Paul Menard, No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, scored his best finish of the 2011 season after starting ninth and coming home fourth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup series event at Michigan International Speedway (MIS). Four other Team Chevy drivers came home in the top-10 in a race that saw several long green flag runs and another potential fuel mileage finish quelled by a late caution and gambles on pit road.
Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army 236 Birthday/Bud Moore Tribute Chevrolet was one of those to roll the dice late in the event, taking two tires for valuable track position and bringing his Chevy home in sixth position. Newman now sits eighth in the standings. Ryan’s teammate Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet came home right behind Newman in seventh position and fell two positions in points to 11th place.
Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet came home eighth and was followed by Hendrick Motorsports veteran, Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet who finished in ninth place. Bowyer also dropped two spots in points to 10th and Martin moved up one and now resides in 14th position.
Five time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Chevrolet had a tough day that began with a spin early in the event. The spin caused front end suspension damage that put the team in a two-lap hole they could never dig out of. Johnson finished 27th in the event and fell three positions to fifth in the standings.
Denny Hamlin (Toyota) won the Sunday’s race. Matt Kenseth (Ford), Kyle Busch (Toyota) rounded out the top-five finishing order.
Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, rallied from contact with the wall to finish 14th and moves up into second place in the points after today’s race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, had a disappointing day after contact with another car that forced him into the outside retaining wall. He finished 21st but still holds down third place in the rankings.
Jeff Gordon, No.24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, after starting 31st, he battled an ill-handling race car most of the race to finish 17th. The four-time champion now sits 12th in the points order.
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