FYI WIRZ: NASCAR's Top 5 Talk Race 15 at the US Home for Autos in Michigan

Michigan International Speedway, the two-mile tri-oval track with 18 degree banking, hosts the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 this Sunday at 1 p.m. on TNT.

MIS has sweeping 73-foot wide turns and provides three and four grooves for drivers to maneuver and pass. 

The racetrack was built in 1968 among the Irish Hills of southeastern Michigan in Brooklyn making it the nearest NASCAR facility to the heart of the traditional U.S. automotive industry territory. Manufacturers consider this race one for rivalry bragging rights.           

Ford Racing has dominated MIS history with 43 victories (12 Mercury and 31 Ford wins) but in recent times Toyota and Chevrolet have split wins in the last four races.

The top five in NASCAR points Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch shared their thoughts going into this car country.

FYI  WIRZ is the select presentation of motorsports topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com.

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford)

“I feel like MIS takes every part of your team and taxes you,” Edwards said. “You have to have really good strategy, you have to have a great car and a big engine. The aero package has got to be spot on, and I feel like at Roush Fenway we’ve done a good job of having that whole package a lot of times. There’s extra incentive to win here. It’s right up the road from Ford for us, so we work really hard at this race and I think that’s why we run well here.”

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Chevrolet)

“Looking forward to going back,” Johnson said. “We're always looking forward to going racing in the area where the manufacturers are based and I want to put on a good show for all the Chevrolet fans and do my part to represent the bowtie. Looking forward to it. We've been making a lot of progress on our intermediate setups and race cars. I think this could be a win for the 48 this weekend."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Chevrolet)

“I really like Michigan,” Earnhardt said. “It’s a real fun place to race. It is a wide racetrack and has a lot of different grooves. We can move around and find places to run on the track which makes it pretty enjoyable. A lot of times that is a fuel-mileage race. You do need a lot of motor too, and we’re pretty good in that department.”

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Chevrolet)

“It is a fun race track to race on,” Harvick said. “You have got to have good fuel mileage. You have to have a good handling car. You have to have the whole package. If you are having a good day, it’s not very hard anywhere to drive a good handling race car around and tell your guys what it needs and everybody is in a good mood. You have just got to be going from the time the green flag drops and keep up with your car and keep yourself up in the pack.”

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota)

“Its wide-open racing and you can run from top to bottom,” Busch said. “The biggest thing is just trying to get grip there. Some guys are able to get it, other guys can’t. You can get it for maybe five laps and then you’re just out to lunch. The biggest thing is, just trying to make your car comfortable and make it last throughout a whole tire run and, of course, make it fast, too. And the wide racetrack is good. That’s what makes Michigan so exciting and so fun.”

NASCAR’s top-five talk is for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained from official release materials provided by NASCAR.

Photo credit: Dwight Drum at Racetake.com