Michigan was a weekend of disappointment for some and reojoicing for others.  Brian Vickers dominated the weekend, not just the Cup race, but the Nationwide race as well.  Although he didn't win the N'wide race, coming up short by one position, it was still a very successful weekend for him.  He grabbed pole position for both races, and won the Cup race, although it really was a result of Jimmie Johnson running out of gas and finishing in 33rd.

The win didn't move Brian into a Chase position, but it did move him closer.  He is only 12 points out of 12th spot, and with Mark Martin's poor finish (31st) at Michigan, Mark is the one only 12 points ahead of Brian, having dropped one position.  Matt Kenseth had a good day Sunday, finishing in 14th and grabbing those 5 bonus points for leading a lap (he led 6), and moved up one position.

While Vickers moved up, Kyle Busch moved down.  He was never really a factor in the Carfax 400 and very little was said about him on MRN, except for his struggles.  Allthough his 23rd place finish wasn't horrible, it just wasn't enough to keep him in the running for a Chase position, and he dropped to 15th in points, a whopping 70 points out of 12th.  Those 70 points certainly aren't insurmountable, especially if you are Kyle Busch, but with only three races remaining, and the next one being Bristol, time is quickly running out for Shrub, an idea un-thought of at the beginning of the year. 

Another change in the top 12 was two-fold, with Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards swapping 4th and 6th.  Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon also swapped 2nd and 3rd.  Jeff showed that his injuries at Watkins Glen were not what the media was saying and he is still "in it to win it".

Jimmie's miscalculation in fuel mileage cost him in the race and points but not to the extent that he should be worried - he's 19 points behind Jeff at this point, and is pretty much locked into a Chase position - I'm not the statistician some other writers are, and to be brutally honest, the stats bore me to tears, but safe to say, both of those two Hendrick cars will be in the Chase.  Carl Edwards moved up to 4th, but at 202 points behind Jimmie still has some work to do.  He is still winless this season, and although he claims he is happy with his season thus far, the tension shows every time he speaks with the media.  Don't let him fool you, Carl wants that win more than anything.

I'm going to end off this week's Race to the Chase Recap on an either very popular or very unpopular note, depending on where you stand on the subject of Dale Earnhardt Jr.  He finished in 3rd at Michigan, and he led 6 laps on his way there.  Now I know it isn't a win, and it's only his second top 5 of the season, but after the season he has had, and the criticism that he's had to endure, it was a well-earned and well-deserved top 5, no matter if you are a fan or not. ........and he jumped 4 spots in the standings, moving up to 20th.  LIke I said, it may not be a win, but it's a start.

This weekend, it's off to Bristol for the August night race.  The Q has a bunch of members attending the race, so hopefully our cup with be runneth over with photos and anecdotes from the race.   It's one of my favorites of the year, and although I have an open invitation every year from a couple of my very best friends, kids and school take priority, so I've yet to attend and I have to experience this mind-bender through my friends. 

Will Kyle come back?  Time will tell.