This Weekends NASCAR Sprint Cup series race takes the cars back to their birth place, or at least in theory. Michigan is the heart of the American automobile and where all the power of NASCAR derives from. Last season there were lots of grumbles from the suits at General Motors, Ford, and Dodge when Toyota joined the series. For years, these automobile executives have used the Michigan NASCAR races as a show of strength, sort of a Super Bowl for automobiles.
The performance of the Toyotas in both Michigan races were not awful, but it was terrible enough to have the suits snicker and gloat about how much muscle their American cars had over the foreigners. However, the funny thing is that the Toyota Camry on sale to the public is actually more American than the 3 competitors on the circuit. The Ford Fusion is assembled in Mexico, The Chevy Impala and Dodge Charger are both put together in Canada, with only the Dodge Avenger actually being put together in the good old USA. The Toyota Camry is made in Georgetown, Kentucky, a place that is about American as it gets.
Coming into this years race, the Toyota’s are a bit more confident considering their horses under the hood have powered the current Sprint Cup series point leader, Kyle Busch, to a series leading 4 wins. Ford and Dodge have dominated over the years at Michigan combining to win the last 13 races in a row. Chevrolet has been a no show, claiming only two Jeff Gordon wins since 1996, as their only opportunity to boast with the bow-tie among their colleagues.
It’ll really be interesting to watch the cringes from the upper brass in the luxury boxes above Michigan Speedway as Toyota makes a serious run for the win while crashing the big motor party. The Joe Gibbs trio of Busch, Tony Stewart, and Denny Hamlin will all be top contenders to win the race with an outside chance given to another Toyota driven by Red Bull Racing’s Brian Vickers.
The favorite for this weeks race is Carl Edwards’ Ford. Based on his performance at Michigan’s sister track in California and his two other wins on 1.5 mile tracks, he will be tough for anyone to challenge.
I'm still seeing instances of teams not being comfortable in their Car of Tomorrow on tracks that the car didn’t run on last season. There are only a few drivers that have shown consistency on all those tracks that are seeing the COT for the first time. Edwards and Busch lead the way as those having a huge edge over the others.
Two of the drivers that did very well in California back in February, yet have fallen off dramatically from their usual consistent dominance are Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. They finished 2nd and 3rd at California, but have had some days since that look more reminiscent of a Petty team than Hendrick. They admittedly say they didn’t spend as much time and research for the COT on these type of tracks as they did last season when they feverishly prepared for the COT’s first run on the smaller tracks and it truly shows.
I already stated how big of a slump Chevy has been in at Michigan. The slump actually started one race before Johnson started his Cup career. In 12 races there, Johnson only has two top 5 finishes with a best of third coming in the fall race last season. Perhaps the change in car will be a benefit this season, but going winless in the 12 previous races is puzzling because of how similar California and Michigan are and also how dominant Johnson has been at California since winning there as a rookie.
Let’s stay with the trend of a Chevy not winning this week. The due theory is very overrated and if it was played consistently at Michigan and you were a betting man, your bankroll would have evaporated long ago when Bill Elliott took his Ford to the winners circle 6 of 8 races in the mid-eighties.
I really like the concept of seeing Toyota not only winning to the dismay of the American Auto Giants, but maybe even finishing 1-2. Tony Stewart impressed at Charlotte and finished 7th at California. Kyle Busch has been good everywhere, but just for fun we’ll mention his 4th place finish at California.
Happy Fathers Day
Finally, I'd like to wish all the Fathers a Happy Fathers day out there, including my own. It’s ironic once again that the Michigan race in the motor city happens to be on Fathers day because working on American muscle cars of the 60’s and 70’s was something that my father and I did often together.
He’d buy a wrecked GTO, bring it to the garage and go to work on it rebuilding the engine, transmission, body work, paint, and then regrettably for me, end up selling it for a profit. I loved those cars and hated to see them go, but looking back, I love those memories with my father spending countless hours in the garage night after night. He let me help at my leisure, never demanding help, and slowly in time, what looked like work became the most fun thing in my life.
It gave me a love for those muscle cars and in general an appreciation for anyone who could go faster than some one else in any type of motor racing.
It’s been a while, but every once in a while I get the urge to go the junkyard and pick out a mangled 68’ Camaro and drop it off at his garage and say, “Dad, let’s go to have some fun”.
Since most "American"cars are importing more and more parts to the few plants left here, and local machine shops are almost non existent any more in this country, there's really no such thing as American Made Cars anymore.
So i would say to your question, "Will an American made car win this week?"
Nope. Not this week, unless Hot Wheels just started a new team.
Last edited by Texascudaguy on June 9th at 6:47 PM.
GM shutting down truck and suv plants all over...What to do..You knew the gas guzzlers couldn't last forever...Love my HHR...Go Chevy at Michagan..even though I like the Shrub and his Yoda to..LOL..
Good stuff, FireballR. Although I don't think it is enough to change the business model, A Toyota win in Michigan may force the Detroit brass that is time to trim the fat off the top and middle of the American Automobile Industry. Going "green" is not a cost effective model in the short run, but better engineering and reliability will bring consumer confidence back.
That said, this is a Ford track. Think Edwards, Kenseth or Biffle will win. Kahne could give Dodge hope. But don't see any GM's taking the checkered.
A really compelling post. You write like a pro. I especially liked the take on what an "American" car is?
However, may I ask why several people compare California to Michigan? I don't see it. What I like about Michigan is the number of lanes the drivers have to pass on as they go three and four wide. I don't recall that happening at California but being unique to Michigan. Am I missing something?
You are absolutely correct about the lanes. Racing does appear much better because of the multi-grooves.
I only compare the two becuase of the dimensions size, originator of the track making both, and more importantly because most of the successful team crew chiefs using the same chassis for both.
The best examples of some similiarity would come from the Roush stables with 4 drivers winning at both. However, a great example of being opposite would be Jimmie Johnson and you can even use Dale Jarrett in his prime winning 4 times at Michigan but never at California.
Your not alone. Others are making the same comparison.
Jamie is bringing his Open car from Charlotte. It wasn't very good there. They had problems. They believe they have solved them. I'll be interested in seeing how it works in Michigan.
