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Top 12 Michigan Speedway:
Ranking The Chumps
Lifelock 400
One Pocono snoozer down, and dreadfully one more to go. It seemed like forever to get to the halfway mark in that race. But just think boys and girls, in a few short weeks we'll be right back to Pocono for another nap race. Why we go there twice, and so close on the schedule, is beyond me. I say drop one Pocono race and one California race and...nevermind, save that rant for a blog post!
This week the Cup series heads up to the 2-mile MIS (Michigan International Speedway), which should be only slightly better racing than what Pocono produces. Carl Edwards has had 7 career Cup starts at MIS and all but one of them have been top ten finishes. One of those top ten finishes was his win there last season in which he broke a 52-race winless streak.
Carl tops my Chump Ratings list by having both the best driver rating at MIS over the past three years, and by having the third best driver rating of the 2008 season. As such, Carl Edwards is my pick to win the Lifelock 400.
NOTE: Unless otherwise described, all track specific Loop Data Statistics (LDS), including averages, percentages, etc. are based on no more than the last six races at the track. Season-to-Date (STD) stats are based on point races for the current season.
The Chump Ratings
108.5 - Carl Edwards
- Expect to see Carl's pearly-white teeth quite a bit this weekend because he should be grinning from ear to ear.
- Three wins this season. Each of which have come on the 1.5 to 2-mile tracks.
- 7 MIS races, 1 win, 4 top fives, 6 top tens.
- Average finish of 6.8 (series best).
- 998 (88.2%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 7.9 (all are series best)
- Has finished on lead lap in each of his 7 Cup races at MIS.
- Average point gain per MIS race = 156.3
101.6 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Dale has led at least one lap in each of the previous five races at MIS and has led at lest one lap in 10 of the fourteen races thusfar this season.
- 17 MIS races, 2 poles, 2 top fives, 5 top tens, 2 DNFs.
- Average finish of 10.2
- 792 (70%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 11.7
- Average point gain per MIS race = 140.5
101.4 - Jimmie Johnson
- Jimmie has the fourth best MIS driver rating, and is one of only 5 drivers to have a rating over 100 at MIS.
- 12 MIS races, 2 top fives, 5 top tens, 1 DNF
- Average finish of 11.7
- 932 (82.3%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 8.8
- Average point gain per MIS race = 133.3
100.1 - Greg Biffle
- Biffle has averaged more points per race (158) over the last three races than any other Chumps driver.
- 10 MIS races, 2 wins, 4 top fives, 6 top tens
- Average finish of 12.5
- 908 (80.2%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 9.7
- Average point gain per MIS race = 135.1
98.5 - Kyle Busch
- Perhaps there should be a commitment cone on the frontstretch signifying when it's too late to try and go for pit row.
- 6 MIS races, 2 top tens, 1 DNF
- Average finish of 20.7
- 705 (62.3%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 18.4
- Average point gain per MIS race = 104.6
97.2 - Denny Hamlin
- Denny has started inside the top ten the last 3 races at MIS. He won the Nationwide race at MIS in 2007.
- 4 MIS races, 1 top five, 2 top tens
- Average finish of 10th
- 544 (74.3%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 18.4
- Average point gain per MIS race = 136.5
95.7 - Jeff Gordon
- Jeff has more starts at MIS than any other Chumps driver. Over the past three years he also has the best average starting position of 5.3.
- 30 MIS races, 5 poles, 2 wins, 15 top fives, 20 top tens, 3 DNFs
- Average finish of 15.5
- 811 (71.6%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 11.3
- Average point gain per MIS race = 123.6
93.4 - Tony Stewart
- 28th place is the deepest in the field that a race winner had started the race. Tony did that in the 2000 season.
- 18 MIS races, 1 win, 8 top fives, 12 top tens, 3 DNFs
- Average finish of 10.7
- 793 ( 70.1%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 14.9
- Average point gain per MIS race = 140.6
84.6 - Kasey Kahne
- The 2007 season saw two poor MIS finishes of 32nd and 31st for Kasey. However, the year before that he had a 1st and 4th. If momentum plays a role in 2008, one may want to think twice about putting Kasey on your Chump roster.
- 8 MIS races, 1 pole, 1 win, 4 top fives, 4 top tens
- Average finish of 19.2
- 472 (41.7%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 18.6
- Average point gain per MIS race = 112
83.2 - Jeff Burton
- After a 5th place finish at Pocono this past Sunday, Jeff has 4 consecutive top ten finishes. So far this season he has yet to finish worse than his 13th place run in the season opening Daytona 500.
- 28 MIS races, 2 poles, 4 top fives, 8 top tens, 1 DNF
- Average finish of 21.3
- 354 (31.3%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 21.6
- Average point gain per MIS race = 99
80.2 - Kevin Harvick
- After having 4 consecutive top ten finishes at the beginning of the season, performance from the #29 car has dropped off. The last four races have seen Kevin running in the top fifteen only 19.8% of the time on average.
- 14 MIS races 2 top fives, 5 top tens, 1 DNF
- Average finish of 15th
- 402 (35.5%) of Laps in the Top Fifteen with an ARP of 19th
- Average point gain per MIS race = 118
76.9 - Clint Bowyer
- Over the last six races, Clint has an average starting position of 35th. His average finish over those same six races is 20th.
- 4 MIS races, 1 DNF
- Average finish of 26.3
- 386 (52.7%) of Laps in the top Fifteen with an ARP of 18.7
- Average point gain per MIS race = 85.5
| 2008 NASCAR Top 12 Driver Points | |||||||
| Rk | Driver | Points | Back | W | 5 | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 5878 | Leader | 5 | 12 | 19 | |
| 2 | Jeff Burton | 5809 | -69 | 2 | 7 | 17 | |
| 3 | Greg Biffle | 5792 | -86 | 2 | 11 | 15 | |
| 4 | Carl Edwards | 5710 | -168 | 6 | 14 | 22 | |
| 5 | Clint Bowyer | 5693 | -185 | 1 | 5 | 14 | |
| 6 | Kevin Harvick | 5671 | -207 | 0 | 6 | 15 | |
| 7 | Tony Stewart | 5650 | -228 | 1 | 10 | 15 | |
| 8 | Jeff Gordon | 5633 | -245 | 0 | 10 | 15 | |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 5552 | -326 | 8 | 16 | 18 | |
| 10 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 5524 | -354 | 1 | 9 | 14 | |
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | 5518 | -360 | 0 | 8 | 17 | |
| 12 | Denny Hamlin | 5498 | -380 | 1 | 9 | 15 | |
Complete NASCAR Point Standings | |||||||
James' Pre-Practice CHUMP Picks
- Clint Bowyer
- Kevin Harvick
Out Of The Box CHUMP Pick
- Kyle Busch



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