Chevrolet Looks Forward to Winning at Michigan

Chevrolets dominate this year’s Nextel Cup season. But history reflects that success is elusive at the Michigan International Speedway (MIS). In the last eleven Cup races, MIS winners have driven either Fords or Dodges.

To note, Chevrolets have accumulated only two of the last 22 races at the venue. This is why the team is adamant yet cautiously optimistic about the Sunday’s Michigan 400 race. Despite the fact that Chevy grabbed the top-three spots and eight of the top nine during Friday’s qualifying, the team is not that certain to get the top spot this Sunday.

Johnson said that he is not sure why Chevys have struggled so much at MIS. The last Chevy driver to win at the MIS was Gordon. And that was when he captured the Kmart 400 in 2001. In 1998, Gordon also won the Pepsi 400 presented by DeVilbiss at the track. "It's weird how certain tracks favor certain teams," Johnson noted.

In recent years, the MIS has favored Jack Roush's teams. In August, Matt Kenseth, the driver of Roush's No. 17 Ford, won the last race capturing the GFS Marketplace 400. "Manufacturers, unfortunately, have their hands tied and can't do a lot," Johnson said. "It really revolves around the teams. And this has been a Roush track, for whatever reason. I know Jeff has won here... but it kind of falls into being a Roush track. They carry the Ford logo, so thus it's been considered a Ford track, too.”

Johnson added, "I think that the Chevy teams have been close here. I know from my own experience, we were running up front in the fall here and had a flat tire. I've personally had a lot of crazy things happened to me late in races here, whether it's strategy, running out of fuel, tire failures. We just haven't had the finishes we thought we would. But if you look at the statistics probably up to the two-thirds mark, Chevy teams are in contention - but when the checkered falls, weird things happen. I don't know why, but the statistics certainly show that Ford camp seems to rule here."

Aside from Fords, Dodges also grabbed several victories at MIS. Ray Evernham racked up two wins in his Dodges in between, and Roger Penske gained two wins in his Dodges on the other end of Roush's streak.

"Everybody looks at it differently," said Elliott Sadler, the driver of the No. 19 Dodge owned by Evernham that qualified terribly Friday and will start in the 39th position Sunday. "You are looking at past history. Coming to Michigan, I look at who ran well at Charlotte and who ran well at Texas. Chevrolets ran good at both of those racetracks.”

Kenseth struggled in qualifying Friday. He will start on Row 13 in the 26th position. But he said that he always looks forward to running at MIS - as do most drivers, he added. "We've had good racecars here in the past," Kenseth said. "It's a really fun track for the drivers.”

J.J. Yeley, the driver of the No. 18 Chevy powered by Joe Gibbs Racing was the pole winner. It was his first career pole. Jimmie Johnson, the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports machine, qualified second. He will start in the front row alongside Yeley. Lame-duck Hendrick driver Kyle Busch will start in the third position, followed by Ryan Newman, the driver of the No. 12 Dodge. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Dodge and Newman's Penske Racing teammate, will start in the tenth position. The Sunday’s race is expected to be as smooth as the performance of the window motor.