It was a Hendrick Motorsport parade today at Michigan International Speedway….and Jeff Gordon was at the head of the line. Gordon grabbed his second Bud Pole of the season (he nabbed the top-spot at Martinsville in April) this afternoon for Sunday’s DHL 400 with a speed of 190.865 (37.723 sec). This is the 4th pole for Gordon at MIS, and the 48th of his career. Hendrick Chevy’s took the top three spots…Brian Vickers and last week’s winner Jimmie Johnson were the supporting cast today.
Robby Gordon (5th) has his best starting spot since he started 3rd when we were here last August.
Kurt Busch (7th) has his best starting spot since he lined up 7th at Martinsville in April.
STREAKIN….Brian Vickers has 6 Top-10 starts in a row.
Ryan Newman has 5 Top-10 starts in the last 6 races.
Jimmie Johnson has 4 Top-5 starts in the last 5 races.
The Trouble Train only contained two cars today….45 on hand, so the early outs go to Kerry Earnhardt & Carl Long.
Gotta wonder about TV sometimes. Speed TV [Channel] couldn’t tear themselves away from an interview with an employee (Michael Waltrip) long enough for us to see Dave Blaney crash on his first qualifying lap. Brother DW was letting ’em know there was trouble, but I guess it just didn’t fit their broadcast mode du jour. Funny, I thought it was a qualifying show. How’s about that brother stuff. Todd Bodine in on time by .001 over brother Geoffrey….can’t get any closer than that! 400 miles here is a mere sprint after what we’ve had the last couple weeks. This race is often fast and fuelish….wide sweeping turns with multiple grooves makes this a place where you need to hit the setup off the truck, cause chances are you’re not gonna get a whole lot of pit stops to improve it.(StockCarFans.Com Nextelcup Newsletter)(6-18-2004)