HOT

1.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr.-  The No. 88 team took a huge gamble not pitting for fuel late in the LifeLock 400 on Sunday and then sweated bullets while Junior babied his AMP Chevrolet around the track during a caution with only two laps to go.  The fan favorite benefited from a wreck on the final lap and Junebug coasted right into Victory Lane, snapping his 76-race winless streak.  What a perfect Father's Day gift for Dale Sr. and Mr. Hendrick.

2.  Kasey Kahne-  The No. 9 Dodge spent much of the race in the top 10 and saved fuel for the last 50 laps to grab a second-place finish at Michigan.  He would have won (again) had the caution not flown during the Green-White-Checker finish, and climbs two spots to seventh in the championship standings.  A nod to his teammate, Elliott Sadler, who finished ninth.  At least one Dodge team is hot, hot, hot!

3.  Matt Kenseth- Kenseth was back to his patented racing style as he stalked quietly until he got the lead.   Even with a mishap in the pits hitting an official and then later with uncharacteristic trouble on a tire change, the No. 17 Ford finished a strong third and is effectively back in the Chase hunt only 14 points out of 12th.   Another nod goes to his Roush-Fenway teammates: Carl Edwards (seventh), David Ragan (eighth) and Jamie McMurray (10th). 

4.  Brian Vickers- Vickers started 18th and came flying to the lead 33 laps later, showing that the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota was the car to beat on long runs.  He kept it up front and finished fourth and is sitting only 97 points out of 12th in the standings.  Vickers had the conspiracy theorists licking their chops during his post race interview by saying NASCAR told him to let Mark Martin go by or get black flagged with two to go.  The truth is out there...

5.   Tony Stewart- Smoke battled a tight Home Depot Toyota for much of the race but he stayed persistent and used good pit strategy to finally get a top 5 finish moving up one spot in the standings to 11th.   Even better, Stewart donated his earnings to the American Red Cross for the Midwest flood victims.  If that isn't hot, I don't know what is.

NOT

1.  Penske Racing- The Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman broke his drive train on lap 76 and went on to finish 42nd, 68 laps down.  The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge was junk coming off the hauler and so scary loose that Kurt Busch spun out mid-race but managed to hold on for a 21st place finish.  Sam Hornish, Jr. was a bright spot as he led some green flag laps late in the race until he spun off turn 4 causing the caution with two laps to go.  This Dodge team is still struggling. 

2.  Chip Ganassi Racing - Dario Franchitti was off the pace on lap 25 with a broken valve spring and was soon black flagged and out of race, finishing 43rd.  Juan Pablo Montoya was lapped early and often as the No. 42 Big Red Dodge was not set up right and finished 38th.  Reed Sorenson was never a factor and as usual, finished in the back of the pack in 34th.  This Dodge team is toast.

3.  Jeff Gordon - Big Daddy did not have a good Father's Day as the No. 24 Dupont team is still searching for the right setup.   With water gauge problems, being way too tight, an ill-advised pit strategy, and a pit road speeding penalty, the best Gordon could do was an 18th place finish sliding him to ninth in the point standings.  Thank goodness the road course is up next!

4.  The No. 16 Pit Crew- Greg Biffle was having another stellar run but on the last pit stop, his crew chief, Greg Erwin, made the call to "go on the drop of the jack."  Well, the Biff did as he was told, but the front tire changer wasn't clear and got the air hose caught in the splitter.  Biffle ran over the hose, the crewman hit the deck, and it resulted in a penalty that dropped the No. 16 Roush- Fenway Ford to a 20th place finish.  Hexed, I tell you, hexed...

5.  Debris- I do not understand why debris, specifically hot dog wrappers, is such a constant problem at Michigan.  It is ridiculous that trash on the speedway greatly affects the outcome of the race by altering when cars have to pit to avoid overheating.  I don't know what the answer is but NASCAR has plenty of power to wield to fix this and they should...what Mr. Helton?  No complaining?  Oh, ok, I will just shut up and write...       

Check out the Hot or Not photo gallery here:http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/pgStory?contentId=8253576
 

My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.