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It had been 76 long races since Dale Earnhardt Jr. had gone to victory lane heading into the Lifelock 400 at Michigan. That all went away after 400 miles of racing, as Earnhardt stood victorious in victory lane for the first time in over two years.

Earnhardt was able to earn the victory using fuel mileage, surving a green-white-checkered that extended the length of the race, as he ran out of fuel just after crossing the finish line.

"It is what it is man," Earnhardt said in victory lane. "We were going to stay out there no matter what. They can write what they want, but we won one."

Behind Earnhardt was Kasey Kahne, who earned his third top-5 in four races, which has allowed him to climb to 7th in points, while 3rd and 4th place finishers Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers have pulled within 14 and 97 points of 12th in points.

Meanwhile, it was yet another disappointing day for Greg Biffle, who had been running in the top-10 all day long until his final pit stop with 15 laps to go. While exiting his pit stall, he ran over the air hose, and had to serve a drive-through penalty while under green. The latest bit of misfortune left Biffle with a 20th place finish, dropping him to 8th in points.

But as Biffle's struggles have continued, Tony Stewart's may have finally ceased. Stewart ran a clean race and was able to finish 5th, his first finish higher than 18th in four races. The top five allowed Stewart to get a little bit of breathing room between himself and David Ragan in the points, who sits 13th.

Earnhardt's win came also thanks to Patrick Carpentier, whose spin on the last lap saved Earnhardt from running out of gas.

"We were going to stumble to the finish and probably not win the race. We weren't going to finish. The yellow saved us," Earnhardt said after the race.

While Earnhardt's fuel strategy payed off, it didn't for Mark Martin, who was third on the final restart when he ran out of fuel. When it was all said and done, Martin was 25th, one lap down.

This weekend the Sprint Cup Series heads to Motor City, where more than just the race is on the line, but also bragging rights for the winning manufactuer. On top of it all, it's Father's Day this Sunday. Here's wishing them a great day, and great race to go with it.


1. Kyle Busch

It just wasn't Kyle's weekend. After finishing 2nd in the truck series on Friday night, Kyle wrecked his Cup car during practice, lost a tire at Nashville in the Nationwide Series Race, then wrecked and spun on Sunday, finishing 43rd. Kyle finished strong at Michigan's sister track, Fontana, but in six career starts he has an average finish of 20.7.

2. Carl Edwards

Carl had to recover late in the race when he had to give up track position to replace a flat tire. He was able to finish 9th, a solid points day, but not what it could have been. However, Edwards goes to one of his favorite tracks this weekend. He made his first career Cup start at Michigan in 2005, finishing 10th, and has since earned six top-10's in seven starts, along with a win in this race last year.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt Jr. was able to get out front late thanks to fuel strategy, and on old tires held on for a 4th place finish, a good rebound from his wreck at Dover. Earnhardt only has five top-10's in 17 career starts at Michigan, but three have come in the last four races.

4. Jeff Burton

Burton came through the pack early after starting 20th and spent most of the race in the top-10, finishing a solid 5th. The consistent Burton only has eight top-10's at Michigan in 28 career starts, with no wins, and a best finish of 14th in the past three races, including two of 24th or worse.

5. Greg Biffle

Biffle has cars that are capable of winning week in and week out. However, he has the worst luck as well, and that was displayed at Pocono, as Biffle was contending for the win when had a speeding penalty on pit road, leaving him with a disappointing 15th place finish. Biffle had a streak of 5 straight finishes, including back to back wins, but has had two finishes of 19th or worse in the past two races.

6. Matt Kenseth

Kenseth had another strong run at Pocono, bringing his car home in 7th. Since having three straight finishes of 38th or worse, Kenseth has earned four straight top-10's, allowing him to pull within 34 points of the top 12. Expect another top-10 out of Kenseth at Michigan, where he has an average finish of 9.7.

7. Jeff Gordon

Gordon started deep in the pack and worked his way into the top-10 early, but fell back and spent most of the race outside the top-20. However Gordon was able to work his way up to 14th by the end of the day, salvaging important points. Gordon is the most recent Chevy driver to win at Michigan, all the way back in 2001.

8. Jimmie Johnson

Johnson had a good run going all day long at Pocono, getting up front and leading some laps before finishing 6th. Johnson only has five top-10's in twelve career starts, but finished 3rd in the most recent race at Michigan. He also ran strong at Michigan's sister track Fontana earlier this year, finishing 2nd.

9. Kasey Kahne

Kahne had a dominant car all day at Pocono, leading 69 of 200 laps, and came back from an early pit miscue to earn his 2nd win in three races. He has four top-5's in eight starts at Michigan, including a win in 2006, but in the last two races hasn't finished better than 31st.

10. Brian Vickers

Vickers earned his third career top-5 finish at Pocono, finishing 2nd to Kasey Kahne. Vickers also has three top-10's at Michigan, including an 8th place finish in this race last year. Vickers is just 112 points out of 12th in the standings, in position to make a run at the Chase in the final 12 races.


Other Notables:

11. Tony Stewart- Stewart also fell victim to a speeding penalty, and after falling off the lead lap had no chance at a recovery, finishing 35th. Stewart is now 12th in the standings, just 7 points in front of 13th.

12. Denny Hamlin- Hamlin recovered from his last place finish at Dover to finish 3rd at Pocono, one of his best tracks. In his four career starts at Michigan Hamlin hasn't finished worse than 14th.

13. Kurt Busch- Busch recovered from an early spin that saw him go airborne to finish 8th, his first top-10 since the season opening Daytona 500. Busch will need to continue this if he wants a chance at making the Chase.

14. Bobby Labonte- Labonte finished 11th at Pocono on Sunday, then signed a four-year contract extension with Petty Enterprises on Wednesday. With his driving future secure Labonte can focus on continuing to run strong in the upcoming races.

15. AJ Allmendinger- Allmendinger had a career best finish of 12th after running in the top-10 for most of the day at Pocono. Maybe this is a sign of things to come for AJ.