2001 Kmart 400

the nation's fastest family of networks welcomes you to Brooklyn Michigan where today the population is increased six-fold 160,000 plus here to watch NASCAR Winston Cup racing 400 miles today at Michigan the late Dale Earnhardt had two victories here on this two-mile d-shaped super speedway and yesterday his oldest son kerry broke through to Victory Lane at Michigan winning the ARCA Remax 200 mile race Kerry's younger brother Dale juniors also seen success here he's awaiting the start with Matt Yocum my 2001 has been a very productive season for Dale Earnhardt incorporated three wins with three different teams the only driver is still missing from Victory Lane from the Dei stable is Dale Earnhardt jr. but he does have one Busch victory at Michigan to its credit and pulling a number of teams in the garage early this morning they all point to driver aid as having one of the top three cars to beat jr. how do you rate your chances got any car like we had yesterday we should whoop some ass today just depends Jeff Gordon ran good in practice yesterday too so we got to race him and a bunch of other guys too plus we got hot Shona Robison in the race so we might all get distracted there so we'll see how it goes he hopes to let the domination commence in the seventh starting spot Steve Byrnes well Matt Ricky Craven has been struggling for three years to get a once promising career back on the fast track great run at Dover last week Ricky today you start fifth can you feel a win here at Michigan you know it's funny you say that a year ago today I'm sitting on Moosehead Lake in Maine floating around and I got this wonderful opportunity to drive the tide forward and in 13 short weeks this team has really come together and I want to pick up where we left off last week because last week we gave ourselves a chance to win and I think qualifying like we did this week we gave ourselves another chance good luck Ricky Craven to Speedway Illustrated's dick Berggren as Shauna Robinson walked to her car moments ago other drivers and crew members reached out to shake her hand and wish her good luck when she was introduced to the crowd they roared the our approval Seana everybody's with you how you going to run your race smart patient I don't have anything to prove out here except I need to finish this race and learn so that I can be out here next year full-time and my goal today is just to be smart and not finish this race Godspeed Mike joy 42 men and one woman are strapped inside the 43 fastest of 48 cars that came to attempt to qualify for this 400 mile race on a track that dates to 1969 Muhammad Ali on the honorary grand marshals as we go trackside for today's opening ceremonies this would you please rise to your feet and remove your caps for the invocation from motor racing outreach here is chaplain Lonnie Krauss would you pray with me please father God we thank you for this beautiful day that you've given us to race here at Michigan thank you for the sport of NASCAR and the opportunities that is it allows us God we ask today that your hand of protection would be on every man and Seana as we race this race today will give you the thanks for it all man and a please remain standing for our national anthem here from Monroe Michigan is sharee whose recent demo was nominated for outstanding country music recording of the Year by the Motor City Music Foundation for the Detroit Music Awards mm Sheree o Canada our home and native and true patriot love in all that song command with glowing hearts we see thee rise the True North strong and free from far and wide o Canada we stand on guard for thee God keep our land glorious and free o Canada we stand on guard for thee o Canada we stand on guard oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight all the way we watched were so gallantly streaming I gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star-spangled yeah Oh Oh Gary favor Bahama dolly it took turn away or the command driver darkseer ages 107 fighter squadron Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Schmidt leading the flyby today Jeff Gordon tries to close in on the Winston Cup point standing in search of his fourth championship Dale Jarrett tries to protect that 50 point lead still nursing torn rib muscles from a Charlotte qualifying crash and Bill Elliott who saw great Fame and NASCAR with the number nine returns to Michigan for the first time in many years in a car bearing that number hi everyone welcome to Michigan International Speedway Mike joy with Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip hard to believe in 1968 they opened this track with 26,000 seats and now seats nearly a hundred and forty thousand folks plus a full infield all here to see Winston Cup racing but Darrell from one particular seat the driver's seat this place hasn't been that friendly well the thing about it is this place is aggravating I mean it's an easy track to drive it's big it's very forgiving and go high you can go low that's your problem draft because you pass a guy through the cornea go down under me passing me think you got him cleared beaten all of a sudden you're looking married he's drafting back up on you he passes you back you don't see that all day long just boxing for boxing for high low high low draft up you can't get away from anybody here and it worries you to death but it's aggravating from a crew chiefs standpoint because why it's 200 laps that sounds like a long time but if your car is not right you just don't get very many opportunities to adjust that race car known for long grain runs strategy I promise you before the day is out we're going to be talking about strategy why because it always seems like it comes down to fuel mileage and D you got to start thinking about it from lap one you got it we're set to go racing here in the Kmart 400 at Michigan International Speedway you're watching NASCAR on FX forty three cars have rolled from the starting grid here at Michigan International Speedway to start this 400 mile race race 14 Winston Cup Series for the year 2001 happy to be with you today on FX I had a brief shower very early this morning but kind of cloudy overcast skies right now changes track conditions considerably as we talked about all the time we will be watching the weather all day long so let's have a look at today's Castrol GTX starting grid Jeff Gordon with his third full in 2001 his third Michigan poll in Ricky Rudd in his second year last summer Mike Skinner best qualifying effort of hole one as is dave blaney peyote IDE is looking pretty good there guys Bill Elliott starting six seven Michigan wins here the most of any active driver in the field jr. had a third-place finish last week and Harvick eight picked over whoa ins bro Kentucky boy there did pretty well here last year till he blew up Ryan Newman the pole sitter Charlotte made his first stop car start last Jean here in Arkham venture there you know our man he's had some good finishes here the last few a few times they been here look for him to run good today Steve Park 17 points skirted scored his third runner-up finish at Dover last week hey I got my money on the two-car today boys Mark Martin he just keeps climbing toward the top Kenan points really likes Myshkin for wins here Dale Jarrett ten top tens in his last 10 starts at Kyle Petty in his 40th Michigan race and Hut Stricklin there with the leaf Lopes is his crew chief our consultant do a pretty good job these days Bobby Labonte the reigning champion he's won here three times third both races here in 2000 Brett Bodine was among the 10 fastest in yesterday's happy hour Todd Bodine he's won two Busch races here Matt Kenseth driving the car the one Charlotte last year and Shana Robinson first woman since 89 to racing went Annika tow girl Casey OTT was a rookie Cup racer at Michigan ken Schrader his 34th race here Daytona 500 winner and he needs to get back on this dick my brother Michael there's old Tony Stewart watch for him to come from way back he's done it before Elliott Sadler for the Wood Brothers who have 11 wins here Texas Terry Labonte starting deep in the field but making his 45th Michigan start Robert Pressley had his best finish of last season right here last year fifth place and going home Kenny and Mike Wallace Rick mast rookie Andy Houston and Stacey Compton make the field 200 laps 400 miles and Larry if it goes all green like it did in 89 3 very carefully planned pit stop I promise you if we're going to look at 43 cars over $3,000,000 but here's the key number guys 50 laps we want to do this race in three pit stops empty 100 lap 150 50 50 50 and you can come home a winner but the old driver he's got to take care of that he's got to be easy on that cooperator let's have a look at what's the cup waste antics coming into this race Dale Jarrett nursing a 50 point lead Jeff Gordon took a big bite out of that last week at Dover with his dominating win Jarrett playing hurt thorn ribcage muscles from a Charlotte qualifying crash Tony Stewart's moved up to fourth Johnny Benson back slid to eighth and there's your point leader and this is a part of the race all right this is when you really get excited you're coming down and get one to go your crew Chi's talking to you check your gauges check your belts let's move the tires around little bit get a little get them cleaned up we're going to go green next time bye and buddy your hearts of thumping and he's walking around he's talking to each one of those guys that goes over that walls saying look every pit stop today green flag stop no mistakes every stops going to be critical it seems to like this is a spotters track because there's no one fast group here your spotters really got to help you find what the fast line is at that moment and what you do as a driver you look around who you're starting around tickle if you're on the outside and you say talk to the two car talk to whoever's on the inside of me ask them to cut me a little slack on the start here Ray Evernham among the spotters today and I don't know how many times you hear the spotter say all right clear coming back to you back to you outside he's on you outside clear that back to you that is the aggravation factor and it's very high here when Bill Elliott first came here it was in a Ford owned by his father himself and his two brothers little one-horse race team little Dawsonville Georgia and you see that Melling on his collar a bunch of Michigan businessmen adopted him and the next year one of them Harry Melling took on the sponsorship of his team and later bought it from the Ellen Elliot's and they all achieve great things well mark bellied Harry's son continues to own the family race team but when they came to Dodge allowed Phil Elliott to recapture the number he made famous with the melling's number nine and the other team that he got the number from is 9 - its number 9 - yeah 92 - and did I tell you how they got to 3200 that's a story okay we'll all right guys all right here we go Pontiac safety car makes a hard left turn to pit road and over a hundred sixty thousand fans on their feet awaiting the start of 400 miles of racing next time we get back here we'll be over 200 miles an hour at first light green flag and they're all looking good already three-wide is a hand down in the corner one car Skinner right down on the flat almost he tried to take it right under Jeff Gordon and almost made it work Raven trying through the middle Kraven getting were real loose when he got back to squat low yeah I got it gets crowd to go very to get to pushing up in the back end will jump out early laughter real treacherous here Harvick looking on the inside not going to take it three wide into turn three yes he is they will all oh my god look at the battle for the lead here Ricky rotten at 28 Karla tastico finals to leave this first lap puts Gordon behind him I can't look at any better battling all this is a great start well and I promise you we'll hear full lot a lot a lot today and somebody has got to give when they get right there somebody got to give Earnhardt jr. down on the bottom racing Craven there for fifth and Elliott well you got an awesome car when you can make it work around the bottom now you know why there's hundred sixty thousand people here oh yeah I'd like to back it up and do it all over again that was fun and we've seen it all year long a little bit harder tire better race and I guarantee these guys will be three wide through the corner won't say nothing about it today Gordon wants to lead lap - no way Sue's Ricky Rudd and therefore wide in the back with Bobby Labonte on the bottom goodness will stand silent for lap three a silent lap three to honor the memory of seven-time wins the cup champ Dale Earnhardt if Jeff Gordon takes the lead it's so soft all's points all imported five points this championship Mike one of the things is the driver you always you just pray that the car is good on the start because you're in all that traffic and you don't want your car to be loose or pushing real badly when you start this race so you can make some good news and stay out of trouble in one reason do you always want to lead laps but getting that crosshair next clean there get that fresh air on that front end pushing down always the best place to be when you're back in there racing people you come up off the corner and all of a sudden you got a lift a little bit and you can lose as many as ten spots as tight as the pack is right now big battle right here at 17 Kurt Busch trying to slide up behind Rusty Wallace that's Jeff green on the left of our screen the Busch champion racing for Richard Childress in the number 30 doesn't take long to sort them out but boy it's exciting for a few laps there while they're all bunched up battle for third dave blaney best qualifying effort in the bill davis car as he battles Mike Skinner look at Dave Blaney in the 93 car spun out in practice yesterday didn't hit anything Dale Earnhardt jr. lost a motor about halfway through the final practice spent most of that practice in the garage here in the Skinner real close together in that 31 car but had to put their race motor in without running it at all yesterday I bet if you ask please I'm bad I did that yesterday and not today because I'm starting up front that could be big trouble lady you let a lot and coulda woulda shoulda won back at what Atlanta totally out season yeah I'm sure he's still kicking himself about that that's one that got away to no question about that and a hello to his Carter Bill Davis who's been released from the hospital and back in the highpoint recuperating Thomas will render a mic just to show you how fast the front cars get away from the guys the back here comes Gordon these guys down to the line now they're going to go across the line now and the last car is up in the middle of three and four that's how quickly they get sorted out here in about five laps six laps but all it takes a little side-by-side racing they get lined up they'll catch right back that ran back up we've completed six laps shuttle Robinson showing patience try to pack some early laps here I like what she's doing she fell back a little bit got herself in a position where there's nobody in front of her or behind her and just get some laps he needs let's see I'm the first woman to race in Winston Cup since Patti moiez in 1989 Shawna Robinson who hopes to run for Rookie of the Year next year we've completed seven laps at Michigan International Speedway Jimmy Spencer coming off turn 2 is brought out the first caution of the day it comes working lap 12 it's got a little damage to the nose of the car where he came down off the banking I can't tell but I believe he hit the right side of that car the left rear but you're going to excuse to me this is coming off turn to these blow Jeff Burton in the 99 car this when you get real loose right here up off the corner the back end steps out click the outside retaining wall did a really good job of not having any further damage but I think he's hurt that car more than it may appear he right here trying to make the pass on Burton I'll turn to the outside cars just pulling that one it's pulling Spencer around that's it take so much air off of the back of that car when there's somebody right outside of you like that get that loose off too very luck oh yeah Spencer was in 12th place I had a great run here you know he's been running good at this racetrack there you see the brush with the wall yoga in Wayne Jenks having a tough time getting that jack onto the left side of the car for flat spot and tires for Jimmy Spencer and he's down and away couple more pit stops Mike Skinner is coming in Bill Elliott Kevin Harvick not all the leaders coming in though what we're seeing here though cars that their cars were not right they know this is a good opportunity to get pit road and adjusted Plus if you couldn't run 50 laps on fuel good chance to get right on that car maybe now you can do it on three stops dick Berggren Mike Skinner is a little bit loose on the way in a little bit tight on the way out he had a great qualifying run for this race car this team bad needs a win and they're trying so very desperately hard a two-tire change for Skinner's he begin Lizabeth for speed through the quarters with that there's also cover a spring rubber laying on the racetrack they changed that dick Jeremy Mayfield just came down pit road they had a little bit of a problem on that left front he said the car was free going in tight coming off they made an adjustment with wind on the 12 car of Jeremy Mayfield a loose tire unfortunately unlike last week on Dover's narrow pit road it finds its way to a halt without anybody hitting it but whoever's tired is they're going to have to come in for a stop-and-go penalty they're going to make this restart at the back of the field at today's aerial coverage being provided by the monster.com flip well here on FX monster.com was a proud sponsor of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and the 2002 US Olympic team we are currently under caution getting set to go green let's go back upstairs to Mike joy and the guys in the booth well the first 10 cars in your picture did not pit under this first caution flag of the day at lap 12 it's a quick one we'll begin lap 15 under green Jeff Gordon leading Ricky Rudd single-file restart Jimmy Spencer did stay on the lead lap even after that spin a net swelled laps if he's got back here in the back had picked up on those lead cars could be big if this thing goes green and they got to pit up under the green to make a huge difference in the outcome of this race early on the other cars that did not pit Dale Earnhardt jr. Dave Blaney Johnny Benson Ricky Craven Ryan Newman Jeff Burton Rusty Wallace and Robert Pressley did not hit yeah you wouldn't kit necessarily for tires I don't think that's the deal but boy that 12 laps and a little bit of gas I could be big later on or to make adjustments if your call yeah I'm sure that part of it - probably guys are unhappy with their cars here comes junior around the outside of Ricky Rudd for second place for more on Rudd here's Matt before the 48 car riki tires he didn't want to twist that engine too much turn too many rpms I ask Frankie good engine - how many rpms are you turning here he said I need to ask Doug that question I said 9,000 9200 - Steve well Matt Ricky Craven radioed his career achievement said that his car's rotating well it's turning well in the corners but he's searching for a good entry cars just a little bit loose on entry they're already talking about adjusting air pressure they may add half a pound to the right rear when they do in fact been Ryan Newman in the zero to the 3rd Penske car restarted seventh he's on right with Ricky Craven and he's part of this battle for third place and he started racing 12th remember he was one of the cars that did not pit he was not even really scheduled to run this race they came up here tested with an ARCA car they were going to run the ARCA race perform so well at Charlotte they sit on the back run this race we got our deitrick haddon AC they take the car and Kurt Busch Busch got into loan 18 car got turned around and Jarrett said it or he's just running very very slow after avoiding it but Dale Jarrett was very slow down the back straightaway and lost about eight positions as now the field comes around to the caution flag for the second time today Jarrett could it could have punted he 18 in the rear I don't know the 18 got turned around when he slowed down back there but I'm seeing damage on the 88 car so I think I don't know they 18 car get spun around by somebody well Darrell with the condition of Dale Jarrett's rib cage he might have just been been very very careful trying to avoid everything I think we'll see Billy get into the outside wall here coming off a corner there he goes kind of almost the same thing to happen to Spencer while ago overreach but he overcorrected and shot it right back out into the wall lots of damage and then behind him I think people are checking up and here comes the 18 car gets turned down through here he and Jarrett were both way down on the flat Darrell see if this is a better now watch the right side of your screen about a parent let's watch on board for Bill Elliott there's Jaron derecho Jarrett Labonte oh man if they got paid right back there that's saving the body turn does that Jarrett having a look at the replays yeah on the horn to Dale cars fine I think I'm probably oh come to pit lane and get some tires though because he was way down into loose stuff here you go here's a great look right here here's Labonte comes off the corner I believe I think he got on the brakes the car got a little loose with him and I don't think they'll ever hit him but I think Bobby started to go around wow what a save well that paved area right there that is a beautiful thing I wish all the racetracks were that way if your car is a little loose and you do jump on the brakes real hard it'll make it even looser make it spin just like Bobby did there did a good job of saving that bad boy though Kurt Busch walks away okay after a spin and then turned back into the wall exiting turn - OH FX welcomes you back live to Michigan International Speedway on Friday be with us for qualifying on Fox Sports Net as we get you ready from Pocono that's 2:30 Eastern 11:30 Pacific and then on Saturday the ARCA race on Fox Sports Net followed by the final practice for the Winston Cup cars on FX and then Saturday in the Busch Series 7:30 Eastern 4:30 Pacific from Kentucky and Sunday NASCAR this morning and then on Fox the Winston Cup race from the Poconos Jeremy Mayfield you're defending champ wrapped up with NASCAR Victory Lane we're currently under caution and you know Jeff Hammond already speeds of 208 miles an hour and we've seen a couple of a traffic mishaps is that because of the speeds the cooler conditions on the track Chris I really believe the cooler conditions are kind of helping that because we're running a harder cut tire than normal here and after restart just like we saw a second ago I really feel like that contribute to it you're looking at a situation where a rookie crook version went down in that corner I believe you had air pressure not quite build up harder tire cooler conditions and all I said it does get away from here at Michigan a lot of times you need to start the race with the car a little bit freer because normally the track does tighten up so if you kind of got a loose condition harder tire low air hey spin around Marley's right out of turn two and then this is a little bit of the aftermath Dale Jarrett and Bobby Vonnie yeah you see right here it looks like bobby may got a little bit loose got on the brakes right there Jarrett being right behind him a took a little more air force pull off his spoilers plus maybe some debris on those tires cool tires harder tires again can all help you get on TJ already we talked about the muscle the terror in the rib area this is his on board what he saw going through that with bobby labonte as he goes down before he backs on the DC Bob he's loaded ladies right there and just barely his five for her fortune knocking fountain any worse than what he did what what does this tell us about what we're going to see is we going to look into Bobby Labonte trying to repair it what a rough year it's been for the Winston Cup avoidance champion of a year ago we'll talk more about the strategy how this sets the tone for today's race let's go down to dick Berggren well Bobby Labonte has already made two pit stops and he's planning to make a third when the problem is the front valence on the car it's all pushed up and they've been trying with the pliers and hammers and whatever else they can come up with to get that valence up this is such a high speed racetrack aerodynamics is really important let's go to Chris all right thank you very much is we going to look at Bobby Labonte under our second caution Jeff Gordon currently your leader Kurt Busch having some problems we'll be back from Michigan in a moment welcome back everybody look here's a crossover gate right here that's where cars have been coming across the racetrack all morning long in and out of the racetrack and I believe that that's the culprit for these last two spins what's Jimmy Spencer down there he's not quite to the gate but the cars start crossing over and just before they opening of the gate now watch Busch here he comes he's up out of there and he gets a lot harder impact he's got a lot more angle when he goes into the outside retaining wall we're getting ready to go green guys green green green 21 laps complete 22 as they come to the line Jeff Gordon still leaves he has yet to make a pit stop and now he's got the Dale Earnhardt jr. on his bumper fill a single-file restart Kevin Harvick in at 29 Goodrich car he's one of the cars that pitted while ago got two right-side tires Jeff Gordon has led 20 laps of the Kmart 400 no there was until the air still there by nose clear clear he was one of the fastest cars gentle day and happy hour and hit shake that thing back and forth he's trying that's what I'm telling you about that draught he's trying to shake him out the draught he knows he's quicker through the corner he doesn't want Gordon to draft back up on him look at much distance he put way back to the throttle for Gordon down in three and four but yeah he's trying to dirty the air up behind him where Gordon can't suck everybody go to bottom and Gordon's trying to stay with him so he can draft back up to him Johnny Benson coming for third on the inside against Ricky Rudd he's been coming in coming started back in the 10th position he's going to take the third spot from Ricky Rudd down to dick Berggren well early on in the patients give Gordon told his crew he could hear him fine on the front stretch but he could not hear them on the back stretch complained again about that under race conditions so the crew has just adjusted the antenna raised it up so Gordon can hear him on the backstretch Oh got trouble over in turn four three Deborah Hussey Yala the wall Rusty Wallace way up in the loose stuff and cautions out he lets the field crew because he's going to want pit road oh yeah he's all get down to get to the pit he knocked her out in thing third caution of the day comes working lap 25 I believe cool temperatures overcast conditions and these tires may be a little harder than these guys are accustomed to is caused a lot of these problems a lot of damage to the right front corner of watch kashikar in direct dive down I talked to the spotter Earl Barban about where the caution car is so Wallace could get out without losing a lap oh he gets he gets hooked by the 66 car watch from Wallace's on board now that he got you got seen the damage on the left front Billy will burn the front tire changer is called for the sawzall so they can try to cut away some of the damaged front fender you can see the hood is pushed up rusty shut the engine off it can't believe the bad luck they are seeing here today three quick cautions lap 12 Jimmy Spencer lap 16 Kurt Busch and now lap 25 Rusty Wallace there you see little damage to the nose of Todd Bodines car as Wallace came across his bow yeah he leaders her own pit road but Gordon stays out there learn Hart jr. Nate car but Johnny Benson Jeff Gordon stay out Jeff Burton in the 99 24 laps into this run ten of those have been caution flags but most of the leaders on pit road I think he just doesn't want to get back in all that traffic there's a lot of heavy racing going on right now he wants to stay up here in clean air and out of trouble dick Berggren al Dale Earnhardt jr. is going to come in and get himself a bunch of fresh tires on that car get himself a load of fuel Tony Eury jr. on the front tires Jeff Clark Shawna Robinson's husband he's the guy on the jack always on the jack one of the best at four-tire change right in front of Mike Skinner's just parties are big why this juniors got no problem he's out of here to back Ricky Rudd has already left his pit stall for tires and fuel he said the car was coming to him the longer he progressing the run so Gordon Benson and Burton stay on the racetrack even though caution laps equal like to green flag laps so that was like 10 caution laps equal 20 we're halfway through a fuel run that's uh that's a little if he stayed out there I'm not I'm surprised by that move now also Jeff Green stayed on the racetrack but he was in the pits at lap 16 chose not to come back yet in that AOL number 30 car so the strategies they are very diverse here in the early going at Michigan International Speedway 25 200 laps complete this is NASCAR fun events hey batter batter swing come on strike two another swaggin of this that's what you get from racing instead of Little League oh hey man you just stick and ball guy tell me what I'm doing wrong looks like you're swinging right you got the right equipment but those shoes I think it's the shoes that doesn't look right my shoes with all my shoes we eventually got in cleats and you should have seen them hitting next week on Fox saturday baseball presented by RadioShack the Yankees go across town to take on the Mets and a rematch in last season's Subway Series our Jason Giambi and the A's battle the Giants for the bay or other regional action it all begins with this week in baseball next Saturday 12:30 Eastern and Pacific check local listings for the game and start time in your area and watch the entire baseball season unfold across the Fox Network now to get back to racing here in Michigan let's check in with Steve Byrnes thanks Chris Kurt Busch just out of the infield care center assess the damage to his race car Carter you okay what are you gonna do from here things are fine it's just tough to go out two weeks in a row row early like this and now this was a new type of car and new types of cars need new types of decisions on what to change during the race felt something early on and we made the wrong decision on that pit stop as far as adjustments and that's what got us in trouble like okay Kurt let's go to dick put more than a bit of a surprise that Jeff Gordon didn't take that opportunity to pit he had been saying on the radio that the car was a bit tight I asked Robby Loomis if he could explain himself he didn't want to which leads me to conclude these guys are probably up to some treachery to Matt well dick Steve Park pitted earlier on the second caution took on two tires and made a track bar adjustment he was loose this time Healy took a gassing go for track position also the 93 car no adjustments that came in well if Daryl and I weren't in Kentucky next Saturday we'd be at the stadium for the Yankees Mets game hi to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver you know they cranked it up last week on Fox saturday baseball oh they did I better break it up at the fans loved it wait a minute if they cranked it up how about a let's crank it up on this restart how about that all right strap UTV's down let's crank it up one time you Johnny Benson chasing Jeff Gordon for the lead as they come around and complete 29 lat and here we go three wide again there's Spencer back in there you know after he spun looks like he's gonna be alright Benson keeps working at it on the bottom rat on the bottom all the way off the corner when you can do that and still keep your momentum you've got a strong race ball got to believe that that 10 car why don't we say every week but he has lead he's got a win laid up here somewhere pretty soon he see Gordon on the high side about two lanes higher than Benson keeps that momentum right there he's still going to lead this lap that's two hendrik powerplants racing against each other like they're they just happy in two different body style in Santiago in Monte Carlo rick hendrick seeking his 100th win as a Winston Cup team owner today Jeff Orton scored number 99 for Hendrick Motorsports October these two cars now Johnny Benson under 10 Jeff Gordon in the 24 Jeff Burton in the 99 that's the only three car to have not pitted and from provisional land here comes Tony Stewart it speaking of Rick Hendrick we want to be sure and say hello to Papa Joe today he's in the hospital and you know is this in there a few weeks ago he needs our prayers right now we need to pull him out of there so get well soon Papa here is Stewart's progression after taking a provisional starting position he had engine trouble in qualifying on Friday knew it was just a matter of time before he was up toward the front he's moved from 18th to 4th and the points in the last seven races that is quite a March anyone here a year ago this is 128 way back and this is a brand new race car but they did the Goodyear Tire test here a few weeks ago ran over 250 laps and race conditions in 11th place bill Elliot try to move underneath and up that's were curtain just ahead talk to Ray Evernham he said Bill was pretty good he didn't know how he would fare in the race but he wasn't over optimistic that he had win this race he said he thought he was pretty good and there goes Jarrett right mind Dale Jarrett at UPS car all the way from the top of the racetrack to the bottom before they got to turn one he's got past both these guys Kenseth in the 17 Elliott in the 9 before you get a run like yet you get some momentum up those other guys we have Justine bit coming off the corner and you can go right on back he looked like Ronnie Bouchard at Talladega on the last half boom to the bottom and by yeah where'd he come from right Rusty Wallace has made repairs at the only car out of the race right now is Kurt Busch and everyone on the track is on the lead lap I think they're taking Rusty's car back into the garage whatever draw was they got to take it in there and work on it some more profit offender on yeah I mean aerodynamics the front end you've got to have the whole front end on the racecar here you're in such fast speeds and NASCAR gonna make you maintain a certain speed to stay out there yeah and then 200 mile an hour you can't you can't maintain 200 mile an hour with no right front fender look at the run Ricky run at Texaco Havoline car if he got a heck of a run off turn to Larry after pit stops he took this last restart way deep in the field but he's come on strong battle for 19th still outside no there go out there no there there now clear that's bio flair for Kevin Harvick's going to get sandwiched here Hamilton on the outside run on the inside got another great run off turn two over there lay right on the bottom down the run on those guys were running side by side you get draft off of them you go right bound when Dale Jarrett led every lap here two years ago the place he was strongest was right there Darrell off turn two and he just blew by on the man Ricky Rudd just a minute to run out so this is the path to run out of racetrack front of Bobby Hamilton in that 55 car but that's what happens here you're turning off the corner your car is moving up and the water comes up and you've got to yank view from the monster.com blimp looking at the competition around turn one and two and into that back straightaway and jr. pokes his nose out underneath Kevin Harvick yeah well jr. in the Ricky brother having a heck of a race here for a little while but rut is proceeded on right down the bottom of the haircut once you clear the color barbecue out there I mean four car links in about disappear if you can run the bottom if you can run the white line around this joint then you've got an awesome car and you're going to make some great tile teammates together Michael Waltrip behind Earnhardt jr. from the Goodwrench or from Harvick from the Goodrich camp and a look back from Michael Waltrip snappa cam that's a red bowtie and right behind Michael brelo down and 11 he was fast in practice yesterday in the final practice so yeah he needs a good run that's 19 20 and 21st right there all run together and a million Newman and John head right into that group he'll run very well Kevin Harvick look at the run he's getting on the bottom and Darrel was seeing cars be able to keep that momentum off the bottom and that's a sign to me that some of them's got some pretty low key it'll carry that momentum off the corner let me start it here you got to be up top I heard him talking about 88 to 90 200 that's incredible amount of rpm for this race the only thing it saves you it's four miles if it's a 500-mile race you wouldn't be doing that but here it's only 400 they lean on pretty hard and it makes a huge difference Blaney and Rudd for 15th place down the back straightaway let's go to Steve in the garage Mike with Rusty Wallace crew heart work on the car rusty tell us what happened I'll tell you what I really don't know what happened I came down to back straightaway cars running great I've run a tenth I think it was and all of a sudden the 60 60th drives right in the back and the interns be sideways into the fence and I don't know what the heck that kid was thinking you know I don't know if he got a good run or what he was doing you know but uh drove up under the fuel cell turn the card sideways in the back straight but went head-on into the wall rusty can you get back in the race here in a points race yeah I am going to point straight that's reason we got one shot to get the thing right yes NASCAR's rule so we're bringing back ether a phrase put on a control arm get the thing where I can run it get some laps but disgust at Rusty Wallace Sterling Marlin running the bottom and that Coors Light number 40 against Jeff Burton pulling past Burton for third place started back in 29th position they came here for this race car untested hadn't been to the wind tunnel with it struggled with it a little bit on qualifying day they've been getting better all weekend long and I don't know what Oh buh da da da down in turn four two laps ago Todd Bodine had slowed coming down the front straightaway as if trying to diagnose a problem now he has one he hit that wall pretty hard looks like caution is on a Speedway and remember he's the one that got in the back of rusty rusty was just talking about Todd Bodine caution at lap 39 Johnny Benson to lead Jeff Gordon back to the flag no driver has yet been lapped on the racetrack so there's no battle back to the caution flag and just to pick up on Sterling Marlin I don't know what the rest of the Dodge teams are doing but I know this cats got it figured out and that needs to be their prototype because he's up there every week who does this caution benefit I know it's three of the top four but remember Johnny Benson in the 10 Jeff Gordon in the 24 and Jeff Burton in the 99 we're at lap 40 they were only about a dozen laps away from how to make a green flag stop exactly and I still have not understood that strategy maybe they know something we don't know caution fell just about right for them see what happens to Todd bow tie on the right side of your screen here he is sorry left side of your screen Oh something happening I think it's uh yeah I think he had a left front tire go down probably that fender where he got into the back of rusty could have rubbed that tire and cut that tire down Darrell I think he got somebody isn't there more damage now than there was when he hit rusty to that left front no I don't perhaps not think there was there's quite a bit of damage to that fender of when he hit rusty caved it in pretty good I believe that tire I believe that fender rubbed that tire and cut it and she went down on I think you're right we're just looking at a different angle here than what we saw previously when it looked like the nose was just just barely smooshed well that's the fourth caution in only 40 laps of this race and makes us look good doesn't it we talked about a caution-free race and strategy and all that stuff and but this race a always has an X oh you've got half way you'll think of caution never will come again that's why these boots have windows so we can take all our plans and notes just throw them right out but you we don't know I always love to say we don't make this stuff up when they drop that green flag we never know what's going to happen to one call we did make I don't everybody's on pit road oh yeah I think you got to come now only car that stayed out was a pace car Johnny Benson leads a mountain road Steve Burns Kenny Schrader's brings the number 36 to pit road first on Mike they only changed two tires this time they're going to change four tires he's a little bit tight from the center off to dick Berggren Johnny Benson is fitting right in front of Jeff Gordon mentioned it momentarily slow car he's got it going again Barton's cars a little bit tight they're going to try to adjust that get him the run lumen venom to the church four-tire stop the 28 car Ricky Rudd is he is down in a way a slight air pressure adjustment his car was a little bit too loose at the beginning of the run log stop for Benson Dale Earnhardt jr. beat everybody off pit road by a mine and the reason he did remember he was on pit road at lap 24 they've only read 13 laps gas and go no no tire tires and that's what's making some of these guys to think there's some two tire deals or some no tire deals that's making them look like they got slow stopped when they do four tires strategy capital S comes into play and it will all day well as they say in Motown the hits just keep on coming four of them so far attention Kmart shoppers we have a caution flag on aisle three this is Jimmy Spencer on turn two having some problems spinning out and then Kurt Busch having some problems on lap 17 in the corridor that's the Federal Way we see Rusty Wallace got together with top boat on it sent him into the wall he's front of ferry then top boat I actually cut down a left funded appeared and got it turn to look at this race here in Michigan there have been three races that have been cautioned free.this not one of them already four cautions within the first 40 laps the record for this particular race on this track is eight cautions is there a logical explanation Jeff no there's not a logical explanation as the guys are saying earlier it's so hard to figure out what's going to happen at a racetrack especially when the weather changes like it has here maybe it has a little bit to do with the tires but maybe has a little bit do about good competition after everybody doesn't want to give any kind of ground today and it does shake up the bit strategy and some of that is going on right now let's head down trackside with dick Berggren Johnny Benson had a longer pit stop than they would have liked this over the wall crew has changed several times during this racing season they are trying to find the right chemistry today it's a new jack man Doug Morgan is on duty for the very first time nobody here is upset about the length of the pit stop however crew chief James inches told everybody get over the wall get organized tires look good to Matt with Nick Mark Martin will restart in the fourth position trying to put that number six car in victory lane for the first time in over a year he says the car was very neutral they did take one round a bite out on that last stop and four tires Steve well Matt interesting strategy on the 36 car of Kenny Schrader his crew chief knew more decided to put on four tires this stop the first op only took two next up they're planning to take to start two tires if there's another stop they're going to go with four so two four two four four the 36 of Kenny Schrader will check of Ryan Newman might have taken two he's up to third place on the board and you know week in week out we said got a car that 10 car for instance is so close to winning a race wonder why they haven't won woman they've run well enough to win it you got to have the whole package I got up a pit stops you got to make them all right you got to make them fast look at Gordon last week dominate the race with had a fourteen five pit stop plus he had the best car you can't beat people unless you can do the same thing do it time after time yeah we can we cap that's how you win let's get back to green here to begin the 45th of 200 laps now as we said Dale jr. took no tires he just come in got a little fuel he was right back out there he thinks he's got a fast enough hot rod I believe he's driven off the lift a lot of these guys by running that low line but mr. Gordon is going to say hello and goodbye maybe you ought to take four tire next time little buddy he got a run off turn two started way back in the middle of one and two that's just grim that's a guy getting back to the throttle quicker and harder and coming right on around now Stirling tried to Jeff Burton on the inside but it's cost him a spot or two he's back there battling now with Dale Jarrett and Schrader when they put tires on these things everything changes for a lap or two you just don't know who you're going to have to race or how close well and we know Sterling's past he was up to third place but look what happens when you get in the wrong spot here they all go drafting right by you it's a lot like called-- a gun or Daytona the draft is so effective Stewart squeezes up next to him battling for eighth place Todd Bodine has come to the garage Steve is with him and he's just out of the care center Todd what happened and are you all right yeah I'm all right cut a left front down before we get into that I got to say congratulations to Ray Bourque and a short the Colorado Avalanche way to go ray yeah we I tell you this is incredible our luck guy we've had a fast car a lot when our luck changes we're going to be right at the front of the pack every week Kmart bluelight special was good we made a lot of changes this morning actually about 12 of them a lot of educated guesses the car was great got all the way to 13 going outside a rusty otter back straightaway and evidently a spotter told him it was clear and I was up on his quarter panel and we got together I hate it for rusty iran's good here rogers track and all but our car was good and had to come in and fix the fender put us in the back i got coming back up through got loose got the car squirrely and i think I hurt the left front tire when I did and it just went flat going in the corner I had no warning started vibrating right as I got there and it was too late I think stop back up to my joint oh man I bet you got back up here it goes boys I'm telling you what these gets are racing hard yes they are well Tony Stewart was up on the outside and they were too wide underneath them and Stewart almost paid the price as Marlon and Benson nearly got together well it's such a chain-reaction thing if you're if you're in the throttle you're going going to often your car breaks loose a little better start to push you got to lift out a little bit and here they all come right around you Darrell I'm going to have to put a new chip in you bouncing off the rev limiter away and I tell you about even 50 laps I picked a bad week to give up prozac that's all these guys are making me nervous Jeff Gordon is opening up a lead it was six tenths of a second on Dale Earnhardt jr. last time by let's check him at the line it's up to eight tenths of a second now for an update on Dale Jarrett here's Matt position that of 14.7 second pit stop for tires in one round out on the 88 car the interesting thing the conversations between Bob Jeffries the spotter for Dale Jarrett and Todd Parrott the crew chief look overturned for it's getting dark and getting darker it's only 2 o'clock so that must mean weathers on the way when watching Mark Martin in that six car though he's been running the bottom of the racetrack let's drift up on a straightaway off turn four right there he's been about two lanes lower than Dale Jarrett in the UPS car my crew chief always told me I can do a lot of things but I can't do nothing about that whether it's gonna have to go mental you spill the owner that's roughly huh third place Jeff Burton battling Benson and here comes Burton there's Mark right down there - so the Roush car is running pretty good today when you're in Detroit close by puts a lot of pressure on these car owners to have a good day because everybody from every Motor Company is here all the executives all the people that planned the budgets got to put on a good show today boys you know it looks easy doesn't it looks like it's a lot of fun guess what those guys are down in that corner and they know that they got to keep that thing on the bottom of the racetrack particular when somebody's along the side of entering the corner over 200 miles an hour Oh three wide 40 you do a moment you put old Mohammad on them you float it down in there like a butterfly and sting like a bee woo if you hit that wall Marlin moves in front of Jarrett that's for seventh place Schrader passes Ryan Newman that's for fifth place it's Gordon Earnhardt jr. a bunch of guys coming so fast I came out here cuz that dodge esterline Marley Jeff Burton's third Mark Martin Kenny Schrader's your top five and Newman Marlon Jarrett Benson and Stuart welcome back to Michigan where the bright orange monster over the track today the monster comm blimp gives you these great views of a d-shaped two-mile Super Speedway and what they're seeing is the weather that moves quickly into the Irish Hills of Michigan off to the west a brief shower early this morning poor weather is on the way we had quite a downpour during last year's race here in June if you recall and that may be why we're seeing the kind of racing we're seeing because these guys are flat after we're 45 laps away from the race being an official race I mean our goal is to be here do we see 200 laps but halfway lat 100 once you complete lap 101 it is an official race Jeff Gordon leading Dale Earnhardt jr. by a second and a half Jeff Burton Kenny Schrader Mark Martin that's the top five out of the race Kurt Busch and Todd Bodine rusty Wallace's car still in the garage and Wallace is going to take a beating in the point standing which we're or rewards consistent finishes at the front there's a look at it with the positions they're in right now Wallace came into this race third in the point standings he could fall to seventh or so it takes one week to lose it it takes two months to get it back the way the Winston Cup point system is when Tony Stewart started off the season in trouble and has taken them a couple of months to get back up there and Gordon is just you know driven away from everybody and that's what's happening that's what can happen here when you get up front and you can get out all that traffic these guys back in here as long as they stay bunched up it's hard to make a move one will pass and the other will pass want to go high want to go low like we said in the opening but the big thing once you get out front you can really cut some good laps Shauna Robinson first woman to drive in Winston Cup since Patti moiez in 1989 and she is running in 14th position but still on the lead lap you know I talked to her this morning and you know I words of encouragement Shauna it don't matter to end of this day if you're five laps down ten laps down or 20 laps down you just need to be running at the end of this race that's the way you're going to get that seat time because you can see you you can't learn anything until you experience a 400 laughs racy or opponent mile race here you've got to know what the tracks going what the car is going to do those are things that will help you the next time you come back your point and you don't learn that if you never tore up you're not going to learn anything it's like coming here first time every time you every time you turn return here it's like the first time Bill Elliott moving underneath Dale Jarrett that's for eleventh place Eliott considered dodges best hope for a win at the start of the season and started off with a pole for the Daytona 500 and you see how Bill could get under dale down here in the corner but Dale got that Highline he gets the momentum up off the corner see bill will draw even with him this hat backwards in horsey saw battle bill might be able to get away from Jarrod if he could ever slide up in front of me but he can't quite get there Ricky Rudd and Brett Bodine moving in on this battle and that's what happens those two cars racing side by side here comes everybody else and the next thing you know you're in a dogfight it's just so good to see Brett bow down in that 11 car having a good run that's Robert Yates engines in that car they lent it all the way to the bottom of the racetrack in that nine car here we go again Darrell I hear how aggravated you sound just like an only imagine how hard it must have been to drive that way well you know how you know you got a faster car and you get him down the straightaway and you think I got him this time and then you're on the bottom and you come off the corner it's a man up I just had another itch or another inch or didn't make it in here yards I was out again and here they are just like Darrell said side-by-side and you okay Quinn I mean Elliot says I came following my faster knee if I can't get around him right now though a car that's faster than both of them is Ricky riding that 28 car but they're side-by-side in front of him he's trying to figure out okay wonder which one's going to get the position here yeah I see what Rick he'll probably do is you use both of them well no he may split up as he go between em bill said you go on you faster than I am and that's about what Neil said but do you see what happens to build he said you going on faster than I am he loses three spots not one fretful and here comes Robert Pressley Chris bill could have looked over and then look back and realizing he was racing both the Robert Yates team cars and that they were going to gang up on him and possibly you know this is a good run for Robert Pressley in that 77 car remember he started dead last but this is the race car that he ran so well with its Charlotte top-five all night long till he got into a crash they repaired it brought in here and he's up there running in the 15th position and he finished fifth here last year is career best there are the biggest movers in the field Kenny Schrader from 33rd so forth Sterling Marlin Tony Stewart Presley man I don't know last Raider was running fourth okay that's about as good as he is run in quite some time you know some of those games were through having a good race car someone went through strategy hey forget what I said about these team cars working together because well like I said possibly possibly not rut battling Jarrett that's now for 11th place Jeff Green just in front of them the difference in the team cars more likely journalist Ruud slide up in front of him and continue on where he didn't do that with Bill Elliott third-place battle Schrader after Jeff Burt maybe got a pretty good Oh hot rod today dummy Steve make sure dusty done you know his best finish this year is an eighth in Atlanta this is the very same race car now they wanted to test here at Michigan in April but the test got snowed out I got rained out in Chicago this week I'm going to go over help confident those guys no and we got rained out and get to run and here comes Benson into play Kenny Schrader's teammate in that 10 car first and second Gordon Earnhardt jr. and a gap of four seconds from Jeff Gordon the leader back to that third place battle Jeff Gordon trying to dominate as he did last week at Dover so far Gordon has led 45 of the 63 laps we've completed in the Kmart 400 welcome back to Michigan International Speedway Mike joy with Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds we're 66 laps have been completed of the 200 Jeff Gordon the second and a half out in front of Earnhardt jr. and then this whale of a battle for third place Benson Marlin Schrader and Burt looking back from Johnny Benson at Sterling Marlin who's trying to take away that third position we're on our longest green run now that we've had this entire race zooming in on 23 straight green flag laps this is when problems are really going to start showing up yeah and Strader was right up there trying to pass Benson he got down underneath him didn't make the pass here come the other two guys right back around him Sam look back at Shawna Robinson's race historic and that she is only historians differ whether she's the 14 or 15 woman to race in Winston Cup more on that later but she remains on the lead lap running in 40th place place she just she's not happy with her car right now car looks tight let's see how fast she's going here she's doing woman 1 91 91 probably ought to be doing about 195 to 98 right there it's a little bit high in the center the little Center know it anywhere wall goes into there but I still feel like I might tournament okay you don't over drive it drive the card and scars lemonade and that's such great advice for her right now just don't overdrive don't get don't get excited just do what you can do with what you got we'll try to make it better for you on the pitstop when what she's describing it it goes hand in hand her car is tight it's not turning the cars bogging down and I felt like what she meant by not turning enough is not turning rpms it's not running but it's because it's bound up and yes you can't get back to the gas so you can't your corners a lot shorter than the other guys do look at this bad boy here now he he's turning all he wants to not quite a rewind of last week with Jeff Gordon has led the most laps thus far today 51 of them Johnny Benson's led 11 laps and Gordon experiments with different lines around the corners and so as the cat right behind him Dale jr. he's been running up high around the top they've been a rim riding but right now junior dropped down I believe he cut to lead down just a little bit there he is right here coming in your picture he was a pretty far out of the picture a minute ago not two-tenths off at that lap Darrell Bock stretch shows Gordon speed oh god I remember now a junior didn't get tires there's about 10 to 15 laps difference in the two tires two cars tires and that could be making a big difference in the times right now one point six seconds separate the two leaders Jeff Hammond yeah guys maybe one of the biggest reasons why Jeff Gordon is trying to get out front stay out front I saw a member of their team headed toward the pits with a load of umbrellas and raincoats anticipating maybe some rain dick Berggren what you got going on that party but we're talking about Jeff Gordon's searching around for a line and part of the reason he's doing that is that the car is getting tighter and tighter as this run goes on he is particularly tight off turn two earlier today he was complaining about being quite incurring for so he's trying to find a line and get rid of that sure he'd get still more speed he's still more laughs Dale jr. has taken another 2/10 of a second from Gordon's lead as Jeff Greene fends off Ricky Rudd it's a battle for ninth right there Jeff Green another car another team that we're not even going to run the race here about virtue of rain qualifying messing up the Dover qualifying they just decided to make this race up by coming here you're onboard the Home Depot cab of Tony Stewart who has worked his way past those two and up into eighth place Jarett with them Newman as well and Bill Ellen part of that pack a lot of speculation about this 30 car what's going to happen with it next year you know they're going to run five more races this year with Jeff Green but unknown what will happen in 2002 I mean you don't have an inside line on that for yeah I had let me down there I think Richard knows I'm a member of the press now these folks have inside information who Jeff green a little wiggle there on corner entry for the Busch Series champion see he's 11 second stander in the middle of three and four behind Jeff Gordon the leader but he gets it look at that run II guess he drives right up to the back of the Pontiac it's left draft off getting a little draft but he can't can't whoop out because the 28 cars right behind me so now he's going to try a little different line Tony goes low you that's it that's what happened you go low the other guy goes out you go out the guy goes low you come off the corner side-by-side Ricky Rudd looks at the inside here this be coming off turn two again this is a battle for Knight he's going to take the position I'll tell you there'll it may be aggravating for the driver but it sure is fun to law it is it is but you just always tells your crew chiefs a gallon got to leave me alone get out of Holloman get away quick get this out of me Ricky Rudd speed he comes off the corner mid one fifth he's down there in the middle of the corner right before he picked the throttle back up over 190 at the start/finish line still climbing to 202 202 this shoe just a little over 200 miles an hour off in the corner - OH - following somebody somebody following you somebody pushing you shoving you around at 202 miles an hour per bar on Tony Stewart's marched from the back of the grid here Steve Mikey has had an impressive day but right now he's loose on the exit of 3 & 4 according to crew chief Greg Zipadelli ins said that the right front tire is starting to go away and that's because the car is pushing him once it starts pushing the only thing is going to fix that car besides adjustment is for more tired yeah and that's a good smart driver though he'll die he'll probably back out a little bit cuz you do not have use that right front on that trucker blows out or big program Shona Robison being locked in line got him by the leader Jeff Gordon gets to go to school on Gordon here gene Granger and Greg field and NASCAR's two eminent historians disagree on how many women have run in a Winston Cup race and a question related around Saturday Neil limbs ran one race in 1951 was there Sandra or Sanford historians differ if you know let us know at Fox Sports we'd like to clear this up Jeff Gordon the leader at 76 laps this is NASCAR events welcome back the NASCAR Winston Cup racing on FX and don't forget on Fox Sports Net tonight at nine an all-access pass with Kevin Harvick this weekend on NASCAR victory lane we'll keep an eye on Harvick currently running 15th in the race and Shana Robinson the amber mentioned as the Mike Sherman talking about her position running at the back of the field starting 30 seconds she joined us on the pre-race show here Jeff Hammond and she she made it clear that she's here to compete and to invest in her career she's been racing since the age of 18 she's not just here to be a female who's driving and of course the best finish ever by a female in Winston Cup racing hers fifth but she did make the point that they wanted her to wear a a pink I guess fire suit orange or drivers outfit she said no yes I want to wear what the usual driver would wear she is very very conscious of the fact that she wants to 21 car looks like he's lost a left front tire also as we shift gears here Elliott Sadler with some problems here and we have a caution on the Speedway let's go back upstairs to Mike Doyle again and you know guys I was talking yesterday about tire temperatures and a lot of the teams were telling me that the left front tire for some odd reason was a lot harder than any other tire on the car which is totally unusual Larry I think you can agree normally the Left Front cyclists well it is but remember a little especially harder right-side tire makes us a left side tires work a little harder Plus and some of the guys told me they were sucking that corner down with a lot of fender and a lot of rebound in the shock so that may have something to do with the to trying to keep that nose down on the left side what's this under the fifth caution of the afternoon here at lap 81 we're just 19 laps from halfway and the skies to the west have lightened somewhat I mean we're not going to call it's a sunny day oh no it's not the dark storm clouds we had a bit ago I would get this race in easy we're running average speed 130 miles an hour I said we can tell what happened here to the 21 car we're going to look at it here in a minute they're still cranking it up for us here you go Aires down in the corner see the smoke already coming out from under the car it's the left front tire that's boy Bobby Labonte had to plug into the bottom well that's a lot of damage it almost looks like I mean the left front tire blowing out I guess it could do that much damage to the front of the car but I'm surprised how much damage is done to the nose Darrell the skid marks from that start just about 300 feet past the start/finish line I guess if that carcass gets to wailing walking around it can really do some damage oh yeah everybody to pit road only two cars lap down Ron Hornaday Sean Robertson Steve Byrnes Larry Lindsey and Kenny Schrader takes 2 or 4 right side tires going on over NFL defensive lineman Tim cone is the jack man they will change four tires on the 36 no chassis adjustment tires only for Kenny Schrader to dick Berggren Jeff Gordon is on controls they better remember to clean the grill because of the big piece of plastic that's on the gorilla but don't get that off they are going to have a problem with it hitting right in front of them Johnny Benson the center of your screen Dale Earnhardt jr. just pulling away them in an air pressure adjustment in the right front and left freer he said the car was real loose on entry skates the nose in the center but very good off seventeen point three seconds Jeff Gordon's crew did get that piece that was in front of the grill someone reached out and grabbed that before he took off well great job I started the Marlins team to get him out in second place are right behind Gordon those guys are really if you know it makes such a big difference later you know this is a crew chief when the car is running good everything is going well how pumped up everybody get it's easy to keep that crew pumped up but you know who always seen it pump up the most a tow driver oh yeah hit the end of pit road knowing he gained positions he always said a lot easier to beat him on pit road and is on that racetrack amen brother now they reach to the front of Jeff Gordon's car to get that piece am not sure if they got it all that was in front of the grill huh that's not going to hurt anything piece of cake okay don't worry be happy' 82 laps complete 118 to go here at Michigan welcome back to Michigan International Speedway where we're working the tail end of the fifth caution of the day Jimmy Spencer the first one spinning it turn to Kurt Busch crashing in turn to Rusty Wallace crashing in turn three tie bow dine at turn one and a left front tire going up on Elliott Sadler's car bringing out this most recent caution that brought everyone to pit road above what we're seeing there as a thumbs up sign that the piece of debris is going off Jeff Gordon's car okay well Gordon came in and went out first Dale Earnhardt jr. though lost four spots on pit road and those guys had just ran out of 17 second stop it wasn't you few years ago you as the man you had a 17 second four-tire pit stop you had the World Championship pit crew with that Gordon group that 24 bunch in first out first there they are well last week they ripped off that 14 plus second stop at Dover on the final pit stop when they needed it most and their next stop was Victory Lane can make a difference here you see the debris has gone off of the grill yeah hung up here on the hood pin that sits a little piece of tape or something we talked about front downforce I want you to look how to take configuration on the top of the grill they've got the left side taped up reason being that's the corner where you want to plant that's the corner that makes that car turn any tape on the I always like to see it on that left side putting downforce on that left front yeah it's better to do it that way let it let the air do it and it is to mechanically have to do it which sometimes upsets the car how dominant is Jeff Gordon been on the racetrack he's the first driver to lead 1,000 laps this season in second place Steve Park less than half that amount Wow Wow Steve Byrnes well Larry that tape adjustment is exactly what Kenny Schrader did just a piece of red duct tape that goes on the nose of the car attached to a tie wrap that was the tuning adjustment they made on the 36 of Kenny Schrader dick Berggren Johnny Benson looking for his first career win in 175 careers starts not exactly as happy with the car as you might have been a little loose in a little bit tight in the center they adjusted for all of that he wishes he had more rpm he's not getting as much as in practice too man well dick Mark Martin came in took on tires they also made a wedge adjustment putting two rounds of bite in one pound out of the right rear marks of the car was just a little bit too free they're hoping to tighten them up let me tell you when Mark Martin says the car is too free that baby just about ready to spin out but he can drive one up loose I guarantee you then almost a hundred forty thousand permanent seats here at Michigan International Speedway and all they had to sell was the space in front of them because hardly anybody has had a chance to sit down we're nearing halfway here at Michigan International Speedway big run when Budweiser crisp clean refreshing taste you'll find an order Pete clean up finishing up down and turn what here at Michigan International Speedway 86 of 200 laps completed the youngest driver in today's race Kurt Busch age 22 he'll turn 23 later this summer the oldest driver Kenny Schrader turned 46 May 29th but it's time for Pep Boys trivia oh no think I know it's come home oh who is the oldest driver to win a NASCAR Winston Cup race see them you know the old drivers I'm the old drivers real good Harry Gaines how old was he 52 52 years and 219 days 21 here in August of 92 I'm corrected the youngest drivers Casey Atwood in this race he is but 20 years old mr. September he had a great fall season I think it was bought in 1992 he did well Tony Stewart on pit road as we end this caution period Steve well Mike they had to bring the number 20 car back in and make sure all the lug nuts were tight on the left rear tire when they did so they took the opportunity to top off with gas you gonna be on pit road you need to leave there every time that taint completely fooled let me tell you many caution lapses we've written around here if I was it probably on the top 20 I feel on pit road topping my bad boy up well now that's a smart call by Greg Zipadelli because after they left their pit they were informed they had to come back tighten the lug nut so you wait until the very last opportunity before you go green yo and then you can dress that fuel Milan topper up because fuel is every time we get closer and closer to the end is getting more and more critical as to who can make it well this would be the second time stewardess had to come from the tail end today remember he started way back in provisional lamp and what about his Tony Stewart's teammate the defending Winston Cup champion Bobby Labonte presently in 19th place probably got now is a single file restart leaders down here going into three Tony is not even in the middle of the back straightaway yet and he's going to be about a turn behind when they dropped the green flag talk about track temperature tracks cooling down with these clouds started out at 104 degrees cool down to 96 degrees that'll make the cars turn a little more rpms a little more grip through the corners and what do you say guys let's crank it up one more time for a new reminder Ricky Rudd gained four spots in the pits he'll restart third and Bill Elliott gained four spots he'll restarted now crank it all right Sterling Marlin keep an eye on him on the break Gordon your leader Marlon Rudd and Earnhardt jr. fight for the front four spots at Budweiser car he is on a mission well now he's on the same tires everybody else he's got four freshman's too so if he's got anything now time to use it here comes Benson in the ten remember Johnny Benson's very first race here he drove a Busch car owned by Hani Irv I know what happened here 80 three and he went tumbling down the back straightaway in that particular car right now Ernie has it in his lake is a bad thing back in those days there was no pavement back there like what we saw with Jared in the Labonte then it was all grass and he got off in that grass enough she went that was a when he was winning all aasa races Benson would Benson edging up behind Jeff Burton running in sixth place Oh Motors really humming in 8,700 down the backstretch and that's the short chute yeah wait till you get over here on the front one for you here and picking that throttle up way before the center of the corner a little bit of brake as we got that in the corner just sucks that brake oh it's a confidence thing the drivers got to know that break is there it doesn't have to do anything you just got to know it's there over 80 800 rpms right at 200 miles an hour down into turn one little bit of brake again picking that throttle up ease into it wide open they are all corners Darrell why would you feed in a little bit of brake when when you're getting back into the throttle well actually these guys drought with both feet obviously braking with one gas with the other and you're going to ride that brake even though you're starting to push that gas pedal down you're going to have your foot laying on that brake just for an instant it really isn't doing anything again Mike this is a comfort thing talking about comfort Jeff Gordon he don't have that cupful leave no more sterling mowing and car that dodge right on the back bumper here but the comfort he has is all that open real estate in front of him that he's at nobody in front of him for most of the day he's led 74 of the 92 laps look at the run right here Sterling Marlin in that Dodge off turn two side by side he got him I think Gordon of probably letting slide up in front of him are you gonna let me in are you going to let me in but Gordon's gonna go to the high side no you're not no he'll get that momentum up on that top Bruce now here we go side by side and here's going to come to 28 to 8 the 10 this is their chance to catch up and make the real race out of it watch Ricky Rudd he'll go to the bottom of the race how to make it here ey run thought better of it not a good move I mean you go to put somebody in harm's right when you go down under like that Sterling knows he doesn't need to be up there beside Gordon but when he you see what happens he said okay I'm gonna fall back in line and here's Ricky Rudd all over him rut got a great run through the middle of the but couldn't let the car sweep out costume yeah you gotta have a whole racetrack meanwhile while this has been going on Dale Earnhardt jr. in the Budweiser car he's right on the back bumper Ricky Rudd he's gonna go to the bottom a racetrack for third position and here again you could run they can run lap after lap now you game in see these smart guys know what to do that's what frustrates you the smart guys know what to do you get back in here a little further they don't always seem like you know what they want to do if a guy catches you there's a reason yeah let him go following he's faster now the fellow who has been leading the second pack Mark Martin has now backed up to 11th place Matt Micah mark marks last pit stop he entered pit road in the eighth position nothing wrong with the pit stop as far as the over the wall guys but during that stop the wedge wrench broke in the back window so they lost some time in his split second or so trying to get this wedge wedge out of the back window and that cost him two spots on pit road ouch Terry Labonte running up high keeping those flakes crispy is in 13th position absolutely he took a provisional sorted 42nd next-to-last dicing and slicing with workers and Jeremy Mayfield you know he's the only driver this year that had started every race that has not lentil out to time wins to Cup champ Mayfield had a pretty good hot rod in practice but right now he's running in 14th place right there with Dave Blaney now they just hung up I mean this can't seem to you can't break out and by the time he does the leaders are long gone it's reason the work performed on pit road can be so important don't get me back in this traffic no the - Bill Davis car is working a tag team there you saw work Burton a Dave Blaney together there's the front four front six and the pack just just so you know all those first seven cars and first seven cars are all running the same speed on the clock all them are running into 50s 40:53 laps - halfway when they come around as Kevin Harvick which is way under Bill Elliott Harvick the subject of NASCAR victory lane tonight at 9:00 on Fox Sports Net they'll give him the whole weekend you'll follow Kevin Harvick and what a Winston Cup driver goes through on a race weekend there that's the tenth place race if I was the Harvick I don't know if I take on Ali right there here under each other and punch him out I know if Ali was in there he that's what he'd do before you pass me you can pay for that 12 rounds or 200 laps whatever comes first here at Michigan two and a half laps - halfway Jeff dork leading Sterling Marlin by just a matter of two car lengths of Dale Earnhardt jr. looking in about 1.2 seconds from the leader to fourth place Ricky Rudd and Johnny Benson Jeff Burton and Dale Jarrett this is NASCAR on FX welcome back to the Kmart 400 Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn Michigan and after 101 laps the race official Jeff Gordon leading Sterling Marlin and Jeff Hammond we talked to him the pre-race show about the at least in the manufacturer's points race a Chevy slightly leading Ford but Dodge has not won a race this year you said they'll at least win a couple when we've talked to Ray ever and having said what we're a third of the way in the first season of what is a five-year plan even though they made a splash at Daytona they've yet to win a race well you sit here right now you watch the Sterling Marlin we touched on the fact that team has been very very consistent all year long couple times earlier this year he was in a position to win a race and here we find him again halfway through this race he's in position once again to take advantage of might be what's going on with the Dodge contingent another what's up talk about the NASCAR maybe giving Dodge a break with a an engine block that would weigh or have a lighter weight explain how that would benefit the team this is a new totally new package that Dodge put together this engine actually weighs about 30 pounds more than the other competitors as far as forward or Chevrolet and they've been trying to work a way to make the block choir but causing when NASCAR does things you have to get approval on it they didn't have time to go back and retrieve redefine the block and make it lighter they finally got it I think to the point where they're happy with it and they've submitted it to proves that they approve it and now get a chance to make the car a little bit lighter windows while we're talking to engines you know give to Bill Elliott of course who has seven victories here the most of any active driver how about the NASCAR consideration of on the idea of using a single engine for weekends again it's another one of those efforts for NASCAR to make things a little more economical for the teams also possibly help them get through some of the testing that needs to be done it's a great idea and it will try it out I think coming up here too loud should be a big advantage for a lot of teams especially independent teams or the lower budget do you think they'll enforce that for just some races or across the board maybe not happen in Daytona I think you'll start out with some of the half mile races 3/4 mile race shorter races and see how it does get an assessment on it and move from there Kevin Harvick you get a look and don't forget NASCAR victory lane on Fox Sports Net tonight at the nine o'clock the all-access pass on his weekend as we get a look at Jeff Gordon leading the Sterling Marlin with 96 laps to go here in Michigan let's go back upstairs Darrell Waltrip Larry McReynolds am i doing well that to car battle for the lead has become three and it's about to be four if Dale Earnhardt jr. has caught Jeff Gordon and Sterling Marlin he's been running right around the bottom of this racetrack he's been gaining on these guys about a 10th and a half KITT the lap and he's right on the back arm right now you see Ricky Rudd in the 28 Texaco car he's eating up there as well for the Rusty Wallace fans he's back on the race track some 80 laps down just trying to make circles make laps make a few ports yeah in Dale jr. he can get that read and get down real low in the middle of both corners but he's got to have the whole racetrack to make that work when he exits the corner he's got to be able to go all the way out to the wall and that's going to cause him some problems when he starts getting up here trying to pass now Ricky Rudd is closing he was a second off the lead that lap here goes Marlin he's got a pretty good run off of two this time looking pretty good right there had to fall back in line but he had a heck of a run he gets off a two mighty all he gets out there strong stronger than the 24 does Jeff Gordon in the 24 car he keeps running the high side of the racetrack he's gonna run about the middle of the racetrack right here through three and four but he drifts it up right there after him for keeps those rpms up there the thing I never know for sure about Jeff Gordon even when you're following and when you're watching him like we are how much does he have left is he just keeping everybody at bay is he just sitting there just letting everybody run behind me can he when he comes time step it up a notch you see here on Fox tracks Ricky Rudd had that interval down inside of one second now it's pretty stable let's see what he does coming off turn two has been Rudd strong spot the only guy in those four got a cars that I know it holding back anything he's in that red car with a hate on the side of it and he isn't holding back nothing stretch tracks so smooth and yes always loved coming here because again the characteristics of your car your driver can move it around you've got so many different races grooves it's got right around the bottom all the time you can move that car around and make your car so much better oh I can't tell you how many times I've had Jeff or whoever called in say just find you a place to run find a place where the car will work don't just ride around at the bottom or the top find a place make it work now watch the five Terry Labonte and the 30th Jeff Green they're about a lane and a half above Mayfield a Blaney the cars they're battling in turns one and two but watch it when they get down to turn three here it's almost like the racetrack isn't wide enough edge well they keep going up it's something's gonna get in your way here for long here he goes they're here five up right up there their whole running of different agendas their way of they're just about out of racetrack up there in the Harry Gant crew close there with Mayfield when marks got I don't know what mark knows I don't know if he's looked in his mirror or not and he's got some company coming this is a battle 12th through 20th right in one past 18 car right up in the middle of that crack - now here's Jeff Burton at sixth place which is a great run for this team or they really struggled at Dover last week I tell you I don't think Jeff Burton told me he had never run that bad in his life better this week dick Berggren we're listening to Jeff Burton and Frank Stoddard have conversation back and forth it is most entertaining few laps ago Frank Stoddard wanted them to go in deeper into the corners Burton came back on the radio said if I try to drive this car any deeper I'm going to land somewhere an hour silence for a couple of laughs starting to close it a little bit on Johnny Benson Stoddard get on the radio and said go after him like a dog trying to get a doggie Bowl well it didn't work out the few laps after that Frank Stoddard kind of gave up got on the radio said I know the track is getting tighter maybe we should have done more driver and crew chief I'll have a couple more chances there's where the Roush cars are today Kurt Busch went out of the race on lap 16 got loose off turn two and cut it back into the wall Burton in sixth Martin in 12th Kenseth 19 you know the beautiful thing about a relationship and Larry knows this he's headed with Davey Allison and some others and I've had it with Jeff it's when you have that that kind of relationship where you go at each other you picking each other he gets on you you get on him but at the end of the day you're both out there trying to accomplish the same goal but the first thing you accomplish as a driver and a crew chief you've got to be good friends you got to be friends first you got to know what each other's thinking got looking at my eyes and they'll tell you where to go with it take good notes walk it back to Michigan International Speedway Friday we vacation in Pocono as NASCAR Winston Cup qualifying can be seen on Fox Sports Net to I guess your weekend going Saturday the ARCA race on the net and then the final Winston Cup practice on FX the Busch Series back in action in Kentucky tune in for that under the lights 7:30 Eastern that's on FX on Sunday NASCAR this morning on Fox Sports Net wrapped around with NASCAR victory lane and the Winston Cup Series race from Pocono on Fox the mothership with the pre-race show at 12:30 Eastern Time Jeff Gordon leading Sterling Marlin as we look in 115 out of 200 laps and as we think about the dominance Jeff Hammond of Jeff Gordon in Delaware last week how do you relate that to what he's doing here well that was one of the competitors I'd be scared to death because any time you allow Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports to get on a roll to get this kind of momentum going it could be real ugly because he has the type of talent and backing he the next three four or five weeks in the road so somebody needs to get up there challenge him and make sure they can't keep this momentum sustained it's worth pointing out two victories after 13 races when he won an amazing 13 races in 98 after 13 races in that season he had only three wins so if he keeps up this pace he certainly could be done and one more win here with good Hendrick Motorsports Rick Hendrick is the 100 career victory yeah and while you're touching on that right there Korea's let's say one more time that our wishes here at Fox Sports go out to Papa Joe Hendrick had an opportunity to work up with Rick Hendrick Motorsports and got a chance to know Papa Joe very well and as Darrell was talking about earlier everybody in the garage loves Papa Joe we're praying for you Papa get well buddy let's go back upstairs the mic and let's bring you up to speed we're Ricky Craven is not Ravan is off the pace he's dropped down and he will go a lap down to Jeff Gordon and Sterling Marlin we've brought a hundred and seventeen of 200 laps five cautions so far the first for Jimmy Spencer at lap two Kurt Busch crashed Rusty Wallace crashed after contact with Todd Bodine who then brought on his own caution and then Elliott Sadler Jeff Gordon has now led 99 laps 11 for Johnny Benson four for Earnhardt jr. Rudd Marlon and buckshot Jones have also led this race but Gordon has put in another dominant performance so far and he gives a lot of credit to the motor department over at Hendrix he says that those guys he got B to California when rusty was just beating him down the straightaway like a drum he said that his guys didn't like it went home and worked on the motor she known 16 races he's only finished out of the top 15 one pit Wow a lot of records it is your top 10 cars cycling through with Borden and Marlin and very close contact and the rest of the field struggling to keep up Sterling Marlin has now led 12 of the 14 races this season after going a lap down Ricky Craven in the 32 car he's on pit road to Cohutta yeah obviously got an engine problem of some kind different lines for the two leaders now they're about 1.3 seconds ahead of Ricky Rudd now this is where the crew the spotter probably told sterling try that High Line cluster some cars making good time in 3 & 4 right up against the outside retaining wall Dale Earnhardt jr. he's the fourth place car two point two seconds off the lead but he has them in sight back behind him Johnny Benson in fifth place slid to eight last week in the points trying to climb back up here's Kevin Harvick in six and he has one of the fastest race cars on the racetrack he's keeping tempo with that leader Jeff Gordon seventh and eight are Burton and Jarrett as Marlin looks for the lead he's moved the car around a little bit down here in three and four and he's found a little something I believe he's really close right up on the back bumper of the 24 car Steve when they say a down there well DW is funny you mentioned that sterling just radioed in to Lima Colantoni clobberin said that he was a little bit tight off the corner and they didn't make that suggestion to move the car around a little bit told him just remain focused on the job at hand Jeff Gordon the poll winner now the pole winner is not one a Winston Cup race since Tony Stewart at Martinsville last fall 20 races ago a new sheriff in town Sterling Marlin drove underneath Jeff Gordon to take the lead let's show you how and here he goes he gets a good run down low Jeff just moved up high trying something I believe in let me Oh Stearns and let me and let me him please let me enough Whoopi made it so Marlon whose car has been good on long run we're coming close to pit stops now everybody was on pit road at lap 181 or lap 81 and the last caution was out in the 125 somewhere where that 30 on pit road laughs pretty good little mix here guys got to dodge leading got a Chevrolet running second got a Ford running third we're got Pontiac yet not sure whose radio that was but one of those cars is coming in in two laps that's about right it was Jeff Gordon that's about right yep I tell you that's going to be that's going to hurt Jeff because they they're making big power they're making a lot of steam under the hood but they burned a lot of fuel and all these green flag stops coming up should be four tires making sure that car is full of fuel that'll get you to about 20 laps to go at the end but the good news for Gordon is 14 and a half second pit stop that's going to be hard to deal with but green flag stop at Michigan 55 miles an hour on pit road it's got to be a good stop no mistakes no tires rival of Knox County yesterday Earnhardt Turner in Terry Labonte are both on pit road pressures on the crews right here it had good solid stops becomes jr. down pit road and the leaders just off down the back about middle of the straight would back nailing are two years about five kids away 55 miles per hour Jr was loose on the previous run Cody the front tire changer in car chief on this eight car told me they over adjusted they pushed the car to the tight side we're going to bring the car back to neutral as they come around hacking that car fuel plant is enzyme peer Road they car ran out of fuel Gordon Benson and Harvick on pit road they have me put tires on a car they've just put in fuel in it but he ran out and he killed the engine right there they push him through Jeff Gordon's pit here comes Gordon and those crew men have to scatter dick Berggren Jeff Gordon had just come on the radio alluded before this pit stop and said that he was having to run incredibly hard this day instead of the 40 car he did not do that just couldn't stay out there so they're going to take four five put one round of the right rear on this race car hate your crimping over the wall crew Gordon gone it's just a little over 15 Steve Harvick on pit road in the 29 Harvick run on a Mike glucan changing cars no chassis injustice he stole the car out off pit road they're trying to get it push and refire Kevin Harvick cannot get going still cannot fire finally get the 29 down pit road Jeff Green is away Steve Park gets four tires so does Kyle Petty and John Andretti bill Elliott's in Kenny Schrader Ward Burton Jeremy Mayfield all on pit road Tony Stewart Jimmy Spencer the 14 to 28 are still out there so those guys are stretching this fuel little further than what Gordon can that could be important Mike Skinner in as well so chemically eighth in Casey Atwood and Gordo's right here behind them trying to catch back up to get on the lead lap in case there be a caution right now Steve pate DW bill Elliott's in right-side tires already on left-side tires no chassis adjustment for billow is dodge too man Rindy runs on petrol as a 12-car Jeremy Mayfield pulls out rides having a little bit of trouble getting into stall and 26 car pulls away as well as the handler guys go to work on Ricky Rudd's car Michael McSwain back to crew chief they were debating whether to go to or for Bobby's morale comes around in the left front this will be a four-tire stop a slight air pressure adjustment for the 20-acre Ricky Rudd he is down in a way the great stopper 28 but Manny had all come from getting into his pit box Starlin hour later the 40 car the course car he's on pit road watch this Larry I mean the 20 here's a 12 he gets in his way he's got to check up look he locked the right front up now here comes the 26 oh man he was having all kinds of problems look at the jack man it made him the 26 kept him a little on the shy side and it just throws that whole crews tempo off they made a great stop good comeback Sterling Marlin is in the I could do tearaway off the windshield to get a better vision they aren't going to make a wedge adjustment sterling saying the cars it's a little bit tight off right-side tires already on Rick reeling the jack man 88 also in they make the chassis adjustment and steel Iman is down on pit road Shawna Robinson in buckshot Jones Bobby Labonte Steve Park has come back in for a stop-and-go penalty and is now sent out boy Marlin must've he must had a terrible pit stop it could have been very good because 24 to 28 have already blown by him and he's just coming up to speed remember the 24 car Jeff Gordon those guys won't pit road first got a little advantage with those fresh tires and the leader of this race becomes Matt Kenseth Kenseth who's not much been in the picture all day trying to stretch his fuel mileage and we've talked in recent weeks about how the Jack Roush teams have increased their fuel mileage programs they can arouse his teammate Mark Martin in the fibro car he comes in pinched his crew four tires here left 132 and Starling lost about about a half of a straightaway to the 24 car in that pit a little bit of trouble on the left side 18 seconds and hit road is clear but for Bobby Hamilton Jr something for Joe Nemechek in the Andy Petree car and the word is that the Nemechek may not be back until they fourth of July holiday weekend Jeff Hammond yeah Mike so one thing I've noticed there the guys are stretching the fuel in my mind what they're trying to do is get it down where if this thing stays green and they do have to come down for that last flash of gas they can go with just one kick and possibly just put two tires on the car to get it the rest away home the guys have got to stop a little sooner we'd have to go for at second Ken which could take them a little longer and make a difference here at the end of the race that's exactly right Jeff because again if you get to that 175 lat mark with 25 to go anything after that would be just one Ken Jason Leffler is the last car to stop in this green flag pit sequence after having his career-best finish last week he would have led a lap but his pit stall was before the start/finish line so he stopped got his service and now green flag stops complete Kevin Harvick's crew reacts to the car stalling on pit road welcome back to Michigan yeah jason leffler was the next-to-last driver to stop Matt Kenseth is still out there he continues to lead this race he has not been on pit road in forever I'm smoking the pee in here he was on pit road at lap 81 that's 119 laps to go we're at lap 137 if he runs it to 139 that's a telltale he can do it on one more stop he's going to do it I guarantee you that problem is he's a second half slower than second place Jeff Gordon so it's going to be interesting yeah he depends on you know if he's track position is going to mean everything but he has the he has the car to do it with to make it on one more stop now Jeff Gordon is nine point eight seconds behind Kenseth in second place Kenseth is the only driver we're aware of who has not made a pit stop under green in this in this segment and we're coming at 1:39 he steals he's still there on the racetrack let's get an update on Dale Earnhardt jr. running out of gas they're back Mike I spoke to Jeff Clark the gas man and fuel calculator on the 18 he said they were going to pit about half a lap later they felt like they could go okay I'm fueled Jr came on the radio and said the engine has died I think it just blew up that's why they were not in a hurry when he hit their road to decided to put some gas in it just to see if maybe it ran out of gas and I'm fired right up they lost so much time that they want to take any more time put on tires Court has just come on the radio and said that this set of tires has made the car a little bit tighter he has been in second in this race three times in the eighth fire times his crew chief Robbie Lewis has just come over the radio legit Jeff your client don't use it up to Steve burns well dick Sterling Marlin brought that number 40 car to pit road in addition to a wedge adjustment they also made an air pressure adjustment and Sterling Marlin did not like the changes or the way it feels in the number 40 car he's already talking about air pressure adjustments on their next pitstop fuel mileage function of three things how efficient is the engine how much gas is in the tank which is limited 22 gallons and one thing we've not talked about is how much of that 22 gallons can be picked up out of that fuel cell and transmitted to the engine we just completed at 141 that's 59 to go that's 60 laps come to pit road Matt Kenseth there's no need running any further don't need the stretch but Larry that's a car that's getting every drop out of that fuel cell it's got to be well in it's a product of so many things and he got a planet as we said earlier it could be a little different carburetor combination got the engine lean way back all kinds of things will make that thing use less fuel but the hopes always is the other as you said Mike the fuel cell hose 22 gallons we always have hope through big fuel line long fuel lines which the gallon he's coming pit road he's listening to us D their ego is he I was noting go any further young hand well he's made it interesting that's for sure fifty nine to go matt kenseth finally comes in and he will surrender the lead that Jeff Gordon Matt Yocum can he make it on one stop Larry he's making his way into his pit stall that's the game plan down here in the 17th here at Parker Robbie Reiser as man crawls out the water bottle they are going to make a chassis custom they feel like they are good to go still trying to make that chassis adjustment came down nineteen point six seconds just about I just about blew any plans he had Larry because he lost so much time you know we'll have to see when he gets back up to speed is here comes Jeff Gordon I'll turn for the jacket leader of the race the jack man was just Jack and Jack cut a jack problem on the left side Darrell he slipped coming around the front of the car to get in position for the left side tough break Jeff Mike what you said was exactly what happened when Jeff came around the car he happened to be named Jeff also when he came around the car it looked like he lost his foot and either step in the air line and down he went and by the time he got back underneath the car he didn't get the handle tight enough and it happened sometime in time with Jack man and he couldn't get the car up off the ground which really hurt the left side tire change Jeff Gordon is back in command he's led a hundred four laps today of the hundred and forty three but with all the different strategies in play folks this is far from over we right back to Michigan in a moment this is NASCAR on FX welcome back to Michigan where the weather has changed and for the better that dark cloud system that was coming toward the racetrack veered away and there's Sun on the racetrack now it's a bright sunshiny day good day for a race at Michigan 54 laps to go Jeff Gordon back out in front and pit stops in the pit sequence part of the real-life Sterling Marlin came in leading the race he just passed Jeff Gordon before pit stops and something bad had to happen to Sterling Marlin to lose so much time and I think if you look at what Larry is circling circling their ins and outs look at Ricky Rudd there what a difference that made that's reason he's in second place right now that's the number of seconds from the start/finish line around into the pits out of the pits and back to start/finish and remember Harvick the reason his Thomas of slow stalling it on pit road his crew have the pushing made a big difference there's a look at Kevin Harvick who is presently in seventh place and alone on the racetrack about a second and a half behind Bill Elliott but he fared a lot better than other people did had problems on pit road Dale jr. he's gone a lap down and some other guys I can sense is now a lap down well Matt Kenseth gambled let's go to his pit Robbie Reiser is talking about on the radio right now giving them lap times and a 19 second change pit stop Robbie are you good to go the distance we're going to go to distance our only chance of winning bonus you were calculating the mileage which a crash be on or how close do you got to be where right there we're right again they're going to roll the dice Mike they are expecting that every other car will have to make one more pit stop and they will not I believe that was a really great strategy but that long pit stop that track position that's going to hurt him of course other thing that's going to hurt him is if a caution comes out because he's a lap down right now in 27th position and you know he's running about a tenth off the leader but the big difference is going to be a lap down or if that caution comes out you're not going to beat Jeff Gordon in that crowd until you can do everything right he's got an awesome race car he's an awesome race car driver and they're doing everything right in the pits he is on a roll guys he's up on that wheel and when he gets up there like that look out Bobby Labonte's worked his way back up toward the front after a problems early he's up to 12th place he going fast Blaney he's been steadily coming forward Mike I've been watching him and he's been passing a lot of cars you know he's spun over there off the - and by golly he's back in the hunt he got to give credit to his team though front valence the bottom part of the front end all turned under they kept coming to pit road fixing that so you got to give a big credit to those guys as when Jimmy make art he's one of the best it's hard to believe that the Winston Cup champion of a year ago would be having a season that they would have to call struggling yeah I agree I mean they just had so many things to bite them so many unexpected things engine problems spinning out leading to race at Charlotte spinning out today how many just bad luck look at Jimmy make art look at things over from the pit box Jeff Gordon keeps mowing them down he's trying to put Robert Pressley the 23rd place car a lap down all right we talked a few minutes ago the sun's out the rain is behind us we're going to be okay here but look at the difference track temperature from where we started 108 now but just remember halfway about 50 laps ago it was down to 96 degrees these cars are not going to grip as good to track is as hot as it's been the entire event and Rudd is closing ever so slightly I guess that's probably the best car on the track right now Ricky Rudd the gap 1.7 seconds last time by Jeff Gordon to Ricky Rudd first to second with 49 laps to go here in the Irish hills of Michigan on FX with 45 laps to go Jeff Gordon leads Ricky Rudd by 1.4 seconds Sterling Marlin is about five seconds off the lead Johnny Benson 10 seconds Jeff Burton the fifth place car 14 seconds behind Jeff Gordon whatever they did to starlings car if it was an air pressure adjustment whoo I bet they wish they hadn't done that he's over three tenths slower than the leader right now Jeff Gordon look at where our cook family of drivers sit in the points standings coming into Michigan here Ricky Rudd sixth in the points second in this race among them kyle petty making the show third running 30th right now in this race trying to climb his way back up into the point standings guess who that is a hit of tony stewart right there that would be the leader yes that's flames coming off the back of that bad boy and stewart the 22nd place car goes a lap down ran up among the leaders made a great charge from his provisional starting spot but now his slid to 22nd and he's the first car one lap down I believe these changing weather conditions Larry is having a lot to do with some of these cars kind of backing up and that's something Jeff Gordon Robbie Loomis that group has always done a great job at is adjusting to the track conditions and I really think that's a product of Jeff Gordon being able to communicate well with his crew about what he needs in his car baby they learn how jr. has come on to pit road now remember they got gas only when they Earnhardt jr. thought he might have blown up the engine they gassed it they did not give him tires and now those tires have had enough in he was going to have to make one more stop I'm sure this is one when he wanted to make it but he this will be good for the end of the race now with 43 laps to go but Michael Waltrip in that napa carmichael in 21st position finally going to lap down here at lap 158 these lawn greens with with pit stops really shakes up the running order okay the word has come from a high command new rule for the Fox pool folks is no money involved we only have two inste Cup races left on Fox nobody's allowed to pick Gordon okay that's a deal after today not even Hammond not it right not even Hammond oh right but Darryl now is going to have a secret that's good to know I think everybody pick them at Sears Point hey Darrell I'll ask you one of the questions if we're making these rules up what happened to the eighth card let you picked him a minute ago we're gonna give you a year our rule on that deal did I say hey I thought you said 29 did you say - I said 28 yes I know you want to get on my bandwagon I mean wrecking the tail you're what I say not forgive me a brac the tape and let's check that 41 laps to go in Michigan this is NASCAR on FX 38 laps ago in Ricky Rudd catch Jeff Gordon that's likely what Robert Yates and wrench crew chief Michael McSwain are talking about ever since fatback got those sunglasses they've been running a lot better well they say been looking a lot better anyway rut is a second and a half back from Jeff Gordon right now dick Berggren with probably Loomis his crew chief Robbie when will you pit and what will you do first of all I'd like to say hello Joe Hendrick back home are falta with him and his family probably looking around 176 something like that okay let's go to Maddie and Robert Jason Turner Michael Backus wind has been crunching numbers back back when are you going to make your last stop and will you take tires or just guess and go we're going to try to play this thing all the way to the end labonz again 175 we're going to pit and what we're going to do two tires four tires six turns I don't know see how it plays out the last time is 20 Elaine was right here at Michigan now let's go to Steve Byrnes all right Matt would leave a call crew chief from the number 44 sterling mine may tell us about your strategies we get to close of the race well right now we're just going to see what the 24 car does you know the course like God's been running great all day we're just a tick tight right now so Dale Jarrett 88 car the UPS car he's on pit road 36 Kenny Schrader he's on pit road also Terry Labonte Brett Bodine and Johnny Benson have been to pit road those are pit reports were very informative wouldn't they did we learn anything yeah we're going to come in and we're going to do something we're just not sure what I love it we will expect these to be these guys last pit stop triggers have a really strong day he picked running well he's gone a lap down now but first half of this race he was right in contention Mark Martin went a lap down there too all moving around Kyle penny is in but you know Darrell these guys are going to have to pit with 20 or 25 to go they're gonna have to have almost one can of fuel that's seven eight seconds these crews they can change at least two right-side tires they're almost like three yeah I'd go for two right-side tires can't fuel and get out of here show me the money Tony Stewart in he's lap down drops it down a gear and comes to a halt Kevin LePage in the four car he's on pit road as well now all these are pretty much lap down cars with the exception of of Jarrett there so it may not influence the leaders to come in a little earlier than planned 34 laps to go can Matt Kenseth make it on fuel stick around and exmark of you back to michigan and you see Jeff Gordon on the lead ricky rudd sterling marca looking for their first win of the year and chasing Gordon the great views you're seeing if this action being brought to you us today by monster coms East Coast Flint Trump speaking at Trump Gordon has been the money driver he's led since left 1:42 and last pitted on lap a 128 over in the first 40 miles we had four cautions but things have settled down let's get out of cburns Chris the 29 of Kevin Harvick on pit road they're not going to make any chassis adjustments just four tires and enough gas to get to the end of this race Mike Luke on the front Ron Auto on the rear tires the 30 of Jeff Green also on pit road his teammate Kevin Harvick is away Larry I was a little surprised they came in this early because the last three or four laps Harvick's been the fastest car on the racetrack he had been the fastest car by about 2/10 all I can think of they was making that much gains trying to get advantage those fresh tires dick Berggren what is they're thinking well Johnny Benson came in a bit early here just a little while ago in the problem was he wasn't sure what and first he thought the engine was blowing up though he had a flat tire the real problem a wheel weight was off he had a vibration and fitted for that to that and an update on the 88 car Dale Jarrett he's short headed about 15 laps earlier than normal he came on the radio at time I just feel like I'm going to wreck the car is so loose and they pitted on lap 165 made a wedge adjustment also an update on his total number one colonel and guy Vic smoker and that's Earnhardt jr. he had just ripped off a couple of laps that were as quick as what Harvick was turning but he has now brought out the caution flag now Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott fought on pit road as the caution comes out and make it out without losing a lap Elliott it's okay here's a leader just now coming down to take caution flag he'll stay up they owner we go back on the racetrack he'll stay on the lead lap he's good to go but guys Matt Kenseth strategy our history history not a good strategy and Kenny Schrader Johnny Benson Dale Earnhardt all these cars that just stopped will now probably be trapped by the caution flag a lap down we have 11 car showing on the lead lap right now yep now we're going to wrap them up got all these fast cars on the inside on the restart Harvick green Bobby Labonte and in the drunk Mike Skinner and the drivers I just mentioned just all find themselves a lap down because they pitted just prior to this caution dick Berggren well Jeff Gordon is going to take four tires on this stop they're going to go off 1/2 pound on the right rear tire Matt well dig down here the 28 Pitt Michael Fassbender runner talking about what to do to the 28 car he says the car is a little loose at the beginning of the run but it dials in very good to Steve well Matt Sterling Marlin that 40 they're going to make a wedge adjustment air pressure sterling said it's a little bit too tight especially coming off turn four 11 cars on the lead lap Jeff Gordon Ricky Rudd Sterling Marlin Jeff Burton Ward Burton Dave Blaney bolted to Bill Davis cars up there Hut Stricklin on the lead lap Bill Elliott Jeremy Mayfield Jimmy Spencer and Ryan Newman stayin out paid off these guys DW what is that crew chief I'm picking your brain now don't tell me what it does at the end of 50 laps I need to know what it did for laughs because that's what kind of a shootout we're going to have and see this is why I never like this to pit early stay out there until you got to come on pit road because every time you pit early trying to get some advantage this is what happens to you now these guys that did pit they will stay out that will put them probably on the tail and lead lap but they're going to have to have a caution to make that ground back up yeah more work for these leaders Gordon run Marlin top to bottom Matt Ricky Rudd is the first car to hit they're going to work on the right side tires the left's are up on the wall let's see if they do a four-tire stop to Nick Jeff Gordon a little bit slow so far Chris Anderson just comes around the car with a Jack Brewster Graham in the van when the gas in the back Steve he's gone that side tires going on the 40th Sterling Marlin one pound out of the left rear they might retain to one pound to find out fifteen point three seconds for Sterling Marlin screw Ricky Rudd beats Jeff Gordon to the end of pit road because I can tires and I get it in stereo from two announcers two tires now remember Dale Earnhardt lost an engine at the end of the practice session yesterday that's probably stealing and related wrong he just told everybody to calm down I don't know something's going on the are like a leaded cars are on the lead lap car gonna be all you want to free it up a little bit more traffic to my buddy said you want to free the car up a little bit to run a traffic here next time coming in there for do have around on that track bar now knowing he's going to have to restart you have your beans in there but 235 right now can't pull make your turn that is your fan on and forth on it's been run about you 10 so if he comes back in they want to know if he wants the part of him is different here because now instead of being out fronted after deal with traffic something he hadn't had to do a lot today no he's questioned him about everything here this is a good time to make any of those adjustments they didn't talk about her make you heard him asking about the temperatures but radiator has an electric fan on it ready right away the 28 car well they took two tires are they going to get two more I believe since since they know Gordon had to come back in they thought maybe they would come back in he's the guy they got to be and this is the rich they're going to be heard of talk about Justin track bar they're going to raise the track bar I report right over here right over here should get it all on there put it down so they had lug nuts off dick Berggren the problem was look touch on the left front tire you have exactly nine o'clock when the racer ricky rudd got his left side tires and he's back out well I believe that's a that's a product well if Gordon's in trouble got to come in restart at the back I'm going to start back there with him but now he's behind Jeff Gordon while ago he was in front of Jeff Gordon and it puts one of those dodge boys out front Sterling Marlin hmm hmm that's saying maybe they've just waved the green flag to restart this race we're not that we got back we did folks this ought to be good Johnny Benson on the tail end of the lead lap is out front look at them scatter and turn to look at that everybody's everywhere looked like a covey of quail was over altitude everybody trying to get their lap back sterling Martin our leader he's back there in about 18th position on the racetrack but he's leading the race in the 40 car all of those cars that made pit stops under green pulled up behind the pace car when the cars that had not hit it under caution so the race leader is deep in that I don't I don't even sing I don't know where he is there he is down on the inside right there going by here tomorrow right there right in the middle that pack but that is the second place car that 99 car Jeff Burton Ron decided they're following Tony stricter that would be a battle for the lead but Sterling's car is really good the longer they run need to step it up if he's going to hold these guys off it has to Bill Davis cars right with them Blaney and Ward Burton having a great day right with the leaders and we got four Dodgers in the top five Bill Elliott right there - we're at the Motor City was that tea huh tells me I'm not moving for my TV set but here's a guy that's moving Dave Blaney in the 93 car besides Jeff Burton this is a battle for second right here behind our leader Sterling Marlin well they're all of a sudden after that caution there's a lot of guys that know they got a shot at winning this thing when Gordon had trouble all right leaders working their way through traffic let's go to the garage and Matt Dale Earnhardt jr. had a top-three car most of the day then he ran out of gas and that just started your problems today DJ yeah we ran out of gas I could guess we figured a mileage room or something in the bharta piston we brought a person in practice and thought we knew why I guess time so uh go home figure it out man just gonna take a hitting point so we really didn't need it was kind of trying to move up trying to be consistent just kind of try keep going man Earnhardt jr. came in here a night in the woods saying upstanding and man don't break your heart I mean just so disappointed so dejected his Boulder brother won here yesterday in the ARCA race if he did I know he burned a piston yesterday but sometimes running out of oh yeah yeah guard that thing cooling that fuel I confirm piston is when you see that happened period very honestly there's our leaders just going by he's still in mid pack the ideas and the thing that Jeff Gordon's loving every bit of this because he is closing in a hurry there's Gordon underneath Ryan Newman and Hut Stricklin this is all for position those are all lead lap cars and there's Ricky Rudd right way where's our two fastest cars Ricky right into 28 Jeff Gordon in the 24 here you see our interval behind the leader 1.3 seconds see how Ruud pulled him down the straightaway Gordon came off on the bottom before but he had to fade up in behind the 28 cause look how much distance Oh Jeff Gordon's losing this back to one-and-a-half seconds he's back there in traffic he's been in clean air all day he's had yet to deal with traffic one point six seconds I'll turn to mr. Lamont in getting myself a little league get out of get out of this traffic and get out front he might bill to hold these guys off and we've lost the fourth place car Ward Burton has dropped down to the apron way off the fence we were just talking about Bill Davis and all both his cars in the top five and still a lot of Bill Elliott is running third right now Blaney is right up there to challenge back from Elliot Sterling has worked his way out of this mad rush back here now Gordon's in the middle of it the boy he just went by Ricky Rudd in the 99 car on the bottom of the racetrack Dave oh boy John Andretti just got all screwed up right there what that did for Gordon opened the door and here come the leaders Dave Blainey a second Hut Stricklin is third Wow right run for those guys Jeff Burton fourth ricky rudd fifth and they're back to battling for wide again four abreast here they come somebody told them are 17 laps to go boys we need to go hand or look at that they're all over the place got a front stretch and you could have a fast car never know it two of the Penske cars battling the 12 of Mayfield do two of Numan forfeit play this spot Jeff Burton in the 99 on the hot side and again there you see Hut Stricklin in that 90 car these are all these lapped cars and Bill Elliott in the 9 car what a difference a pit stop in a coaching cycle make Wow changes the whole complexity sterling Marlins 1.7 seconds ahead of Blaney who is 3/10 ahead of Gordon and Gordon is trapped behind the 93 in this 31 right here he can't get out behind him is this how here he goes to the bottom he's headed to the bottom he's going to pass them both going into turn one and that puts Jeff Gordon up into second place now Ricky Rudd's trying to follow him up through Matt well the reason why Ricky would came back down pit road I talked to the crew they said last year they took on two tires in rusty wells beat them with four so they decided with the caution to come back in and get left-side tires and this is the same car that he had here had such a lead till that caution came out and rescue burned by changing four tires boy sterling is hung beside the 36 car Kenny Schrader he needs to get around him in a hurry but these guys are coming ricky rudd on the bottom side here lost a lot of momentum sealed by the Fox Trax 2.6 seconds behind our leader with a 31 car held him to the bottom going into the corner and it took away the momentum going to add up in front of him there 2.6 seconds 14 laps to go Gordon needs to run two tenths faster than Marlin to catch him but then he's got a pass and in the last lap he was a tenth and a half quicker than but that's Harley Marlins been stuck beside the 36 car he just cleared him going into three he's got clean air in front of him he should be able to really pull away now Gordon stuck beside the 30 car that's going to hold him up a little bit but he's been awfully strong getting into turn one Jeff Gordon was four tenths quicker that lapped in Sterling Marlin but as you said Sterling's been monkeying with the traffic up there now Jeff Gordon's going to have a clear race track for a little bit now if marlin can just get up there where he can get a little whiff of a draft off Bobby Labonte maybe you can hang on to this lead it's going to be a nail-biter it's going to be right down to the wire 13 to go Gordon is coming and you got it big guy from 11th place on the restart and all that traffic Gordon is almost there now there's Bobby Labonte there's Marlin so Marlin can get a little drafting help off Labonte right now he's in good shape right now he's cleared all the cars that he needed to question now is does he have the speed to hold morrow to her ho cordon off that time Sterling Marlin was about a tenth quicker than Jeff Gordon that's what he needs weld laps to go Sterling Marlin has run 31 races here at Michigan he has to trouble down here in turn two guys one car way sideways and around and up in the wall is that end ready yeah the 77 car just booted him down in the middle of corner and turned him around and recharge spinning everywhere and there's Presley was spun down to the bottom of the racetrack and Sterling did not need this the caution is on the speedway we're going to have a lot of cars that's going to get their lap back Johnny Benson Kevin Harvick Matt Kenseth Bobby Labonte all get their lap backs traitors going to try yeah thank you God leave he did get it he forgot that so we had five or six cars that got their lap back so now we have 15 16 cars on the lead lap and we're going to have under a 10 laps shootout well that's too bad down there the 77 car booted did 43 in the rear right in the middle of one and two down there turned him around I don't think that's the first time this season those two have gotten together well then that tells me that into last a guy Sterling Marlin did not want to see this Kyle we're going to be under 10 laps it will be a Down finger restart no lap traffic to deal with he'll start this race with Jeff Gordon rattled his rear bumper that is sure speed and who's got the fastest race car they've been pretty equally matched the to have I'm pretty sure we will not see Sterling Marlin Jeff Gordon Ricky Rudd on pit road for any kind of service around 11 laps we may see some of those cars that made a lap up get back on pit road to get four tires yeah there's there's the contact and the 42 77 booted 243 back up before I think we picked this up but look out he was coming at him right there Wow Kasey can to change directions four times Wow what a save let's get Michael Waltrip you go down to watch Kasey especially on the right here you see where am I going to go where am I going to go where's he gonna go plays he ended up behind Michael hard to get through there Jeff Burton in $2.99 Bill Elliott in the 9 Jimmy Spencer in the 26 all the cars that made to lap up Johnny Benson Kevin Harvick Matt Kenseth Bobby Labonte all coming to pit road but Jeff Burton and Bill Elliott they were backsliding they might as well come try to make that car but Elliott was third at one time there he was coming in in ninth place dick Berggren Jeff Burton they're going to take a pound out of the right rear moves the track bar down to try to recharge this car four-tire change on this thing they're going to put four good ones on to try to get some speed out of it to Steve take four tires for Bill Elliott no chassis adjustments left-side tires going on they have a problem on the left front Bill Elliott is finally away Kevin Harvick also in left-side tires going on for Harvick and he's away right next to Johnny Benson Benson Bentsen beat that duo off pit road and bobby labonte leaves and that will set us up for the shootout ten laps to go here at Michigan International Speedway in the Kmart 400 on FX welcome back to Michigan International Speedway you're in Brooklyn Michigan on FX we just have 9 laps to go Sterling Marlin leading Jeff Gordon with Ricky Rudd right behind and when there was that situation Jeff Hamilton Gordon had to go back into the fifth you question why one run went along with them now they look like they're in pretty good shape right now it's working out pretty good for these guys to be the guys looking at right now pulling for is old Sterling Marlin he's got that Dodge up front and if he can just hold them off but I'm telling you it's gonna be tough Gordon behind ya the way Jeff Gordon is going it's been 24 years since a Dodge has won here Mike last Winston Cup win for Dodge anywhere was November 77 Neil Bonnett on Ontario and we've had some nail biters here at DW oh yeah I never will forget that when I was just starting to get into my stride there in 1978 not was working on the old Pearson I thought I had him set up I thought I had him beat and the old Fox slid right by me going into turn three and won the race I won't forget that 1990 and 9 1991 with Dale Jarrett got us on the last corner the last lap in that wood brothers car when I was with Davey Allison and you know what we're getting ready to see somebody else's name is getting ready to go on that statistic list alright let's set the restart for you Sterling Marlin there you see his crew the race leader trying to bring dodge back to Victory Lane but Jeff Gordon is now lined up right behind him lead lap cars single-file there's the list of them ten of them and now add to that list Jimmy Spencer Johnny Benson Matt Kenseth Kevin Harvick and from here down all of these cars stayed out everybody here down on the lead lap pitted how about Blaney Wow hanging in there and fourth two dodges in the top five now the lead lap cars end right there after Bobby Labonte everybody is a lap down but with less than 10 laps to go they have to line up behind the lead lap cars single-file that's a break for sterling and I tell you the biggest thing is I watched Gordon on every restart that we've had he's been awfully quick up through the gears Marlins only led twice in this race before today 96 in 1997 he has two top 5s but there's never one here but what a great year those guys are having this weapon down there they're the only team that has been in the top ten in points all year long since Daytona a look at Ray Evernham Bill Elliott 5th at Daytona and his best since then 14 and Elliott's got a shot today he's up there in that top 10 another dodge in the top 10 if you're a dodge boy you having a pretty good afternoon of course maybe not as good as these guys here but still had a great afternoon fun to watch all right Larry where you gonna do buddy where you gonna tell me you doing something sterling you got to have one of the best restarts you've ever had right here all right he's got to quench those flames maybe maybe pop the top and pour a little on them oh that's a good idea that might work drown the mountain single file restart setting the grill every Park may feel inside a blaney that's back at fourth place sorry guys underneath Viki run at 28 Carney was following the victor is that I guess I owe trouble again down turn 10 guy Xiang is around 240 a ticket everybody's going to get past caution is on this Speedway emotional guidance train until them race it back to the caution will get a restart here but they're gonna bring it back to the caution the battle is going to be for second between Ricky Rudd and Sterling Marlin and here come all those lap down cars but mother will get a closer close for second place at the line run red got it buddy and it was close to halfway rugby to fire a beat - heck I've been beaten by an inch and Blaney beat Jeremy Mayfield back for four believe that's the seventh caution of the day and it's for shot one being caught up then will come in again for tired oh thanks she hit anything just find that thing around down there let me go back to the story window and Winston Cup racing back in the early days of NASCAR about the only records that were kept were the car number the driver's name the number of laps completed and the payoff and even who they drove for who owned the car those records weren't kept in the early days so a little bit of confusion how many women have competed in NASCAR Winston Cup racing either 14 or 15 as of today well she's done a good job she stayed out of trouble up until now see if we can tell what happened here from the Briggs & Stratton on board he was driving a little too hard maybe drove it off in there and they've been a little stayed rather from from the action we have seen so many cars get loose on the throttle off turn 2 today several accidents there especially an early part of the race you know she's running 34 then that's alright we got pretty good day's work pretty good effort yeah and she's only three laps time all right it's like one to go coming here yeah Gordon's just too strong on these race cars I'll watch him every time and he really goes you see the flagman hold one finger down that's again a down bigger restart under 10 laps to go single file only lead lap cars to the front everybody else behind them and those guys cannot mix their position back there if you're 20 laps down and you're in front of a car that's one lap down you can't let him buy you performance of the day as far as I'm concerned his Hut Stricklin as you watch the pit stop on Shawna Robinson Junod on Olivia Strickland's been on the lead lap all day he's in seventh eleventh place what a great run for him and I think Philippe Lopez is that can take a lot of pride in that performance because ever since he's been oh where they have run a lot better the last top ten for this car August of 1999 ninth right here if you look down to our left there all that smoke you see down there that's a limit haze is bolete Lopez he smoked him spirits good runs run Jeff Gordon the leader remember the pole sitter hasn't won since last fall tony stewart won at Martinsville last September Ricky Rudd right with him Sterling Marlin Dave Blaney another fellow who has not had a lot of good finishes this year but he looks like he's going to have a great one today for Bill Davis in fourth Jeremy Mayfield they're in fifth ahead of Penske Protege Ryan Newman Jeff yeah I've been watching that Ryan Newman crew all day long keeping up with our pit stops who guys have been whipping out 15-second stops and they're really pumped you know far as your drivers concerning that an excellent run all day long again a Roger Penske group and Roger Penske puts emphasis on everything good pit stops included yeah he's over here to the left as well watching with a great deal of interest can Jeff Gordon light up those flames and blast away from the field can Ricky Rudd win his first race since 1988 ruts going to have to get only going into one that's all we can do Ken Sterling Marlin or Dave Blaney come back and give Dodge its first Winston Cup win in 24 years let's find out four laps to go here we go Green Green go go go give it all you got guys he run trying to stay round with Jeff Gordon back to reach our testing is Achilles heel hosting today Ricky rod 88 races ago was his last win Dave redic come on get it under and those two have taken off from the field to horse race 180,000 people everybody's standing no dd seats in these last four laps red closes up at the end of the back straightaway but I think horns a little quicker through the corner remember how strong rut has been off turn two though let's see if he can mount a charge Sterling's got his hands full right behind them with Blaney here they come three laps to go Jeremy Mayfield is climbed up into fourth place if fraud can get up under him and stay close to the corner he can worry him and get him awareness what healy exactly do he's trying to keep that note right up further in the back of that Chevrolet and he can buy he could shake him loose that's where rudder strongest turn to well Blaney almost put a pass on sterling he was at Masada he was firmly beat him up off the corner and Ryan Newman in fifth place is right there as well Jeremy Mayfield just passed him for the fourth position Ricky Rudd is going to have one last best chance to get Jeff Gordon and this time to come to the line with schoo to go well he is there there's no question about him put the personal bone I have never seen Gordo mess up in situations like this just a little bit quicker up off of the corner this time Gordon maintains a one car length advantage rug pulls even gets him at the end of the straightaway runs probably a tick quicker but he's not getting through the poor quite as well off particularly little bit quicker Rustom go to the hot side he'll get up here I get up there loosen her up that would give him some hold on that might be his stop all right Nikki come on buddy one left to go Rudd with a car length advantage get up until there you got to get in front of him you can't let him come back on the outside oh well air Rudd just stuck it in too deep at the bottom of turn and Worcester and Thornton got the lead grunts coming back but that should have been rough last lap moon all right we're going to see what happened one more set of course down in turn three and four man he was there that would have been for the win if his his own it flap if he can get close enough he might have a shot to try it again rut tries that high side I think I think it's Gordon nobody's going to do this time he's going to try to make a run down they're off turn let's see what happened to girl very times he's gone back to the bottle for tonight and curtain to layer and top Wow Marlin Mayfield the line roar Newman edges the 90 of Hut Stricklin for bill good huh triple 36 all Network 100 baby in black that is 100 Winston Callaghan external rectangular and in a very short period of time just like this young man right here that's his 55th Winston couple in a very very good time 11 Hendrick wins for Terry Labonte 9 for DW and for Tim Richmond driving for it Geoffrey Bodine 7 Ken Schrader and Ricky Rudd for apiece 1 for Jerry Nadeau and I might add our points leader Dale Jarrett pinches eight feet it's going to be close guys Rick Hendrick's first win as a car owner came in his eighth race the spring Martinsville race in 1984 with Geoff Bodine the driver that's racing guys this is a good race and love it watch this race for fifth to the line three wide I'll turn four and Jeff Burton at 99 following Hut Stricklin in the 90 right in the middle the 99 is getting there and give him a little show that's all it took to cost the 90 car fifth place that little loss of momentum right there but look at the difference just a know just a note and that's after 400 miles 299 293 all those cars coming but you can hear the roar from the crowd and you can decide which is which love or hate you know it's like next Saturday on Fox major league baseball when the Yankees win a lot of folks would like to see somebody else because when the dominant team wins well I tell you you got to have some good guys and you got to have some bad guys and you got to have some heroes and that guy there is a hero Jeff Gordon passes Lee Petty and Rusty Wallace for sole possession of seventh on the all-time nascar win list with his 55th victory he sits in our MBNA winner's circle now that was a thriller it was and I swear I think ricky rudd if he even saved that move that he put on Gordon could get the white flag I think he I think he made his move one lap too soon and he should have drove right up in front of Gordon going down into one he should have made him live Nexxus old quarterback up here you know coach Matt Yocum is there and Jeff Gordon celebration and hugs all around magical win number 100 as he gets a hug from John Hendrick Jeff Gordon reaches back and of course had to get the sunglasses congratulations make any more special to win it like that Jeff well so many things special about this day of course it was an exciting race my hat's off to Sterling Marlin and Ricky Rudd what a great race but this was her pop I know you're watching pop we're with you buddy and just praying for you and just man I tell you what what an awesome victory of this was DuPont Chevrolet one thing Pepsi Quaker State of course DuPont but GMAC shiver Chevrolet I want to thank Fritos to their on board we don't get chance to take them enough but I'll tell you what it's pretty awesome to get our 100th win for Hendrick Motorsports i rick said he wasn't going to be here when we did it and unfortunately he's not but John's here well dramatic win what were you thinking when rut made his move i pickin I was thinking man Yates make some horsepower laughter I was thinking that you know I I was a little bit you know I know if I got the lead I had the preferred line but he'd get some real momentum coming off the corner and boy when that thing would draft you buddy there's no holding it back and he made a smart move Ricky's freaky such a great driver he made a smart move in the high side of me down in 3 & 4 got a run when he got inside me I thought I was done but I tried to step the Seidman left havoc slowed his momentum down a little bit I never drove into turn 1 as hard as I drove in that last inside when he checked out and I just jumped back into it the thing stuck and he was coming even there at the line it was incredible race I tell ya it's awesome when ones like that in a covered race incredible finished Jeff Gordon picks up career win number 55 moves in the sixth on the all-time win list number 100 for Hendrick Motorsports Mike Jeff Gordon celebrates in victory lane two weeks in a row as he closes in on the Winston Cup point lead Jeff Gordon is the winner and Chevy congratulates Jeff for the number 24 Monte Carlo team on their big win today here's the Chevrolet winning moment as Gordon keeps his foot down around turn one to repass ricky rudd steve mike thanks a lot with ricky rudd ricky take us through the next two last lap when you made your move on Jeff Gordon well I'll be honestly the racetrack was changing so much during those calls from delays it was getting a little haze a film on the track so the grooves that had been working really wasn't working at good knew that one of us were getting much traction I really I drove him to three on the outside just to see because I couldn't hold it down low and I didn't expect to get the traction up there hindsight probably shouldn't show to my everything I probably should have helped back made that move that I made on the white flag should have made it on the checkered flag lap but it was it was a good run the car really got good traction up there everybody on this Texaco Havoline team but you know the work their tails off they deserve a win we didn't get it today but it was a good run for us it was fun it was exciting yes to walk you through it I can't really walk you through it because I don't remember it I just remember being up on that steering wheel chasing that race car quite a bit we joked when I got on the inside of Jeff we drove into one we both carried so much speed in there I needed some room to slide and he had the outside groove I didn't have any room to slide out of tried to drive any harder how to sweat out and wreck both of us and neither one of us needed that thanks Ricky great Ron let's go to dick Berggren Sterling Marlin almost won this one for Dodge matching your best finish this year another third how do you feel but boy I feel kind of down we uh you know we are seated we didn't think we had that good car and all the boys on curves like Dodge team you'll really worked hard and change the stuff this morning got it going and if a cost had come up coming out I think we'd won it in it just took our car by the lap two and restarts get going and without in one on that restart it just got real Wiggly and I like Rick time to forward and Jeff got biased and we closed back on man but just wasn't wouldn't have tanked the disappointment shows on his face - Matt leshawna leshawna Robertson you finished 34th but your goal today was to finish congratulations it was I mean it wasn't it wasn't great to run the errands card at the back all day but when we were in traffic we weren't necessarily in the way we learned and that's what I needed to do I mean thank you michael Canopus for giving me the chance to be here and thank you Aaron's for sponsoring me for this race and for three more in the future you know now my focus is on Chicago because here we come Chicago now I'm that much smarter there we got a new announcement of a sponsor there for one race so at least I have an outlook and that's what it's about I don't have a wrecked race car I learned a lot that's what I needed to do what you learn I learned that I like different adjustments I learned to like a bar change a little better than a shot change we learned that that last change we made was made the car very loose and I held on to it when I spun which obviously glad I did that but um you know it was it was at me a day accomplished and I ran for her miles and that was another thing I needed to do she accomplished her goals finished 31st - Steve well Matt at the beginning of the show Mike joy said that Ryan Newman was going to come here run the ARCA race but those plants changed and you wind up in the top five tell us how you did it just a great run for the hotel for it I want to first thank Don Miller he's back home in Mooresville and without him we couldn't do this and Roger Penske here today obviously a great racetrack and just a lot of patience today to qualify twelve was it was it was a victory for us in the first place and then to be able to stay on the lead lap all day and finished fifth is just great got to think pence gains is still we had great mood Gudrun Ryan let's go back upstairs to Mike Jeff Gordon along with Muhammad Ali celebrating in victory lane Wow 2nd 2nd 29th a win and a win the last five weeks for Jeff Gordon Shauna Robinson first woman in Winston Cup since 1989 it's congratulations from hers crew did Gordon get the point lead stick around and find out I've seen a lot of hot shots today on the track and hot shots is next on FX Jeff Gordon was the predator on the last lap against Ricky Rudd another diehard performance and that's the tonight's lineup on FX and kind of a summary of our show today here's how they finished in Michigan Hendrick Motorsports 100th victory Jeff Gordon yeah I just can so impress with Sterling's run by Newman's run Dave Blaney's run Hut Stricklin and honey Rick but I didn't mean to skip over him what a great day for a Junie Dunlevy I'm just so happy for those guys spent respond comes back yep Matt Kenseth on that fuel strategy that caution comes out pretty much wipes it out he ends up the top 15 Jeff Green and Jason Leffler another top 22 in a row and Dale Jarrett way back there Nate Dean not good for his point lead Tony Stewart couple laps down is marched toward the front of the points derail temporarily 35 cars running at the finish plus Elliott Sadler and a few more and Rusty Wallace Dale Earnhardt jr. not finishing you know 39 the Gordon get the point lead survey says yay dad by 26 and not only did it will a lot of money here today pays a $60,000 bonus from Winston for the points leader to win the race we'll see you next week at Pocono here is dick Berggren well Jeff Gordon is showing the kind of dominance that he has shown in the past what he won championships and people wondered if Gordon could possibly win another championship without Ray Evernham answer they are doing incredibly well this year the pit crew one little flaw certainly didn't hurt him - Steve Byrnes well dick Jeff Gordon certainly is on a torrid streak but how about 22-year old Ryan Newman he goes as Charlotte sits on the pole for the coca-cola 600 but crash early said it was his fault comes back here to Michigan runs all 400 miles and comes home with a top-five finish Matt Yocum well Steve the front row finished right when they started one to the 24 leading the 28 by Ricky Rudd again showing the 28 team is back except now he's over 88 they hope to go to poke it on breakthrough get ruts first win since 1998 at Martinsville in September and get fat back Michael McSwain his crew chief his first career victory Chris fight a 1998 Jeff Gordon with 13 wins did for NASCAR when Tiger Woods has done for golf he'll turn 30 years old in August and continues to rack up incredible victories back in that run in 98 after 13 races he had three wins we've completed our 14th race he now has three wins he won the Winston on a backup car had an extra pit stop here NASCAR made him go back because of a loose lug nut no stopping Jeff Gordon at this point I hate it for the competitors but the good thing about it was I did see where Ricky Rudd as well as Sterling Marlin did challenge him right there Midway toward the end of the race so it's not over yet it's a long way from being over Chris Barber the way Gordon is going he'll go for three wins in a row in Pocono he has been the last driver to win three in a row that was back in 98 Friday NASCAR Winston Cup qualifying on Fox Sports Net 2:30 Eastern from Pocono on Saturday the ARCA race at 4:00 Eastern and the Bona Winston Cup practice for Sunday's race that will be on FX and don't forget from Kentucky NASCAR Busch Series 7:30 Eastern under the lights on FX and then next Sunday NASCAR this morning at 10:00 Eastern and from Pocono Jeremy Mayfield the defending champion 12:30 Eastern with the pre-race show it's been an incredible weekend here in Jeff Gordon with his 55th career victory the most among active drivers and breaking the streak of nine straight weeks in which Dale Jarrett was the points leader in this race Dale Jarrett winding up 18 Shawna Robinson cable to run and completed finishing 34th but gqueues candidate for Man of the Year athlete of the Year Jeff Gordon is the man of the moment from Michigan a day that began with Muhammad Ali the co honorary starter wishing the pole-sitter one and once they got going a race to that eight cautions tying the record for this track saw Jeff Gordon pulled on Ricky Rudd in a special FX finish and Brooklyn west of Motown was a showdown between these two Gordon winning thanks for watching on FX we'll see you next week on Fox from Pocono

Channel: SXTracing

Views: 43,517

Keywords: 2001, Kmart, 400, NASCAR, Winston, Cup, Series, Michigan, International, Speedway

Id: 7MjSPvj1Dmk

Length: 158min 45sec (9525 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 16 2011