BROOKLYN, Mich. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. snapped a long
losing streak when he won at Michigan International Speedway two years
ago.
How much have times changed? A victory this week would give NASCAR’s most popular driver a winning
streak.
Earnhardt has already reached Victory Lane twice this year, including last weekend at Pocono.
Now
third in the Sprint Cup standings, Earnhardt has three second-place
finishes in 2014 to go with his two wins — and the question is no longer
whether he can win, but how often.
"Definitely that’s new,"
Earnhardt said. "That’s the new conversation topic for us, but I just
want to win the next one. We have so much fun winning and going to
Victory Lane and last week was so much fun (with) the feeling that you
have inside and that you have for several hours after that. It’s like
the best feeling ever. And I want to do it again. I want to do it now,
this weekend."
Earnhardt paired his first career win at Pocono
with his Daytona 500 championship for his first multi-win season since
2004. He’s won twice at Michigan, including the 2012 victory that was
his first in a Cup race anywhere since he also won at MIS four years
earlier.
Earnhardt’s success this year has come to some degree at
the expense of Brad Keselowski, who got his break when Earnhardt hired
him to drive for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.
Although
their developing rivalry does not involve any real bad blood, Earnhardt
and Keselowski have found themselves going head to head a decent amount
lately.
When Earnhardt won at Daytona, Keselowski was third, and
Keselowski was second to Earnhardt last weekend at Pocono. Keselowski
did win at Las Vegas early in the season — with Earnhardt finishing
second.
Although Keselowski is from Michigan, he’s never won a Cup
race at MIS, finishing as high as second. A win by Keselowski would
extend Ford’s winning streak to four Cup races at this track. Joey
Logano took last year’s August event, and Greg Biffle took the two
before that.
Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports have won the past
four Cup races this year, with Jimmie Johnson winning twice and points
leader Jeff Gordon also earning a victory in that span. And that doesn’t
even count Jamie McMurray’s win for Chevy in the Sprint All-Star race
last month.
Keselowski will try to end that run, while giving team
owner Roger Penske another victory in Michigan after Logano prevailed
last year. Keselowski is fifth in the Cup standings and Logano is ninth.
"I
think it’s really good for Roger," Keselowski said. "We rely on him so
much to make our team go … whether that’s motivation, sponsorship,
funding, decision making, leadership — across the board — and to see him
be excited to have two cars that are legitimate front runners week in
and week out, I think that really energizes him to play a strong role on
the NASCAR side."
Here are five more things to watch in Sunday’s race at MIS:
ROUSH’S
OUTLOOK: Owner Jack Roush wouldn’t provide any update on what his
driver lineup will look like in 2015, but Roush Fenway Racing is hoping
to add to its record 13 Cup victories at Michigan. Roush’s only Cup win
this year came when Carl Edwards took the checkered flag at Bristol. His
best hope at MIS may be Biffle, who has four victories there — and
Edwards leads all active drivers in the Cup series with an average
finishing position at Michigan of 8.316.
TRYING AGAIN: Johnson is 0
for 24 at Michigan, although he came close to ending that drought in
2012 before his engine faltered with only six laps remaining. He
finished second at MIS in August 2011.
RECORD SPEED: Ever since
the Michigan track was repaved before the 2012 season, speeds have
soared, and Kevin Harvick won the pole Friday at 204.557 mph, the
fastest qualifying speed since Bill Elliott set the record of 212.809
mph at Talladega Superspeedway in April 1987. Johnson had the fastest
speed in the first of two practice sessions Saturday at 202.054 mph.
Kyle Larson topped the field at the final practice session at 198.424.
AT
THE TOP: Gordon has finished in the top 15 in every race but one this
year, and he brings the points lead to Michigan, where he’s won twice,
although not since 2001.
CONSISTENCY: Matt Kenseth is second in
the standings despite not finishing higher than third in any race. He
has 10 top-10 finishes. Kenseth has 18 top-10 finishes in 29 starts at
Michigan, with two victories.