It had been four years since Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited Victory Lane in a NASCAR Sprint Cup points race. The 2012 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway marked the end of his 143 race winless streak. Junior had the field covered at an extremely fast Michigan race track boasting a fresh coat of asphalt and record speeds.

Qualifying

Qualifying for the 2012 Quicken Loans 400 was a record setting event.


A fresh repave of Michigan International Speedway set the stage for Marcos Ambrose to shatter the old track record by nearly nine MPH. His qualifying lap of 203.241 MPH made Michigan International Raceway the fastest modern NASCAR Sprint Cup race track.

In fact, all but four drivers broke the old track record and the top nineteen drivers all topped 200MPH.

Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman made up the rest of the top five behind Ambrose.

Drop Of The Green

The start was ugly as Kevin Harvick on the inside didn't go when the green flag fell. This allowed the outside lane to get free and dive single-file into turn one. Ambrose lead to the fist caution on lap two when Kurt Busch spun and sustained minor damage.

On the restart Marcos Ambrose received a challenge from Greg Biffle. Ambrose held him off for a lap but Biffle came back to lead lap seven. The green flag run was short-lived since Josh Wise blew the motor on lap eleven.

Biffle regained the lead when the green flag flew once again and continued to lead the rest of the early going until the competition caution flew on lap 25.

Storylines

The fresh pavement played a huge role in shaping this race. First of all this race set the track record in qualifying. The high speeds took their toll on motors as a number of drivers lost the engine during the race.

In addition the new pavement favored the inside line where the rubber was built up. Normally MIS features multiple lanes of racing but today the bottom was the place to be. If you got stuck up in the outside lane in the corners you were in serious danger of getting loose and bringing out the caution.

We also saw a number of tires blistering during the race. The high speeds and loose race cars caused the tires to overheat and blister during the race.

We see this happen with most new and newly-paved race tracks. Over time the other lanes of the race track will wear in and we will see multi-groove racing return. However that process typically takes a few years.

Chasing The Checkers

In the closing laps Dale Earnhardt Jr. was out front. Michigan was the site of Dale Earnhardt Jr's last career Sprint Cup win 4 years and 143 races ago. With 15 laps to go his lead was more than 3 1/2 seconds over Tony Stewart.

Stewart needed a caution to have a chance at the win but it never came. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended his winless streak in convincing fashion by claiming victory in the 2012 Quicken Loans 400.

Top Ten

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Tony Stewart
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Greg Biffle
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Clint Bowyer
8. Juan Montoya
9. Marcos Ambrose
10. Kevin Harvick

The Points

Point leader Matt Kenseth finished third and maintained his point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. No new drivers cracked the top ten this week. Carl Edwards remains eleventh in points just two markers out of a Chase qualifying spot.

The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -4
3. Greg Biffle -17
4. Jimmie Johnson -33
5. Denny Hamlin -51
6. Kevin Harvick -61
7. Martin Truex Jr. -68
8. Tony Stewart -74
9. Clint Bowyer -84
10. Brad Keselowski -107