NASCAR preview: Carfax 400
Both Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson can officially clinch a spot in the Chase for the Championship at this weekend’s Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Counting this event, there are just four races until NASCAR’s playoffs begin. All Stewart, the points leader, has to do is start the race and he’s in the Chase. Johnson is 496 points ahead of 13th-place Kyle Busch — meaning he would need to add at least 90 points to his lead over 13th place to clinch.
Johnson is actually the WagerWeb.com favorite this week at +325 despite Stewart coming off a victory Monday at Watkins Glen. JJ has raced at MIS 15 times and has just two top-5 finishes.
Stewart, who is the second WagerWeb.com favorite at +650, has nine top-5 finishes, including a victory, in 21 starts at MIS.
The beauty of the Michigan race is that there have been eight different winners in the past nine races at Michigan. Carl Edwards won the spring race in 2007 and the fall event in ‘08. In 10 starts at MIS, Edwards has only finished outside of the top 10 once, with those two wins and an average finish of 6.3. Among current drivers, Mark Martin has a series-best five victories at the track, including a win on June 14.
Jeff Gordon said he will be ready to race this weekend, even though the four-time NASCAR champion has a stiff back from his huge accident at Watkins Glen. Gordon, a two-time winner here, is +850 on WagerWeb.com.
Maybe this is finally the week that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a factor again. His late victory came at Michigan International Speedway late June. Since 2006, Junior has three top-fives and four top-10s at MIS and has led at least one lap in all but one of those seven races. So he is great betting value at +2800 on WagerWeb.com. Sunday will be Junior’s 350th NASCAR start.
Don’t rule out Greg Biffle (+775 on WagerWeb.com) this weekend. He has two wins, six top-fives and eight top-10s in 13 starts. He’s led 233 laps at the 2-mile oval and has 11 lead-lap finishes.
By the way, following two straight weeks of rain-postponed races in the Sprint Cup Series, the weather looks fine to get this one in on Sunday. MIS is known as one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. It generally boasts qualifying speeds in excess of 190 mph and into-the-corner speeds of up to 215 mph.
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