The Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway made official what we’ve all known for months now. Kevin Harvick will be among the contenders for the Sprint Cup. It will surprise exactly no one that Havick is in the Cup chase, but now he’s a lock. He can skip the next three weeks if he wants. While his competitors are sweating it out in Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond, Harvick could take a nice long vacation in Jamaica. If he wanted to. But, of course, he doesn’t want to do that. Like all great NASCAR drivers, Kevin Harvick wants to be on the track.
Although 11 of the top 12 spots are all but sealed, this week’s race at Michigan shows just how precarious those precious slots can be. Kurt Busch had a disastrous outing. Engine trouble knocked him out of the race after completing just 30 laps, dropping him all the way from a sure thing in fourth place to an almost, but not quite, sure thing in 10th. It’s been a while since any of the Cup contenders had such a dramatic, precipitous drop in the rankings.
Jeff Burton fared only slightly better, finishing a distant 24th place and dropping four spots in the standings, landing in 7th place. Busch and Burton’s loss was a gain for Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Carl Edwards, who capitalized on their rivals’ mistakes and moved up a combined ten spots to third, fourth, and sixth respectively.
The drama for the next three weeks will primarily revolve around Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin. Just 35 points separate the two, but in all likelihood only one will move on the the Sprint Cup Chase. One victory could clinch the deal for either driver. One early exit could seal their fate. The next three weeks will be good to be a NASCAR fan.
