, and Greg Biffle among others. To take Johnson off of his throne atop the standings, the drivers directly behind will need to start out-running the no. 48 car and if history proves true, competitors  have a shot to do so this weekend. The Chase is nearing and summer always seems to fly by, so it’s go-time for all drivers.

Speed. That’s what fans will be talking about all weekend as a lightning fast race is likely with the mixture of the Gen 6 car and the track surface at Michigan. As much as Jimmie Johnson has struggled here in the past, he’ll likely be able to continue his dominance this season and run very well this weekend. It’ll be a battle to control the Motor City until August and whichever driver pulls into victory lane on Sunday will definitely make their manufacturer happy. This win will mean more this weekend since the race is in the car capital of the world and every driver wants to be the one, bringing home the trophy.

Event Schedule

11:30 AM- 1:00 PM EST (Friday) Sprint Cup Series Practice, televised on SPEED

3:35 PM EST (Friday) Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, televised on SPEED

9:30-10:25 AM EST (Saturday) Sprint Cup Series Practice, not televised

12:30-1:30 PM EST (Saturday) Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, televised on SPEED

1:00 PM EST (Sunday) Sprint Cup Series’ Race, the Quicken Loans 400, televised on TNT

Next Race– Toyota-Save Mart 350 at the Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California

Entry List via Jayski.com