NASCAR In Michigan: Gibbs Emerge Victorious, Roush Still Strong And Hendrick Stumbles

Coming into this weekend’s race at Michigan International Raceway, most in the garage figured the Roush Fenway Racing Fords as the cars to beat in Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400. Those guesses were correct, but Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 team was able to do just that.

The No. 11 crew won the race off pit road on the final stop of the day and their driver Denny Hamlin was able to get a great restart to beat Matt Kenseth for the win.

Here are how the various organizations made out Sunday at Michigan:

Joe Gibbs Racing: 1st, 3rd, 18th

When the weekend began at Michigan International Speedway, the spotlight surrounded the Joe Gibbs Racing organization, but not in a good way. Prior to opening practice, all three of their cars were forced to remove the oil pans from their motors and turn them over to NASCAR. The unapproved oil pans were unapproved by the sanctioning body and confiscated after discovered during inspection. The issue may result in a penalty later this week.

Already in a hole, the No. 20 car driven by Joey Logano was forced to make another engine change, severely cutting back his practice time. Logano was able to jump behind the wheel of Hamlin’s car, but was forced to start Sunday’s race from the rear of the field.

While the Gibbs teammates were forced to overcome a number of hurdles going into the race, they came out on the other side of the checkered flag looking pretty good. Hamlin was celebrating his first win of the season, Busch led 59 laps to finish third and Logano finished 18th.

Roush Fenway Racing: 2nd, 5th, 15th, 20th

Pegged as the team to beat this weekend, the trio of Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle showed why, leading a combined 115 of the 200 laps. Yet the Roush Fenway teammates failed to seal the deal and deliver a win to team owner Jack Roush.

Racing for the lead with Kyle Busch, Biffle and Kenseth headed to pit road on Lap 154 for tires and fuel. With Busch and Edwards still out on the track, Juan Pablo Montoya and Andy Lally wrecked to bring the caution out. The untimely caution trapped Biffle one lap down, but he was able to get back on the lead lap thanks to the wave around.

Despite getting back on the lead lap, Biffle – who led the most laps – was never able to make his way back to the front and finished the day in 15th. After the race, Biffle had little to say about his disappointing finish.

“The car drove great,” he said. “The pit stops were great. Everybody did a great job. Everything is perfect.”

Things nearly worked out perfectly for Kenseth, as he was one of the last cars on the lead lap when Montoya’s wreck brought out the caution. When the field headed for pit road, crew chief Jimmy Fennig called for fuel only and sent the No. 17 Ford off pit road with the lead.

On the restart, Edwards got a huge jump on Kenseth and Busch to take the lead. As Edwards, Hamlin and Kenseth battled for the lead and prepared for a fuel mileage race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought out the caution and brought the field to pit road. Hamlin’s team got the job done and beat the Roush teammates off pit road and ultimately to the checkered flag.

Hendrick Motorsports: 9th, 17th, 21st, 27th

In uncharacteristic fashion, the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates struggled mightily Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Jimmie Johnson struggled in qualifying and spun on his own on Lap 9. The team was forced to repair the sway bar on the right front, was mired laps down and finished the day 27th.

Pocono winner Jeff Gordon struggled throughout the day with the handling of the No. 24 Chevrolet, never making a charge and finishing the day 17th.

Mark Martin was confident about his chances following Saturday practice, but was quiet for much of Sunday’s 400-mile race. Coming to life late in the going, Martin got together with Earnhardt Jr. as they raced out of the second corner. With Earnhardt charging on the top, Martin came up the track and into the left front of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevy.

The contact ruined Earnhardt’s day, but Martin was able to soldier on to a ninth place finish, only his fifth top 10 finish of the year.

Following the race Earnhardt Jr. was not too happy with how his teammate raced, but after talking with Martin he felt better about the situation.