NASCAR Faces Fast Track at Quicken Loans 400 Race

I turn on a race a little bit late and what do you know, half a dozen cars are already out and a number are laps down already — that’ll teach me to watch the clock better. The Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR had some bumping at the start and some at the end.

Joey Logano ended the race by giving Mark Martin a bit of a love tap that enabled him to win a race that he started from the pole position, and action that seems to be increasingly rare in NASCAR these days and which had not yet been accomplished this season until last week.

By pushing past Martin with just three laps to go Logano managed to secure his first win of the season and left Martin with the second spot. The crowd was filled out by Tony Stewart in third, Jimmie Johnson in fourth and the fifth spot was taken by Denny Hamlin.

Quicken Loans 400
This week the teams head to Michigan International Speedway for the Quicken Loans 400 up in the Irish Hills. This will be a very interesting race due to the new surface on the track. Speeds are very high, according to ESPN, and some drivers have spoken out about safety concerns. I seem to recall a few years ago another track that had been resurfaced suffered from peeling during a race, but I could be mistaken.

Broadcast
June 17, 12 pm ET on TNT

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The leader board remains tight, with a bit of shuffling from last week’s standings, with leader Biffle dropping to third, but still only 16 points out from the lead.

Sprint Cup Standings
1) Matt Kenseth
2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -10
3) Greg Biffle -16
4) Denny Hamlin -19
5) Jimmie Johnson -20

Nationwide Series
The Alliance Truck Parts 250

Broadcast
June 16 3:30 pm ET ABC

Last week was an off week so no changes since the Dover race on June 2. The Alliance Truck Parts 250 will be the race of choice for those rooting on the Nationwide crews, and the Sprint crews that often race side by side at the events.

Nationwide Standings
1) Elliot Sadler
2) Rickey Stenhouse Jr. -12
3) Austin Dillon -14
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -50
5) Justin Allgater –78