NASCAR at Michigan 2015: Winners and Losers from the Quicken Loans 400
While it's safe to say that the Quicken Loans 400 at the Michigan International Speedway wasn't an ideal day of racing, the 139 completed laps on Sunday did provide plenty of drama.
Along with the rain showers that refused to go away for long stretches, there were significant wrecks, daring calls by crew chiefs and a lot of very fast racing.
Ultimately, Kurt Busch walked away with his second win of the season, joining Jimmie Johnson (four) and his teammate Kevin Harvick (two) in the multiple-winner's club for 2015.
That means, of course, that it was another disappointing day for drivers hoping to get a win that would launch them into the Chase.
Here are all of the winners and losers from the day of downpours in Michigan.
Winner: Kurt Busch's Back-Up Car
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For Kurt Busch and the No. 41 team, it certainly doesn't matter at all that they didn't get to cross the finish line first—in the Sprint Cup Series, a win is a win, and this just happened to be Kurt's second victory of the season.
This win was particularly impressive because it happened in a backup car. The elder Busch brother smacked into a wall in the first Sprint Cup practice in Michigan and had to scrap his primary car.
But his veteran team didn't miss a beat. They were able to quickly get the backup in gear for race day, and Kurt was able take over the lead from Larson for three full laps before the final rain delay on Sunday for his 27th Sprint Cup win.
"You have to get down and dirty, you have to really roll up your sleeves and put your elbows into it," Kurt said on Fox Sports 1 after the race, referring to his team's gritty, never-give-up nature. "It's a great team-chemistry feel."
Loser: Kyle Busch
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Kyle Busch's weekend started out very well, as he won the XFinity Race on Saturday for the first victory of his injury-plagued season.
Unfortunately, he was not able to bring those good vibes into the Sprint Cup race on Sunday. Kyle lost control of his car and crashed hard into the wall on Lap 53, ending his racing hopes for the day. He finished the race dead last.
This result hurts even worse considering the points position that Kyle is currently in. The younger Busch brother missed the first 11 weeks of the season due to a broken right leg and left foot suffered in the XFinitiy race in Daytona.
Kyle was given a medical exempt to compete in the Chase, but he still has to win a race and finish in the top 30 in points to earn his spot.
Well, Kyle had a wreck in the Dover race two weeks ago that left him in 36th place, and now with this finish of 43rd he's failed to gain important points once again. Kyle is 39th in the standings and will need a spectacular stretch of racing over the next couple of months to qualify for the postseason.
Winner: Rain
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While Kurt Busch is the one taking home all the glory, the rain was definitely the biggest story of the day. From start to finish, it was a frustrating, wet day at the Quicken Loans 400.
There were four red-flag rain delays on Sunday, with three coming in the first 45 laps of the race. The first caution flag came out after just 11 laps of racing, with a red flag coming down after 13 laps. There was then a break of nearly an hour before the drivers ran five more laps under caution. Then the rains came again.
Overall, only 22 of the first 52 laps of the race were run under a green flag—not an easy day for anyone involved.
Ultimately, only 139 of the 200 laps were complete before an indoor Victory Lane celebration began for Kurt Busch.
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Loser: Kevin Harvick
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It started off as a great day for Kevin Harvick, who was able to lounge with his adorable son Keelan before the race and led a race-high 63 laps on the track.
The No. 4 car certainly looked on the way to its 11th first- or second-place finish of the 2015 season. Unfortunately, bad luck struck at just the wrong time. Right after a pit stop, when he was in the lead on Lap 122, Harvick had to come back to pit road with a flat front-right tire.
Considering the race was stopped soon after, he didn't have enough time to recover, and Harvick finished in 29th place. This was only the second time all season he failed to finish in the top 10.
Winner: Chris Heroy, Kyle Larson's Crew Chief
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In this current Chase system that rewards wins above all else, you have to be willing to take a risk on the track. That's exactly what Kyle Larson and his crew chief, Chris Heroy, did on Sunday.
Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports describes the gamble taken by the No. 42 team:
"Larson's strategy started when a debris caution came out on lap 124.
He had been out for nearly a full fuel run and needed to pit soon to not run out of gas. But with rain imminent on the radar, he and crew chief Chris Heroy decided to keep their track position under the yellow flag and inherited the lead. He sprinted out to a gap over Busch and maintained it until he had to pit.
The race was under caution for the rain three laps later.
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Ultimately Heroy's decision didn't pay off, but it was certainly worth it—Larson finished 17th, and he likely wouldn't have been much higher than 10th if he had pitted when he was supposed to. However, if the rain had come just a few minutes earlier, Larson would have his first Sprint Cup win.
"(Three) laps short of a win! Man I wished the rain would have came just a little sooner," Larson tweeted during what happened to be the final rain delay.
Loser: Hendrick Motorsports
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On Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in second place. However, he was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver in the top 10, and since Hendrick drivers have set the bar so high, that constitutes a disappointing day.
Jimmie Johnson, a four-time winner already in 2015, finished in 19th place, while Kasey Kahne finished 15th and Jeff Gordon finished 21st.
While Johnson and Junior are already into the Chase thanks to wins the season, Kahne and Gordon are still searching for their first trips to Victory Lane in 2015. Kahne was the pole sitter but couldn't sustain his speed in the race, while Gordon struggled as he has all season.
It's hard to fathom the No. 24 car not making it to the Chase in Gordon's final season, but that's becoming more and more of a possibility as the year goes on.
Winner: Trevor Bayne
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There haven't been many reasons for Trevor Bayne to smile this season, but thanks to some much-needed luck and his team's perseverance, Bayne finished in ninth place in the Quicken Loans 400.
This was Bayne's first top-10 finish of the season, which is his first riding full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing. Furthermore, it's only the fourth Sprint Cup top 10 of his career.
The 24-year-old went a lap down early in the race due to a speeding penalty on pit road, but he stayed out late in the race when other cars were making pit stops and was able to finish with the leaders thanks to the timely rain delay.
Hopefully having things finally break its way will give the No. 6 team the boost it needs to finish the year strong.
Loser: Tony Stewart
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While it was a good day for Tony Stewart the Owner, considering Stewart-Haas driver Kurt Busch got the win, Tony Stewart the Driver continued his abysmal 2015 campaign at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.
The three-time Sprint Cup champion finished in 28th place on Sunday. He has only one top-10 finish this season, and this was the 10th time he's finished outside of the top 20.
Stewart now hasn't won a race in over two years, and considering he's at 26th in the points standings, his only hope of making it to the Chase is to win a race. Right now, that seems like a long shot for the 44-year-old.
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