Backstretch Motorsports

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Much to the delight of a screaming partisan crowd, Dale Earnhardt Jr. coasted across the finish line after a nerve-wracking restart to win the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was the highly-popular Earnhardt’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup points victory in 76 races.

And this one had everyone biting their nails and cracking their knuckles in suspense because Junior ran low on fuel.

When other frontrunners stopped for gas with less than 10 laps top go, Earnhardt’s crew chief Tony Eury Jr. decided to gamble that his driver could go the distance without stopping. He told Dale Jr. to preserve as much gas as he could, and Junior slowed his pace and dropped back in the field.

Thinking they were going to fall a lap or two short, Eury and his crew, not to mention the Earnhardt Army of fans, nervously watched the race wind down.

A late-race caution when Sam Hornish Jr. spun out of turn four set up an Alfred Hitchcock ending. Suspense raced through the crowd like a rainstorm, drenching the huge crowd in nervous anticipation.

Dale Jr. cut his car on and off as they circled the two-mile track waiting for the restart. He wiggled his Chevrolet back and forth, trying to make sure every drop of gas in the fuel cell was used.

When the flag waved to get them going again, Junior took off strong with Kasey Kahne right on his bumper. The suspense ended when Patrick Carpentier spun and brought out the caution, which meant Junior only had to make the remaining lap at a reasonable speed. He did and then ran out of gas shortly after crossing the start/finish line.

Kahne, winner last week at Pocono, was second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Elliott Sadler and Jamie McMurray.

Kenseth, Vickers and Johnson, who led much of the race, were among the drivers who had to stop for gas.

The first caution flew on the third lap when Dave Blaney’s Toyota turned sideways suddenly out of turn two. It was a quick caution, and Johnson lost no time going past Kyle Busch for the lead. Young Brian Vickers raced past Johnson for the lead on the 34th lap, and Johnson repaid the favor the next lap. It was an exciting duel for the two drivers, as they had opened a four-second lead on Earnhardt Jr. and Kenseth. Busch had dropped back in the field when everyone starting making pit stops at lap 39.

Once pit stops were complete, Michael Waltrip, who had pitted during the first caution, led several laps before stopping again. Vickers and Johnson were again in the lead.

It was another miserable day for former Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, who pulled behind the pit wall with engine problems after 30 laps.

Vickers opened up a lead on Johnson at this point in the race.

The top 10 cars at the 60-lap mark were
Vickers, Johnson, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Earnhardt, Kahne, Biffle, Gordon and Stewart.

Sam Hornish, Jr., had moved from 35th starting position to 15th, quite impressive for another former Indy 500 winner.

The second round of green-flag pit stops commenced on lap 78. Leader Vickers came in at 80 laps. When everyone had put on tires and filled up with gas, it was Kenseth out front as a result of changing two tires instead of four, which resulted in a quicker pit stop than Vickers, who changed four tires.

At 90 laps, Kenseth led with Vickers in second, almost five seconds back. Johnson was next, followed by Kyle Busch, Edwards, Earnhardt, Kahne, Biffle, Gordon and Harvick. Waltrip was 11th and Stewart 12th.

The third caution of the day, this one for debris on the track, slowed the action at 92 laps.

The race resumed on lap 96 with Edwards in front. At the halfway point, 100 laps, Edwards led Kenseth but Kurt Busch spun on the backstretch bringing out another caution. On the restart a few laps later, it was Edwards, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Vickers, Earnhardt, Gordon, Harvick, Kahne and Waltrip in the top 10.

NASCAR Race Number 15
Unofficial Race Results for the Lifelock “400″ - Sunday, June 15, 2008
Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI - 2 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 203 Laps - 406 Miles - Purse: $5,243,196

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps
1 3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy 203 190 5 $173,550 Running 5 14
2 9 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 203 170 $161,116 Running
3 16 17 Matt Kenseth Carhartt Ford 203 170 5 $155,066 Running 4 41
4 18 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 203 165 5 $97,100 Running 4 44
5 12 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 203 160 5 $136,986 Running 1 1
6 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 203 160 10 $149,061 Running 6 65
7 4 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 203 151 5 $130,200 Running 3 21
8 13 6 David Ragan AAA Insurance Ford 203 147 5 $98,975 Running 2 6
9 27 19 Elliott Sadler McDonald’s Big Mac Dodge 203 138 $112,120 Running
10 23 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Ford 203 139 5 $95,125 Running 1 1
11 26 15 Paul Menard Menards/Sylvania Chevrolet 203 130 $91,875 Running
12 10 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 203 127 $124,786 Running
13 1 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 203 129 5 $101,800 Running 1 5
14 5 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 203 126 5 $115,841 Running 1 1
15 2 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 203 118 $123,008 Running
16 19 28 Travis Kvapil freecreditreport.com Ford 203 115 $107,314 Running
17 17 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats 203 112 $110,383 Running
18 8 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 203 109 $124,286 Running
19 39 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 203 111 5 $78,650 Running 1 1
20 7 16 Greg Biffle Dish Network Ford 203 103 $88,875 Running
21 22 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 203 100 $82,850 Running
22 35 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Mobil 1 Dodge 203 102 5 $121,325 Running 2 2
23 38 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 203 99 5 $96,408 Running 1 1
24 43 10 Patrick Carpentier # LifeLock Dodge 202 91 $78,800 Running
25 15 8 Mark Martin U.S. Army Chevrolet 202 88 $110,933 Running
26 11 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 202 85 $91,825 Running
27 24 38 David Gilliland freecreditreport.com Ford 202 82 $92,383 Running
28 42 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 202 79 $72,975 Running
29 36 45 Terry Labonte Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 202 76 $89,933 Running
30 25 5 Casey Mears Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet 201 73 $91,200 Running
31 20 43 Bobby Labonte Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 201 70 $112,486 Running
32 31 01 Regan Smith # Principal Financial Group/DEI 201 67 $82,950 Running
33 34 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 201 64 $84,983 Running
34 32 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 200 61 $99,489 Running
35 28 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 200 58 $72,125 Running
36 37 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft Ford 200 55 $90,420 Running
37 33 00 Michael McDowell # Champion Mortgage Toyota 199 52 $81,572 Running
38 21 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Big Red Slim Pack Dodge 194 49 $99,848 Running
39 29 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 180 46 $71,890 Running
40 30 7 Robby Gordon RVs.com/Camping World Dodge 150 43 $79,850 Accident
41 40 96 JJ Yeley DLP HDTV Toyota 116 40 $79,815 Engine
42 14 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 114 37 $113,845 Engine
43 41 40 Dario Franchitti # Juicy Fruit Slim Pack Dodge 30 34 $79,258 Engine
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 115,000, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the LifeLock 400, his 18th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following driver(s) dropped to the rear for the reason(s) indicated: #15 Menard (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: (2) Jason Leffler, #70; Tony Raines, #34.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 47 Mins, 34 Secs. Average Speed: 145.375 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Caution Flags: 8 for 22 laps: Laps: 4-5 (#22 spun backstretch); 93-96 (Debris); 103-106 (#2 spun backstretch); 148-151 (#43 spun backstretch); 153-156 (#7 accident backstretch); 199-201 (#77 spun turn 4); 203-203 (#10,55 accident frontstretch); 204-203 ().
Lead Changes: 31 among 13 drivers: Ky. Busch 1-5; J. Johnson 6-33; B. Vickers 34; J. Johnson 35; B. Vickers 36-37; J. Johnson 38; D. Earnhardt Jr. 39-40; M. Waltrip 41; B. Vickers 42-78; C. Edwards 79; D. Earnhardt Jr. 80-81; M. Kenseth 82-92; J. Johnson 93; D. Hamlin 94; C. Edwards 95-113; M. Kenseth 114-137; D. Earnhardt Jr. 138; T. Stewart 139; A. Allmendinger 140; D. Ragan 141; S. Hornish Jr. # 142; M. Kenseth 143-147; J. Johnson 148-161; S. Hornish Jr. # 162; J. Johnson 163-182; B. Vickers 183-186; M. Kenseth 187; C. Edwards 188; D. Ragan 189-193; D. Earnhardt Jr. 194; J. McMurray 195; D. Earnhardt Jr. 196-203.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) Ky. Busch 2,213;(2) J. Burton 2,181;(3) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,129;(4) C. Edwards 2,007;(5) J. Johnson 1,959;(6) D. Hamlin 1,926;(7) K. Kahne 1,889;(8) G. Biffle 1,884;(9) J. Gordon 1,876;(10) K. Harvick 1,817;(11) T. Stewart 1,774;(12) C. Bowyer 1,764.
DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Kasey Kahne, #9 DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Dale Earnhardt, Jr, #88
EA Sports Move of the Race : Dale Earnhardt, Jr, #88 Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Kyle Busch, #18 (181.984 mph, Lap 2)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Jimmie Johnson, #48 Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Kurt Busch, #2
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : David Ragan, #6 (.126 Second) Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Sam Hornish, #77
Sunoco Diamond Performance : Dale Earnhardt, Jr, #88 USG Improving the Finish : Patrick Carpentier, #10 (19 Places)
WIX Lap Leader : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (65 Laps)
Next Race: Jun. 22, 2008 - Infineon Raceway