With all that being said, today was a very great day of racing that features the best minds in the series pulling off great strategy. That's something you can't quite hate on. It was a very exciting day with a hot and slick track. It looked like the 4 car was who you had to beat, and in the end, the 48 car did beat them. So we leave Michigan on that note. But next week, we go road course racing. VAVEL USA's own Mark Smith will bring you all of the coverage for the Nationwide Series' Gardener Denver 200 Fired Up By Johnsonville from Road America, and the Sprint Cup Series' Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sanoma. Have a great Fathers day, and see you here next week at VAVEL USA.
The top five: Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, and Kasey Kahne somehow pulls out the top five!
"I'm Jimmie Johnson. BOOM, confetti"
Love Jimmie Johnson or hate him, you must admit that today was an exciting race. Full of lead changes and pit road drama at the end. Nobody could have predicted this outcome.
Jimmie Johnson just claimed his third win of the season and Hendrick Motorsports has won five straight races.
Off of turn four for the final time, the winless streak at Michigan ends for Jimmie Johnson!
WHITE FLAG: Jimmie Johnson has one more lap!
2 To Go: Kevin Harvick is outrunning Johnson. But unless the yellow waves, there's not enough time for Harvick to get there.
5 To Go: Harvick got around Menard easily, and now is going to pass second place Brad Keselowski with just as much ease.
6 To Go: Kevin Harvick is battling Paul Menard for the third spot.
7 To Go: Hendrick Motorsports has won the last four races, and are seven laps away from five in a row with Jimmie Johnson.
9 To Go: Kenseth ran his car dry of fuel. The new leader is Jimmie Johnson, looking for his first career win at Michigan.
10 To Go: Austin Dillon back on pit road for a flat tire.
11 To Go: Stewart is in and the new leader is Matt Kenseth. Jimmie Johnson seems to be in prime position to win this race!
12 To Go: Dillon is on and the new leader is Tony Stewart.
13 To Go: Austin Dillon is now the leader.
14 To Go: Larson and Allgaier are on pit road.Greg Biffle also comes down.
15 To Go: Kyle Larson has found the lead, but just for the moment.
16 To Go: kasey Kahne now on pit road from the lead. Kurt Busch follows.
18 To Go: Joey Logano gives up third place to come in.
18 To Go: New leader is Kasey Kahne.
19 To Go: Kasey Kahne has driven up to the rear of leader Kurt Busch.
21 To Go: Some cars trying to stretch for a caution. The cars with fresh tires mired back outside the top 15.
23 To Go: Kasey Kahne has gotten around Clint Bowyer for second spot.
24 To Go: Correction, Kurt is not in yet.
24 To Go: Kurt Busch gives up the lead to come down pit road.
25 To Go: Harvick is now in.
26 To Go: Keselowski is on pit road.
Lap 172: Kasey Kahne is running in fourth. That won't last long for him though.
Lap 171: These cars can't afford to stay out longer and get burned by other drivers on fresher tires. Bad news if this goes green for about ten or so more laps.
Lap 169: Virtue of pit stops, the new leader is Kurt Busch.
Lap 167: Now Dale Jr. is in and gives up the lead.
lap 166: Now giving up the lead is Jamie McMurray.
Lap 165: Jimmie Johnson and Paul Menard give up first and second place to come down pit road.
Lap 165: All cars now in their pit window. The fight to the end is on!
Lap 163: Jamie McMurray helps Dake Jr. get the debris off. Now the 1 car is chasing back into action.
Lap 160: Dale Jr. has a huge piece of debris on his grill.
Lap 158: Kevin Harvick continues to battle Bowyer.
Lap 156: Jamie McMurray is battling Paul Menard for the second spot.
Lap 155: Kevin Harvick gets around Clint Bowyer for eighth spot.
Lap 154: Jimmie Johnson assumes the lead as Jamie McMurray spun the tires on the restart.
Lap 153: GREEN FLAG
Lap 150: It's McMurray, johnson, Menard, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon in the top five.
Lap 149: Brad Keselowski is the first car off of pit road but Jamie McMurray and others stayed out.
Lap 148: Pit road is open and once again it is a split decision.
Lap 147: Told you it wouldn't go green. Debris is the reason for this yellow flag.
Lap 147: CAUTION
Lap 145: Some cars will be on pit road shortly.
Lap 143: New leader is Kevin Harvick.
Lap 141: With the numbers being put up about fuel mileage, it seems as though we have a duel between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson should this race go green. Good chance it wont go green.
Lap 136: David Gilliland just turned 217.180 mph. Great speed getting even faster.
Lap 135: Three way battle for fourth between Bowyer, Larson, and Kenseth.
Lap 131: Gotta wonder why seven cars wouldn't pit. This is going to be one crazy finish apparently.
Lap 129: Joey Logano has assumed the lead. Cars on different sets of tires scatter everywhere.
Lap 128: GREEN FLAG
Lap 125: Harvick and Logano are the only two who stayed out. Brad Keselowski is the first car off of pit road.
Lap 124: Pit road is open and the leader stays out! Evertone else is in.
Lap 123: Denny Hamlin was in the middle of three wide and spun out. He collected Aric Almirola with him.
Lap 122: CAUTION
Lap 122: With a damaged race car, Kyle Larson is in the top five! Great day for the rookie.
lap 121: Kevin Harvick assumes the lead once again.
Lap 120: GREEN FLAG
Lap 118: David Ragan is trending on twitter. Personal accomplishment for that young man.
Lap 115: Brett Moffit just spun out on turn four. Cautions breed cautions.
Lap 114: CAUTION
Lap 114: GREEN FLAG
Lap 112: Before the caution, Matt Kenseth turned the fastest speed of the race at 216.150 mph.
Lap 111: Alex Bowman just lost his car and it slid right up into the wall off of turn two.
Lap 110: Dale Earnhardt Jr. battles Tony Stewart for seventh. Alex Bowman how fit the wall and Caution is out.
Lap 109: Kevin Harvick assumes the lead.
Lap 108: GREEN FLAG
Lap 104: The top five off of pit road: Harvick, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, McMurray.
Lap 104: The leaders do come down, and the first pit stall pays off for Kevin Harvick as he is the first car off of pit road.
Lap 103: David Ragan spun out and is the reason for the yellow. We may see leaders come down pit road.
Lap 102: CAUTION
Lap 102: Kyle Larson is back up to the ninth spot. A strong rebound for the rookie.
Lap 101: As we are now halfway through this race, Jimmie Johnson has driven away from the rest of the competition.
Lap 98: Tony Stewart has driven to the rear of Brad Keselowski for the sixth position.
Lap 94: Jeff Gordon is driving up to Joey Logano for the second spot.
Lap 93: New leader is Jimmie Johnson.
Lap 91: Trash on Jimmie Johnson's grill now. But Jimmie has driven up to the 22 car and the battle for the lead is on.
Lap 87: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has also gotten around Kevin Harvick for fourth place.
Lap 86: Jeff Gordon rockets past Kevin Harvick for third place. Joey Logano remains the leader ahead of second place Jimmie Johnson.
Lap 83: Jeff Gordon attempting to get around Kevin Harvick for third place.
Lap 82: Kyle Busch restarted in 6th but there seems to be a problem in the right rear quarter pannel
Lap 80: Joey Logano has assumed the lead and Kyle Busch has fallen off the pace.
Lap 79: GREEN FLAG
Lap 74: Top five off of pit road: Johnson, logano, harvick, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 74: Many drivers take two tires, but Jimmie Johnson is the first car off of pit road and is the new leader.
lap 73: Debris on the track is going to bring out the yellow flag this time. Leaders should come on pit road.
Lap 72: CAUTION
Lap 69: Four Chevy's in the top 5. The top 5 is Harvick, Gordon, Johnson, Logano, Earhardt Jr.
Lap 66: The cars are so fast, it's breaking TNT's audio.
Lap 61: The top three drivers are separated by just one second. Chevy is looking strong today.
Lap 57: New leader is Kevin Harvick.
Lap 54: Interesting here, Jimmie Johnson is closing in on the lead. He's 3.9 second behind, but he's closing.
Lap 50: Before pit stops, Jeff Gordon led by nearly five seconds. His lead now down to 2.5 seconds to second place Kevin Harvick.
Lap 45: Brad Keselowski comes onto pit road, and Jeff Gordon cycles back to the lead.
Lap 44: Jeff Gordon now onto pit road.
Lap 43: Jeff Gordon remains on track as his front running teammates come in.
Lap 42: Kevin Harvick is in.
Lap 39: Green flag pit stops have begun. Keselowski is in.
Lap 36: Jeff Gordon says that his water pressure gauge isn't working. Be worried.
Lap 34: Tony Stewart is up from 26th spot to the 8th spot. He's on a tear during summer once again.
Lap 28: Kyle Larson is making progress after his wreck. Back up to 25th spot.
Lap 26: Joey Logano is battling Jimmie Johnson for the third spot.
Lap 22: David Gilliland just ran a speed over 215 mph. Stunning.
Lap 20: New leader is Jeff Gordon.
Lap 18: Jimmie Johnson is working on Aric Almirola for the third spot. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon has drove up to Kevin Harvick.
Lap 16: Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes around Kyle Busch for seventh place
Lap 14: Jeff Gordon is in second and chasing down Harvick. Kurt Busch just lost his car and went to the top of the track. No trouble though.
Lap 13: We finally complete one green flag lap. Kevin Harvick is the leader.
Lap 12: GREEN FLAG
Lap 9: What's supposed to be a very fast paced race is now really slow due to all the caution laps.Don't worry, it'll speed up.
Lap 8: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also pounded the wall. The track is incredibly slick.
Lap 8: Kyle Larson spun out and pinned Martin Truex Jr. into the wall. Kasey Kahne also spun out trying to avoid the wreck.
Lap 7: CAUTION
Lap 7: GREEN FLAG
Lap 5: Kevin Harvick is the leader as we get ready to go green once again.
Lap 3: Michigan is known for long green flag runs. Today, caution on the first lap.
lap 2: Brian Vickers spun out, came back down the track, and collected Travis Kvapil.
Lap 1: CAUTION
Lap 1: GREEN FLAG!
1:13: Today's race from Michigan International Speedway will be 400 miles, 200 laps around the fastest track in NASCAR. Speeds of up to 215 Miles per hour into turn one. The actin will be fast, so don't close your eyes.
1:08: You couldn't hear it, but someone did say the command to fire engines... That's pretty funny.
1:03: Great performance of the Star Spangled Banner right there folks. Now, just one thing left before the racing can start.
1:01: Karen Newman to sing the National Anthem.
1:00: We open in prayer.
12:56: Who's going to win today? Put your money on Kevin Harvick. Thar care is going to be a rocket ship.
12:50: Pre race festivities finishing up. Opening ceremonies will begin shortly.
12:45: Welcome back to VAVEL USA where we find ourselves about half an hour from race time.
12:25: This may be your last chance to get all of your snacks and such in. Finish breakfast, just get ready for the race in general. Take the time. Just be here for the green flag.
12:22: Dale Jr. claims that Michigan was the only track that was nice to him when every other track gave him grief. he wants to see how Michigan will treat him now that his luck is starting to turn.
12:16: Love him or hate him, you have to appreciate the way Dale jr. talks with has fans. Probably the most down to earth guy in all of the sport.
12:10: Only about an hour now. Get some food in your system. Gonna be a great day!
12:01: Speaking of Homestead Miami Speedway, Ford and Homestead have renewed their partnership. Ford is the sponsor for all three races at the track since 2002. This deal runs through the 2019 season.
11:55: Hopefully there aren't a lot of people irritated by the new Chase system. Going to hate it for the driver who wins the first nine Chase races but then blows a tire at Homestead and loses the championship because of this winner - take - all mindset. There is more to racing than winning. There's survival and struggle as well. Every car faces adversity at some point. And the best car in the garage all season long shouldn't have a championship taken away because of one bad run.
11:50: With talk of fuel strategy always up in the air at Michigan, what are the chances that we see a new winner in the 2014 season today? Notables yet to win are Kenseth, Biffle, Newman, and rookie Kyle Larson.
11:40: Brad Keselowski is the hometown boy for this race. Sadly, the boy from Rochester Hills, Michigan has never won in his home state. With a sixth place start, that tide could turn.
11:35: Jimmie Johnson was fastest in yesterday mornings practice.His qualifying time nay be a mulligan compared to what that car can do in race. Jimmie rolls off in the 7th spot today.
11:29: Aric Almirola is qualified in the fifth fourth starting spot. If he can hang, the 43 car may find victory lane for the first time in a long time.
11:21: Greg Biffle has won four times at Michigan and is the defending winner of this very race. To retain his crown, Biffle will have to come from the 18th starting spot to gain the victory.
11:17: The clock begins to tick. Only two hours remain until the green flag waves in Michigan.
11:12: It's a great time now to say Happy Fathers Day to all dads who may be tuning into this inline. We surely hope that your children did pick you up something very nice. We hope you have a good day of watching racing. And we hope you have a great day with VAVEL USA.
11:11: He's back, and he wants to win. It's the return of IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya to the Sprint Cup Series. after skipping out on the first fourteen races to drive with the IndyCar series, Montoya has decided that he still wants to win on an ovall. Montoya does have two career wins in the Sprint Cup Series, but both of those were on road coarses. Juan Pablo is scheduled to drive two races for Roger Penske in the 12 car. Here at Michigan, and in August at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If Juan Pablo can pull off any sort of vicotry, it would add only to his great resume in racing lore.
11:10: Often time, the racing at Michigan will come down to a late pitstop or some fuel mileage strategy. Everything has to go right in order to be a winner at this track becasue the action is just so fast. One driver can not afford even one mistake on pit road or it could be the end of their day. But if you're looking for inspiration, last night in the Truck Series race, Darrel Wallace did have a huge pit road mistake but still rebounded to win the race. Is it possible? Yes. Is it probably? Not un;ess you strap Chuck Norris into one of these cars.
11:09: Yes ladies ang gentlemen, there was a Nationwide Series race yesterday. No ladies and gentlemen, the winner was not Kyle Busch. It wasn't even Kevin Harvick. It wasn't even Dale Earnhardt Jr. To find yesterday's winer, look up to the fifth starting spot for today's race. That would be Paul Menard. Paul took advantage of Kevin Harvick having a tire go down late and drove his machine into vicotry lane in somewhat of an upset. Menard doesn't exactly have an uphill battle, but a tough voyage it would be to drive his 27 car into victory lane to get around three of the most dominant cars in all of NASCAR starting right in front of him. He'll get a close up view of all the fireworks, on the bright side.
11:08: Last week, tensions boiled up once again between Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne. Kasey did not accept any of Kyle's appologies and sooner or later, could be out for revenge for some of the injustice Kyle has put on Kasey. In a weird twist to this rivalry, the two drivers will start side by side today on row 7. It'll be intersting to see how long they stay side by side, and if either one mistreats the other going into turn one.
11:07: Hendrick Motorsports have won the last four races, dating back to Jeff Gordon all the way back at Kansas. most recently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Pocono. Throw in the victory in the Daytona 500 and Hendrick cars have been to victory lane five times. Not to mention the fact that Stewart Haas Racing uses Hendrick engines. If you're doing the math at home, that means that a Hendrick engine has been to victory lane eight times in the fourteen race season. It's truly amazing how over powered they seem. Whatever they do at Hendrick Motorsports, they get the job done.
11:05: On the pole for today's blistering fast race is a "freaky fast" driver. Kevin Harvick turned a lap around Michigan Intwrnational Speedway of over 204 miles per hour and nobody else even came close to him in that regard. Kevin will be looking for his third win of the season at Michigan
11:04: Here is the starting lineup for today's Quicken Loans 400:
Row 1: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon
Row 2: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Aric Almirola
Row 3: Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski
Row 4: Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch
Row 5: Joey Logano, Brian Vickers
Row 6: Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson
Row 7: Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch
Row 8: Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr.
Row 9: Justin Allgaier, Greg Biffle
Row 10: Austin Dillon, Marcos Ambrose
Row 11: Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards
Row 12: Trevor Bayne, Ryan Newman
Row 13: A.J Allmendinger, Tony Stewart
Row 14: Danica Patrick, Juan Pablo Montoya
Row 15: Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Row 16: Casey Mears, David Gilliland
Row 17: David Ragan, Brett Moffit
Row 18: J.J Yeley, David Stremme
Row 19: Michael Annett, Josh Wise
Row 20: Landon Cassill, Reed Sorenson
Row 21: Alex Bowman, Cole Whitt
Row 22: Travis Kvapil
11:00: Welcome to VAVEL USA's coverage of the Quicken Loans 400. I am your host and large racing fan, Steven Patrick. Here to bring you all the insight and info that may occur during the 200 laps around the Michigan International Speedway. Glad to have you aboard for the fastest track in all of NASCAR.