Winner’s and Losers From The Pure Michigan 400
Matt Kenseth may have dominated the entire field during The Pure Michigan 400, but that doesn’t mean every driver that finished behind him on Sunday is automatically considered a loser. In fact, a lot of drivers achieved small victories on Sunday that will give them momentum for the weeks to come.
Matt Kenseth is the big winner at Michigan, but who are the other winners? Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
There are also a lot of drivers that should be hanging their heads pretty low after this week’s race. Drivers that had a chance to change their season around and gain the points they need to enter the post season, but ultimately they came up just a little bit short in the end.
Finally there were those that were looking to make a statement during this week’s race. While some of those drivers accomplished all that and more, there were other drivers who failed miserably to make a statement in the final four races of the season. With that being said, these are this week’s winners and losers from The Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Raceway.
Winner: Matt Kenseth. Sure, he won the race, but that’s not the only reason he’s a winner on this list. The Wisconsin native led 146 laps and only fell as low as 15th in the running order during Sunday’s race. Not only that, this was also the sixth win for Joe Gibbs Racing in seven races, making JGR looking extremely dominant as The Sprint Cup Series get ready for The Chase. Kenseth should also be feeling confident about his championship hopes, especially since this marks his third win of the season.
Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. While fans the fans of Jr Nation were probably hoping for a win in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400, they should just be happy that their favorite driver finished in the Top-ten this week. To be honest, Jr. had an abysmal race from lap one. He started the day in 9th, quickly fell back to 21st, and worked hard to improve the car throughout the day and finally finished tenth. If anything, this should be seen as a positive for Jr. Fans, especially since this proves he can turn a lackluster afternoon into something salvageable in the end. He also finished better than his three teammates, who all finished outside The Top-ten in Sunday’s race. Not a huge win, but it should definitely make a statement for The Chase.
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Loser: Kyle Busch. Here comes the hate. The only reason this should be considered a loss for Busch, is because he was running second at one point during this race. Sure, it can be argued that he was points racing and just playing with the hand he was dealt, but he’s supposed to be Kyle Busch, The man that takes an average day and makes it spectacular! He may not have been able to overtake his teammate during Sunday’s race, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a car that was capable of finishing in The Top-five, especially considering he originally qualified 6th for Sundays race. If anything, that should prove Busch and his team had the speed, but unfortunately did nothing with it. With that being said, he did gain a few points and is now 29th in the point standings.
Loser: Clint Bowyer. Clint Bowyer was having his best race of the season, unfortunately for The Michael Waltrip Racing driver, it just wasn’t meant to be. Bowyer started the race in 12th, but then worked his way up into The Top-ten. He even led a lap and ran in the top five for a while. Sadly, Bowyer spun on lap 127 and finished the race 34 laps down. Despite the cringe worthy finish to his day, Bowyer still sits 27 points in the good heading into the final three races of the regular season. While that might be the only positive to take away from performance on Sunday, he still ends up in the loser column, because this legitimately could have been his best race of the 2015 season. Could of, would of, but didn’t. I guess the struggle continues for MWR in 2015.
Loser: Jimmie Johnson. It was a downhill kind of a day for former Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson. He started the day in eight place, but fell back to 22nd by the midway point of the race. Things were made even worse when Johnson uncharacteristically spun out during the final 20 laps of the race. Like Bowyer, he was never able to recover and finished 39th. Despite having four wins to his credit this season, it looks like Johnson might be in huge trouble come Chase time, especially if you consider the fact that Johnson only has two Top-ten’s in the last five races. If that wasn’t enough to get Johnson fans a little nervous about the post season, Johnson’s three finishes outside The Top-ten were all 15th or worse.
Winner. Austin Dillon Life has finally been discovered at Richard Childress Racing. Given, it’s not much life, but it’s enough to establish a starting point for the young and talented Austin Dillon. Dillon started the race in the back due to an engine change, but worked his way up to the lead by lap 23 and led until lap 40. Not only that, he stayed in The Top-five and ended the day in fifth. While this in no way means Dillon will secure a Chase spot in time for the postseason, this certainly helps him and his team gain momentum for the end of the season. It’s not a lot and there’s no guarantee he’ll do anything with this positive run, but fans have to admit that it’s at least a start.
Loser: Kasey Kahne. What hurts worse Kasey Kahne fans, your favorite driver not winning a race this season, or your favorite driver possibly being eliminated from The Chase. Either way both scenarios are currently true for The Hendrick Racing driver as he now sits three points out of The Chase for The Sprint Cup. While Kahne could certainly make that up during the final three races of The Sprint Cup season, it’s going to be difficult given his current performances. Kahne started the day in 11th, but soon found himself drifting back to 20th by the midway point in the race. He did get as high as sixth position at one point in the race, unfortunately for Kahne, it wasn’t meant to last and he finished the day in 15th.