[jks812]

The Eliminator: Keep an eye on Kurt Busch at Michigan

By Matthew Willis
ESPN.com
(Archive)





Updated: August 18, 2007, 10:22 PM ET

This week we return to Michigan, home of the slumping Lions, Tigers and Chevrolets. That's right, Chevrolet doesn't have a win in the last 12 races at Michigan International Speedway, by far the longest active winless streak by the manufacturer at any track. The next longest is three straight at California and at Homestead-Miami. That'll remove the 19 Chevrolet teams and leave us with 28 Dodges, Fords and Toyotas.
Michigan hasn't been kind to drivers looking to break through for their first Nextel Cup Series victory. The last driver to do so was Dale Jarrett in 1991. That's 31 Michigan races since we've last had a first-time winner there. Dale Jarrett has all 32 of his career victories during that time. It's safe to say Jarrett won't be adding to that total any time soon; he's more likely to be delivering to your house than to Victory Lane. It's also safe to say we won't have a first-time winner Sunday. That takes out Scott Riggs, Reed Sorenson and seven others to leave us with just 19.
You can look to another fast oval track, Atlanta, to see who's going to run well at Michigan. The last eight Michigan winners finished at least 13th at their previous Atlanta race, including Kasey Kahne's win last season. Fifteen of our remaining 19 drivers didn't finish in the top 13 at Atlanta earlier this season, including Kahne, Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle. The 2007 NCAA men's Final Four was played in Atlanta, and by no coincidence, we're down to our final four, as well.
From 2002-06, Roush Fenway Racing won exactly one of the two races at Michigan every season. However, the team has never swept a season at Michigan. We already saw Carl Edwards do a backflip at Michigan earlier this season, but don't expect to see it again. The Roush Fenway boys run well when they're near Motown, but history's not on their side. We'll take out the acrobatics of Edwards, and the mild yet consistent Matt Kenseth.
For our final two, we have to look at track history. A rookie driver has never, ever won a Cup race at Michigan. That's 38 years and 76 races of history working against Juan Pablo Montoya this weekend. He'll be the last driver eliminated this week, and that leaves us with just one.
Your winner this week: Kurt Busch.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by jks812

The Eliminator: Keep an eye on Kurt Busch at Michigan

By Matthew Willis
ESPN.com
(Archive)





Updated: August 18, 2007, 10:22 PM ET

This week we return to Michigan, home of the slumping Lions, Tigers and Chevrolets. That's right, Chevrolet doesn't have a win in the last 12 races at Michigan International Speedway, by far the longest active winless streak by the manufacturer at any track. The next longest is three straight at California and at Homestead-Miami. That'll remove the 19 Chevrolet teams and leave us with 28 Dodges, Fords and Toyotas.
Michigan hasn't been kind to drivers looking to break through for their first Nextel Cup Series victory. The last driver to do so was Dale Jarrett in 1991. That's 31 Michigan races since we've last had a first-time winner there. Dale Jarrett has all 32 of his career victories during that time. It's safe to say Jarrett won't be adding to that total any time soon; he's more likely to be delivering to your house than to Victory Lane. It's also safe to say we won't have a first-time winner Sunday. That takes out Scott Riggs, Reed Sorenson and seven others to leave us with just 19.
You can look to another fast oval track, Atlanta, to see who's going to run well at Michigan. The last eight Michigan winners finished at least 13th at their previous Atlanta race, including Kasey Kahne's win last season. Fifteen of our remaining 19 drivers didn't finish in the top 13 at Atlanta earlier this season, including Kahne, Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle. The 2007 NCAA men's Final Four was played in Atlanta, and by no coincidence, we're down to our final four, as well.
From 2002-06, Roush Fenway Racing won exactly one of the two races at Michigan every season. However, the team has never swept a season at Michigan. We already saw Carl Edwards do a backflip at Michigan earlier this season, but don't expect to see it again. The Roush Fenway boys run well when they're near Motown, but history's not on their side. We'll take out the acrobatics of Edwards, and the mild yet consistent Matt Kenseth.
For our final two, we have to look at track history. A rookie driver has never, ever won a Cup race at Michigan. That's 38 years and 76 races of history working against Juan Pablo Montoya this weekend. He'll be the last driver eliminated this week, and that leaves us with just one.
Your winner this week: Kurt Busch.

the streak continues...