Photo – Getty Images By Jason Schultz Race Info Date- Sunday June 24th, 2012 Location- Sonoma, California Start Time- 3:18 PM EST Distance- 110 Laps, 218.9 Miles Broadcast TV- TNT Broadcast Radio- PRN Weather Forecast High 74 F Low 47 F Chance of rain- 0% Sunny Past Race Winners 2011- Kurt Busch 2010- Jimmie Johnson 2009- Kasey Kahne 2008- Kyle Busch 2007- Juan Pablo Montoya Notables yet to win Toyota/Save Mart 350 Brad Keselowski Denny Hamlin Clint Bowyer Greg Biffle Matt Kenseth Kevin Harvick Marcos Ambrose Dale Earnhardt Jr. Carl Edwards News & Notes Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks to win back-to-back races Matt Kenseth looks to keep point’s lead Kurt Busch looks to win second straight Sonoma race Kyle Busch looks to avoid getting a fourth straight DNF (Did Not Finish) Marcos Ambrose looks for first Sonoma win  Road Course Ringers in the field include; Brain Simo, Boris Said and David Mayhew Jason’s Fantasy Racing Picks Group A- Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart Group B- Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya, A.J Allmendinger, Joey Logano Group C- Brian Vickers, Boris Said Event Schedule **Sonoma is in the Pacific Time Zone** Sprint Cup Practice 3:00 PM EST/ 12:00 PM PT Friday on SPEED Sprint Cup Qualifying 6:40 PM EST/ 3:40 PM PT Friday (TV airs qualifying Fri. at 11:00 PM EST on SPEED) Sprint Cup Practice 12:30 PM EST/ 9:30 AM PT Saturday on SPEED Sprint Cup Practice 1:45 PM EST/ 10:45 AM PT Saturday (TV airs practice Sat. at 11:00 PM EST on SPEED)  Sprint Cup Race 3:00 PM EST/ 12:00 PM PT Sunday on TNT Next race- Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky Entry List via Nascar.com CAR DRIVER HOMETOWN MAKE SPONSOR OWNER 1 Jamie McMurray Joplin, MO Chevrolet McDonald’s Felix Sabates 2 Brad Keselowski Rochester Hills, MI Dodge Miller Lite Roger Penske 5 Kasey Kahne Enumclaw, WA Chevrolet Farmers Insurance Linda Hendrick 7 Robby Gordon Orange, CA Dodge MAPEI Robby Gordon 9 Marcos Ambrose Launceston, Tasmania Ford Stanley Richard Petty 10 Tomy Drissi Hollywood, CA Chevrolet Ice Age Continental Drift Tommy Baldwin 11 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Toyota FedEx Ground J D Gibbs 13 Casey Mears Bakersfield, CA Ford GEICO Bob Germain 14 Tony Stewart Rushville, IN Chevrolet Office Depot / Mobil 1 Margaret Haas 15 Clint Bowyer Emporia, KS Toyota 5-hour Energy Rob Kauffman 16 Greg Biffle Vancouver, WA Ford 3M / US Stationary Jack Roush 17 Matt Kenseth Cambridge, WI Ford Ford EcoBoost John Henry 18 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV Toyota M&M’s Joe Gibbs 20 Joey Logano Middletown, CT Toyota The Home Depot Joe Gibbs 22 AJ Allmendinger Los Gatos, CA Dodge Shell / Pennzoil Walter Czarnecki 24 Jeff Gordon Pittsboro, IN Chevrolet Drive to End Hunger Rick Hendrick 26 Josh Wise* Riverside, CA Ford MDS Transport Jerry Freeze 27 Paul Menard Eau Claire, WI Chevrolet Menards / Moen Richard Childress 29 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Chevrolet Rheem Richard Childress 30 Brian Simo Carlsbad, CA Toyota TRG Motorsports Kevin Buckler 31 Jeff Burton South Boston, VA Chevrolet Wheaties Richard Childress 32 Boris Said Carlsbad, CA Ford HendrickCars.com Jack Roush 33 Stephen Leicht* Asheville, NC Chevrolet Little Joes A utos.com Richard Childress 34 David Ragan Unadilla, GA Ford Green 1 High Performance Green Bob Jenkins 36 Dave Blaney Hartford, OH Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing Allan Heinke 38 David Gilliland Riverside, CA Ford 1-800LoanMart Brad Jenkins 39 Ryan Newman South Bend, IN Chevrolet Quicken Loans / Childrens Tumor Foundation Tony Stewart 42 Juan Montoya Bogota, Colombia Chevrolet Target Chip Ganassi 43 Aric Almirola Tampa, FL Ford Medallion Financial Richard Petty 47 Bobby Labonte Corpus Christi, TX Toyota Clorox Tad Geschickter 48 Jimmie Johnson El Cajon, CA Chevrolet Lowe’s Jeff Gordon 51 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Chevrolet Phoenix Construction Services James Finch 55 Brian Vickers Thomasville, NC Toyota RK Motors Bill Jenkins 56 Martin Truex Jr. Mayetta, NJ Toyota NAPA Auto Parts Michael Waltrip 78 Regan Smith Cato, NY Chevrolet Furniture Row / Farm American Barney Visser 83 Landon Cassill Cedar Rapids, IA Toyota Burger King Thomas Ueberall 87 Joe Nemechek Lakeland, FL Toyota AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Andrea Nemechek 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kannapolis, NC Chevrolet Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard Rick Hendrick 93 Travis Kvapil Janesville, WI Toyota Burger King Thomas Ueberall 98 David Mayhew Atascadero, CA Ford Phil Parsons Racing Mike Curb 99 Carl Edwards Columbia, MO Ford Aflac Jack Roush 119 Mike Bliss Milwaukie, OR Toyota Humphrey Smith Racing Randy Humphrey 195 Scott Speed Manteca, CA Ford Leavine Family Racing Bob Leavine 249 J.J. Yeley Phoenix, AZ Toyota America Israel Racing / JPO Absorbents Jay Robinson

By Michelle Lesener


Michigan International Speedway has become a yearly – sometimes twice yearly -trip for me. I go up just for the day to see the Cup race and come home the same day. It makes for a long day as MIS is about a three hour drive from where I live and in a different time zone. 


This past weekend was no different. My friend David and I left town a little after 4am central time and we arrived at the track and parked by about 8:30am eastern time. 


All the exhibits and haulers were open as we made our way into the fan plaza. 


Bob Pockrass hosted a tweetup at 9:30am, with appearances by Brad Keselowski, TJ Majors, former Miss Sprint Cup Monica Polumbo, and track president Roger Curtis among others. This group was the largest I had seen at MIS and rivaled some of the tweetups I’ve attended at other tracks, including the one at Charlotte two years ago at the All-Star race. 


Mingling and talking with some friends who I only get to see at races, there was a chance for me to chat briefly with the host. Bob and I had a short conversation, which entailed him asking me whether or not I was sitting close enough to the track to get rubber on myself. This question has been a common one from him every time I see him. I looked at him and then at my ticket before sharing how close my seat was to the track. 


After the tweetup, the next stop was over to the Farmers Insurance exhibit where Kasey Kahne was scheduled to make an appearance at 10:30am. While waiting for Kasey to arrive, the rain started to fall lightly. By the time, Kasey’s appearance was done, the rain was falling slowly but steadily. We decided to head up to the track and wait out the rain under the grandstands. The rain stopped briefly and we thought that it was over as we ventured back out to the exhibits, knowing we still had a little time to kill. 


While out at the exhibits, the rain returned with a vengeance, so we again took cover as best we could under the Farmers Insurance exhibit while waiting for the rain to slow down. Once it had slowed enough, it was time to make a run for it back to the track for the shelter of the grandstands once more. 


We found a spot under the stands comfortable enough to sit. So I texted a friend that was watching the race at home to find out what was being said on tv about the weather and what the radar was looking like. As we sat and waited out the rain, it reminded me of several times on a Cup race day where I have found myself taking shelter under the grandstands. 

Tony Stewart & Jeff Gordon with Fans at MIS Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

As soon as the sound of the jet dryers was heard, there was an eruption of cheers and applause from everyone under the grandstands. We headed out to the plaza one last time where many people chose to kill a little time waiting for the track to dry, hauler shopping one last time before the start of the race. After finishing up at the haulers, we headed back in and to our seats. 


We stood as the invocation was given, then the Canadian and American National Anthems were sung along with fireworks and the traditional flyover before settling in to watch the race. Before the green dropped, I knew we were going to be in for a very interesting race with the repave, a green track due to the rain, and a different tire combination than what they had tested on, practiced part of the weekend on, and qualified on. 


The early part of the race was just as crazy as I thought it would be. Early in the race, under one of the first cautions, when one of the safety trucks drove by, I overheard someone in my section yell out “Stay away from Montoya”. 


When Josh Wise’s engine expired, he dropped oil in front of where we were sitting so not only did we end up with rubber on us during the race, but we also got some speedy dry on us as well. 


People in my section were very vocal and cheering when both of the Busch brothers had their separate issues during the races. 


I was very disappointed and upset when Kasey got caught up in the wreck with Joey Logano and David Gilliland. He had been working his way back to the front after falling back early in the race. He went to the garage and I didn’t know if he was going to get back out or not. His team worked hard and got the car back out to run some laps before the race was over. 


When the checkers flew, my friend Jamie, who was also at the track with her husband, was elated and I was very happy for Jr. It had been 4 years since his last win and this was the track he last won at so it was very cool to see.


See Michelle’s Fan at the Track photos for this weekend. 

One of our Fan4Racing writers was at Michigan International Speedway for the Quicken Loans 400 on June 17, 2012.


Michelle usually makes Michigan at least one stop during her NASCAR race season and she is sharing her race day story and photos here.  


As you will see Kasey Kahne is Michelle’s favorite driver and Michelle is a seasoned TweetUpper.


Enjoy!

Photo – Hendrick Motorsports

By Fan4Racing


Dale Jr and The Dew Crew Rises in a sentimental win at Michigan on Father’s Day.


Marking the four-year anniversary of his last win at Michigan International Speedway – June 15, 2008 – Dale Jr. and the Dew Crew rose through the field, bringing fans to their feet as he finished first on Sunday, June 17, 2012.


Driving the Dark Knight Rises, Batman-themed No. 88, Earnhardt’s win breaks the 143 race win-less streak as his second win for team owner Rick Hendrick and his 19th career win in the Sprint Cup series. 


“It’s pretty amazing,” Earnhardt said. “The last 15 laps were the longest laps ever. It’s great to do it for my fans. They stuck behind me for all these years. I know exactly what they’ve been thinking about and how long they’ve wanted to get back to Victory Lane. This is for them. Thanks to them for their support.”


After a two-hour rain delay, Dale Jr led the most laps – 95 of 200 – and was followed by Stewart to the finished line.  The remaining top-ten drivers were, points leader, Matt Kenseth in third, Greg Biffle, fourth, teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finishing fifth and sixth respectively, followed by Clint Bowyer in seventh, Juan Pablo Montoya in eighth, pole-sitter Marcos Ambrose ninth and Kevin Harvick tenth. The remaining race results and point standings from Jayski’s tell the rest of the race story at Michigan International Speedway for the day. 


Teammate Kasey Kahne started out well from the second row, but was dealing with a loose race car for a good part of the race. Later he was caught up in a multi-car wreck when Joey Logano got loose on the backstretch and both cars had enough damage sending them to the garage for repairs. Kahne later returned to the track with around 40 laps remaining in the race and finished a disappointing 33rd-place. Logano finished the race in the 35th-position.


Although Rick Hendrick watched the race from home, he expressed his confidence in Dale Jr and the Dew crew in a post-race interview. 


“Dale is just – he’s just switched on,” Hendrick said about Earnhardt. “He’s got the confidence, Stevie has got the touch and every week they’re the best by far. I think he’s sitting in the cat bird seat to win his first championship.”


And so with Earnhardt’s win-less streak broken, more questions come to the surface. Is this Dale Jr’s first of perhaps more wins toward a championship?  Will the Dew Crew continue to Rise?