Michigan: What to watch for

What to watch for at Sunday's Pure Michigan 400:

-- The one-week statistical oddity -- Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch tied for the top spot in the Sprint Cup standings with 752 points each – will certainly come undone today. Will one of them emerge alone in first place – or could it be Jimmie Johnson (six points back) or Kevin Harvick (eight back)?

-- Here’s another strange stat: Five-time champ Johnson has never won at Michigan in 19 starts. He’ll start 19^th today.

-- Brad Keselowski says his broken left ankle continues to bother him. But Keselowski has won and finished second in the two races since he was injured.

-- Two drivers – pole-winner Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth – qualified with speeds in excess of 190 mph. But Biffle doesn’t think that’s too fast. He points out that qualifying is a one-off run, and tires wear down on each successive lap during the actual race. Speeds, accordingly, lessen the longer a car is out there.

-- Denny Hamlin’s lone victory of the season came in Michigan’s June race, but he has just one top-five finish since then. Since he’s 12^th in the points and has that victory, he’d qualify for the Chase as a wild car (with Keselowski) if the regular season had ended this week. But he doesn’t have much wiggle room.

-- Dale Earnhardt Jr. starts eighth today, his best qualifying effort since he was sixth at Daytona in July. And, yes, Michigan was the track where Earnhardt last won, 115 races ago in 2008. -- David Scott

NASCAR season preview coming to hall of fame

The NASCAR Hall of Fame's 2012 induction ceremony, already moved to January from May, will now have an even more fan-friendly feel to it.

The Charlotte-based hall of fame announced Tuesday it will combine the induction of the five members of its third class -- Darrell Waltrip, Richie Evans, Dale Inman, Glen Wood and Cale Yarborough -- with a 2012 NASCAR season preview the weekend of Jan. 20-22.

The preview, similar to a preseason fan-fest held in Winston-Salem from 1990-2003, will allow fans to get  autographs and attend Q&A sessions with drivers at the Charlotte Convention Center (which is adjacent to the uptown hall of fame).

The induction ceremony will be Friday Jan. 20, followed by the day-long preview on Saturday, Jan. 21. On Sunday, the hall-of-fame displays of the five inductees will be unveiled inside the hall.

Waltrip, one of the inductees, looks forward to the return of the preview. He remembers the 14 years it was held in Winston-Salem, where it was put on by then-NASCAR sponsor R.J. Reynolds. And he thinks it will help with the hall's struggling attendance.

"In Winston-Salem, the fans got to see everything first," said Waltrip. "If a driver has a new sponsor or new team, the preview always gave you the opportunity to see that, and it made it special. The hall should be a destination, and this will help with that." -- David Scott

So what, exactly, was that caution for?

   It was the final lap in Monday's rain-delayed race at Watkins Glen International. The white flag had flown. A caution now would freeze the field and ensure then-leader Marcos Ambrose would win the race, but without a race to the checkered flag.

   In Turn 2, Boris Said hit David Ragan and knocked him into the wall. Ragan's car bounced off the wall and back onto the track and collided with David Reutimann, sending Reutimann's car spinning wildly in the air.

  OK, obviously NASCAR has said in the past if there is no danger to the cars or drivers involved, they will hold the caution to get the green-flag finish.

   Yet, a couple turns later, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer started a chain-reaction incident and suddenly NASCAR threw the caution flag. So, the field was frozen anyway and although it looked like Brad Keselowski could run down Ambrose for a try at a pass, Ambrose took the victory under caution.

   But there's a problem.

   In the official race report for Monday's race, it lists a caution for the final lap of the race. That's certainly correct. But NASCAR always cites a reason and here's the catch. The reason for the last lap caution is listed as "#00, 6, 51 Accident Turn 2."

   So, the official reason for a caution on the last lap according to NASCAR is the incident involving Ragan, Reutiumann and Said (when the flag didn't come out) and NOT the one involving Stewart, Bowyer and others (when the flag did come out).

   Either someone made a mistake, or NASCAR inadvertently admitted it should have thrown the caution flag earlier.

   Which is it, I wonder?


  

Boris Said said what???

   Boris Said and Greg Biffle already weren't buddy, but a run-in on the track in Monday's Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International added a new twist.

   Biffle confronted Said while he was still sitting in his No. 51 Chevrolet after the race, then Said tried to extend the confrontation after getting out of the car, but crew members broke up the incident.

   Biffle wasn't immediately available after the race to comment, but Said had plenty to say.

   Here is Said's take on the race: "It was crazy. I mean ... the last lap; the No. 6 car (David Ragan) was getting into me a lot. I didn't want to wreck him, but I had to stay on the track and he didn't give me any room. We both collided. That is the only thing I feel bad about.

   "I'm more upset with Greg Biffle. He is the most unprofessional little scaredy cat I've ever seen in my life. He wouldn't even fight me like a man after. So, if someone texts me his address, I'll go see him Wednesday at his house and show him what he really needs. He needs a...whooping and I'm going to give it to him. He was flipping me off, giving me the finger. Totally unprofessional. Two laps down. I mean he is a chump.

   "I went over there to go talk to him. He wouldn't even let me get out of the car. He comes over and throws a few little baby punches and then when I get out, he runs away and hides behind some big guys. But, he won't hide from me long. I'll find him. I won't settle it out on the track. It's not right to wreck cars, but, he'll show up at a race with a black eye one of these days. I'll see him somewhere."

   Said's crew chief, Nick Harrison, also chimed in.

   "Boris has had a problem, actually I think (Greg) Biffle has had a problem with Boris from a previous race so leading into this race, they already had some aggression toward each other. Early in the race, Biffle had run out of gas and was multiple laps down and was racing Boris. Boris thought dirty, so Boris relayed a message to the spotter he wanted to meet him after the race," he said.

 

   "And the deal with the No. 6 car (David Ragan). I think Boris just got into him and that was a really ugly wreck. I think that was just hard racing. But, Greg Biffle and Boris Said has some problems and Boris wanted to handle it with his fists. That is what was going on."

Montoya not concerned with loss of two crew members

   Juan Pablo Montoya said Friday he did not think the loss of two crew members - including one member of his pit crew - would adversely affect his race team.

   On Wednesday, Chip Ganassi Racing fired two employees - Trevor Lysne and Jerome "J.D." Frey - who were arrested on Tuesday by Huntersville (N.C.) Police in connection with the shipment of 10.5 pounds of marijuana from California.

   Lysne was the front tire changer for Montoya's pit crew while Frey was a mechanic who worked in the shop. Both have been indefinitely suspended by NASCAR.

   Asked if the loss of the crew members was a concern, Montoya said, "Not really. It is something that the team had to deal with it and NASCAR had to deal with it. We left it at that.

   "Personally, we made some changes in our crew. And that’s it. We get on with our business to try to win here and that’s it.”

   Lysne, 40, is charged with trafficking marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and maintaining a dwelling to distribute marijuana. Frey, 27, is also charged with trafficking marijuana and possession with intent to sell and deliver.
  

Two Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing employees arrested in drug bust

   Two employees of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, including a pit crew member for Sprint Cup Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya's No. 42 team, were arrested this week on drug charges.

   On Tuesday, officers with the Huntersville (N.C.) Police Department arrested Trevor Lysne and Jerome "J.D." Frey in connection with a drug bust that netted 10.5 pounds of marijuana that had been shipped from California, the police report said.

   Lysne, 40, is the front tire changer for Montoya's pit crew. Frey, 27,  is a part-time racer and a mechanic who works in EGR's shop.

   Lysne is charged with trafficking marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and maintaining a dwelling to distribute marijuana. Frey, 27, is also charged with trafficking marijuana and possession with intent to sell and deliver.

   According to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Web site, Lysne was released on a $30,000 secured bond and Frey was released on a $25,000 secured bond. Both have court appearances scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

   A spokesman for EGR said the organization was still gathering facts about the incident and had no immediate comment.

   NASCAR officials were expected to address the matter later Wednesday afternoon.

It's time for Parade of Power

Charlotte Motor Speedway's Parade of Power is set for Tuesday at noon, beginning at Concord Mills Mall and traveling along Bruton Smith Boulevard to the track.

Vehicles from from every form of motorsports competing at CMS this fall will be in the parade.

Drivers scheduled to appear in the parade include NASCAR's Reed Sorenson, Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and David Ragan; and NHRA's Doug Foley, Doug Herbert, Matt Smith and Angie Smith. -- David Scott