From the June, 2007 issue of Stock Car Insider
Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway Recap
If you find the gymnastics sessions in the summer Olympics appealing and you crave speed, then you'll love Carl Edwards. Yesterday, Carl won the Citizen's Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway and back-flipped his way into victory lane and ended a drought that spanned 52 races dating back to his last win at Texas in November of 2005.A lot of things came easy for Edwards then in what was his rookie season. Since then, the #99 team has suffered setbacks including a shuffling a crew chiefs amongst teams at Roush Racing. This year, Carl has been re-united with crew chief Bob Osbourne and the team now sits 6th in points.
The win was just the second for a Ford team in the 2007 season, and broke the 13 race winning streak held by Chevrolet. Perhaps Carl's win was somewhat attributable to the fact that no Chevy car has set its wheels in victory lane since 2001.
Other drivers to note:
Martin Truex Jr finished in 2nd place making this his 3rd consecutive top 3 finish. The DEI owned team now sits 10th in points.
Jeff Gordon finished in 10th position and still has a huge 264 point lead on over second place. Gordon will need every bit of that lead if he ends up missing a race for the birth of his daughter.
Denny Hamlin was the big benefactor when Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas late in the race. While Hamlin only finished in 14th place, it was enough to boost him to 2nd in points.
Jimmie Johnson gambled and lost on fuel strategy. Late in the race the #48 team ran out of gas after running in the top 5 for most of the day. Johnson finished in 19th place and now sits 3rd in points.
Dale Earnhardt
Jr put in one of his top finishes of the season after announcing his plans to race for Hendrick Motorsports over the next 5 years. The fan favorite finished in 5th position and is just barely hanging on to 12th position in points. If he stays in the top 12, he will make the Chase.
| See complete 2007 NASCAR Schedule |
