Both races at Michigan were washed away — in June by the news that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leaving DEI for Hendrick Motorsports and in August by rain that forced the race to be run on a Tuesday.

Despite plenty of distractions, Roush Racing was able to win yet again at the two-mile Brooklyn track, riding an unmatched aero package to victory. With the CoT running full time this season, we’ll see if that continues. Carl Edwards was Roush’s man last season, taking checkers in June after posting three top 5s over his first five starts at MIS.

In August, one of Roush’s former winners, Penske pitchman Kurt Busch, took a rain-delayed Tuesday win in Brooklyn. Having won in both a Ford and a Dodge, Busch is representative of a Michigan trend — 14 of the 16 races since 2000 have been won by either a Ford (eight) or a Dodge (six), with only a Chevy driven by Jeff Gordon (June ’01) and a Pontiac with Tony Stewart (June ’00) behind the wheel interrupting the streak.

Martin Truex Jr. nearly put an end to the 13-race Ford/Dodge stranglehold last season. Although he did not win, Truex did take his DEI Chevrolet to consecutive runner-up finishes in only his third and fourth Cup races at the track.

Kasey Kahne has four top-5 finishes in only eight races at Michigan. After two great runs as a rookie in 2004, Kahne went through a sophomore slump, then won in June ’06 before falling off again in 2007. The 9 car is due for a bounce-back year in ’08.

FANTASY STALL
Looking at Checkers

Biffle, Edwards or Kenseth. Take your pick.
Pretty Solid Pick
Martin Truex Jr’s two runners-up in ’08 were solid.
Good Sleeper Pick
Denny Hamlin
Runs on Seven Cylinders
Childress cars, for some reason, have never fared as well here.
Insider Tip
You willing to bet against Jack Roush’s six MIS wins?

KEEP AN EYE ON...
Greg Biffle Biffle had back-to-back wins in 2004 and ‘05. That Roush machinery is uncanny at Michigan.

Dave Blaney A true darkhorse, Blaney runs well at the big intermediates. He notched a sixth-place run here last August.

Denny Hamlin In four career Cup starts, Hamlin has yet to finish worse than 14th at MIS. He won the August Nationwide event here last year as well.

Matt Kenseth This is one of those tracks where Kenseth thrives. His performance of late has been up-and-down, but he has two top-5 runs — including a win — in his last three MIS visits. In that time he has led 118 laps.

Tony Stewart He’s not in a Chevy anymore, so it’s all systems go for the 20. Stewart has two third-place finishes, a fifth and a 10th in his last five Michigan races.