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Double the fun
Edwards completes Michigan weekend sweep
Complete results | Race chat | Starting lineup
Photos | Ask the Pros! | Around the Track
Garage talk
Look out Kyle Busch, here comes Carl Edwards.
Edwards completed a weekend sweep at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, beating NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Busch off pit road on their last stops and driving off to his fifth Cup win of the season and second in the last three races.
Busch, who has eight Cup wins, was just ahead of Edwards when they pitted under caution on lap 180 of the 200-lap 3M Performance 400, but Edwards beat the 23-year-old out of the pits.
David Ragan and June Michigan winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had stayed on track and were running 1-2, but Edwards easily passed them on the restart on lap 183 to retake the lead, then held off Busch on another restart with two laps to go and gave Roush Fenway Racing co-owner Jack Roush his 20th overall victory on the 2-mile Michigan oval.
Edwards, who turned 29 on Friday, also won the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, becoming only the second driver to win both races. Former Roush driver Mark Martin did it in 1993.
Complete story
Race coverage
Cautions:
Caution 1 / Laps 20-25: Oil is being reported on the track courtesy of Marcos Ambrose, who rolls into the pits with smoke coming out from underneath the car. The team looks at the engine to see if they can fix it, but they roll the car into the garage. It is likely game over for the No. 21 Wood Bros. team. During the ensuing pit stops, Jimmie Johnson took over the lead from Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Free pass: None.
Caution 2 / Laps 86-89: Crash on the backstretch involving Dave Blaney. Paul Menard got into the back of Ryan Newman, who slid and took out Blaney. The driver of the No. 22 hit the wall hard, got airborne momentarily, and slid several hundred feet along the wall before coming to a rest.
Free pass: Bobby Labonte (33rd).
Caution 3 / Laps 98-101: Jeff Gordon slams into the Turn 2 wall after his right-front tire blew. Gordon will not end his season-long drought today. More importantly, he is falling closer to the bottom of the Chase Zone.
Free pass: AJ Allmendinger (32nd).
Caution 4 / Laps 165-169: Debris. Shortly before the caution, Jeff Gordon came back on track and the debris actually came off his beat up car.
Free pass: Martin Truex Jr. (17th).
Caution 5 / Laps 179-182: Debris sets up an interesting ending to today's race. Most of the leaders pit, except for David Ragan and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Let's see who played the strategy game correctly.
Free pass: Mark Martin (16th).
Caution 6 / Laps 188-190: Debris on the racetrack in Turn 3, likely from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crash a few laps earlier.
Free pass: Jimmie Johnson (18th).
Caution 7 / Laps 194-198: Denny Hamlin's engine just went boom to bring out the caution.
Free pass: None.
Lead changes: Brian Vickers (pole), Jimmie Johnson (1-7), Dale Earnhardt (8-23), Jimmie Johnson (24-28), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (29-48), Brian Vickers (49-66), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (67-73), Carl Edwards (74-86), Scott Riggs (87), Carl Edwards (88-90), Greg Biffle (91), Carl Edwards (92-140), Jeff Burton (141), Kyle Busch (142-165), Carl Edwards (166), Brian Vickers (167-169), Kyle Busch (170-180), David Ragan (181-182), Carl Edwards (183)
Off the track: Marcos Ambrose (engine), Jeff Gordon (accident), Dave Blaney (accident), Kasey Kahne (engine), Denny Hamlin (engine)
Starting in the back: Ryan Newman (engine change)
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Edwards happy at Michigan
Practice Speeds: First | Second | Final
Michigan International Speedway has earned the moniker "The House of Roush" in the past, and Carl Edwards looks set to revive the name this weekend.
In the final practice for Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the 2-mile speedway, Edwards set the pace to beat with a fast lap of 182.537 mph. Edwards best lap during his 31 lap session was over one-tenth quicker than second place Kevin Harvick's best of 181.873 mph.
Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton finished inside the top five quickest in the hour-long session.
Travis Kvapil, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Elliott Sadler and polesitter Brian Vickers completed the top 10.
Coverage of Sunday's 200-lap affair is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET right here on FOXSports.com
Practice 2 recap: Hamlin tops Johnson
It wasn't as close as Saturday morning's swimming contest in Beijing, but Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson had their own fast duel at Michigan International Speedway.
With a fast lap of 184.805 mph, Hamlin led the second practice session of the weekend at the 2-mile speedway. His mark was slightly faster than Johnson's 184.715 mph.
Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick finished inside the top five.
Carl Edwards, polesitter Brian Vickers, David Ragan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin rounded out the top 10.
Practice 1 recap: Vickers starts quick
Brian Vickers didn't need many laps to show he was fast at Michigan International Speedway.
With only four laps of practice in Friday's opening session, the driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota claimed the top spot with a lap of 187.373 mph.
Elliott Sadler went the opposite direction, running 16 laps in the 90-minute practice, but he was also quick, finishing second best with a 185.258 mph lap. Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin and defending race winner Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan, Travis Kvapil, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle completed the top 10.
All 44 NASCAR Sprint Cup teams ran laps in the session.
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No Bull: Vickers claims Michigan pole
Qualifying results | Lineup
Nobody could touch Brian Vickers on Friday in NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Michigan International Speedway.
"It was there from the first lap, the first turn," Vickers said after his lap of 188.536 mph put the Red Bull Racing driver on the pole for Sunday's 3M Performance 400.
It was the fifth career pole for Vickers, but the first for his team and his first since November 2006 at Texas, when he was still driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
Last season, the first for both Red Bull and Toyota in Cup, was mostly a struggle for Vickers, who finished 38th in the standings. But the 24-year-old, who raced to fourth here in June - one of three top-fives this season - has made big strides this year and is a solid 17th in the standings.
Two-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was second at 187.028. But his lap was more than three-tenths of a second slower than Vickers on the 2-mile oval.
And the fast lap by Vickers wasn't a fluke. He was also fastest in the 90-minute practice earlier Friday.
"But anytime you can see progress, feel progress, patience comes easier."
Elliott Sadler was third at 186.577 in a Dodge, followed by June winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet at 186.321, four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon's Chevrolet at 186.032 and the Dodge of rookie Patrick Carpentier at 185.979.
Rounding out the top 10 were David Reutimann at 185.907, rookie Regan Smith at 185.874 and Greg Biffle and Scott Riggs, both at 185.821. Series points leader Kyle Busch, who has a season-high eight Cup victories, will start 11th in Sunday's race.
Complete story
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Darrell Waltrip
Saying thanks
Times are tough in America, especially in the auto industry. But there are still things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, DW says.
Jeff Hammond
Hangin' Chad
If NASCAR is a team sport, Jeff Hammond wonders why the champions banquet doesn't let crew chiefs like Chad Knaus speak.
Larry McReynolds
Group think
The drivers may get all the glory, but Larry McReynolds says it's really the team that makes the difference.
Steve Byrnes
Reign maker
The layout of Homestead-Miami Speedway makes it a great place to race — and a great place to crown a champion, Steve Byrnes says.
Mike Joy
Built for excitement
Richmond has a rich racing history, one that included thrilling action even before NASCAR's time, says NASCAR on FOX's Mike Joy.
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| OWNER POINT STANDINGS |
| Pos |
+/- |
Driver |
Car |
Points |
| 31 |
+177 |
Dave Blaney |
Toyota |
2882 |
| 32 |
+167 |
Regan Smith |
Chevrolet |
2872 |
| 33 |
+139 |
Reed Sorenson |
Dodge |
2844 |
| 34 |
+65 |
Robby Gordon |
Dodge |
2770 |
| 35 |
-- |
Brian Vickers |
Toyota |
2705 |
| 36 |
-13 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Toyota |
2692 |
| 37 |
-80 |
AJ Allmendinger |
Dodge |
2625 |
| 38 |
-126 |
Sam Hornish Jr. |
Dodge |
2579 |
| 39 |
-337 |
Ken Schrader |
Toyota |
2368 |
| 40 |
-409 |
Bill Elliott |
Ford |
2296 |
| Complete Owner Standings |
| Track Information |
| On Track With Larry Mac |
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Larry McReynolds, NASCAR on FOX analyst, scouts the track
Read his full analysis. |
| Track Vitals |
Location:
Brooklyn, MI |
Distance/Track Type:
2 Mile Oval 18-degree bank |
Nextel Cup Top Race Speed:
173.997 by Dale Jarrett on 6/13/1999 |
Nextel Cup Top Qualifying Speed:
194.232 by Ryan Newman on 6/18/2005 |
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