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Michigan predictions
Will Edwards save his season with a win this week?
Posted: Friday August 18, 2006 12:52PM; Updated: Friday August 18, 2006 1:06PM
LARS
ANDERSONTOM
BOWLESLEWIS
FRANCKTIM
TUTTLEMARK
ZESKEThe winner of the GFS Marketplace 400 will be ... Matt Kenseth 
D. Earnhardt Jr. 
Jimmie Johnson 
Greg Biffle 
Carl Edwards 
Why? If Kenseth is going to get a victory before the start of the Chase, it'll happen at Michigan, one of his best tracks. In 14 career starts at the place that owner Jack Roush considers his home track, Kenseth's average finish is an impressive 8.4, second-best among active drivers behind Carl Edwards. Junior finished a strong third at the rain-shortened Michigan race in June, his first top-5 in 14 career starts at the track. The No. 8 team seems to have hit upon something here, and Junior needs that signature win to lock up his bid for the Chase. The Nextel Cup is back on the ovals, so don't be surprised if Johnson pysches out the competition with a streak of wins or top fives. Biffle flies at the 2-mile tracks. He won three in a row -- Michigan II in 2004, California I and Michigan I in '05 -- and was second at California II in '05. Engine failure took away a win at California in February and rain held him to fourth at Michigan in June. Edwards is still looking for his first win of 2006, and Michigan is a likely place. In four career starts at the track, Edwards has finished second, fifth, fourth and 10th. Although it may be too late, Edwards is making a hurried rush to earn a spot in the Chase, having posted three top-10s in the last four races. Keep an eye on ... Kasey Kahne
Kahne won at Michigan in June but since then has struggled and fallen out of the top 10 in points. Still, the No. 9 team has proven to be the team to beat on the intermediate-length tracks this season.Carl Edwards
If you take away the Pocono incident with Tony Stewart, Cousin Carl would have three top-10s in a row. It's too little, too late to make the Chase, but after running second here in June, don't be surprised if Edwards does one spot better this weekend.Tony Stewart
Now that he's calm again, Stewart's a threat at every race he runs. He showed his maturity by not throwing away a strong second-place finish last week merely in hopes of beating Kevin Harvick to Victory Lane.Carl Edwards
Winless in '06 and probably not Chase-bound, Edwards can afford to go for it at a track where he has been very good. He was second in June and fourth and fifth last year at MIS. Plus, Edwards was third at the sister track in California in February.Kevin Harvick
Harvick is hard to ignore, having finished in the top 5 in the last five races. In the past 10 races, Harvick has scored more points than any other driver. In his career, however, Harvick hasn't torn up Michigan. He has an average finish of 17.4 in 11 career starts.Don't expect much from ... Kevin Harvick
Virtually all of the top drivers have performed well recently at Michigan, but Harvick has a history of struggles at the track. His average career finish at Michigan is 17.4.Elliott Sadler and David Gilliland
The driver swap at Evernham combined with Gilliland's debut with Robert Yates is big news ... but the drivers' finishes should be big busts. There's a reason these teams needed to make changes, and it will take a couple of races before things start to improve.David Gilliland
It's only his second race in this series, after a limited run in Busch. That's reason enough not to expect much this week.Ryan Newman
He has been a model of mediocrity in the 2-mile races the past couple of years. Newman's 15th at MIS in June is a good example. He was 15th and 12th there a year ago and 20th at California in February.Elliott Sadler
Sadler makes his debut in the No. 19 Dodge on Sunday. It has been nine races since the No. 19 has even finished in the top 20, while Sadler's average finish in 15 career starts at Michigan is 23.8.Mythical SI.com Cup TOTAL POINTS: 2,428
Last week: 175 (Tony Stewart)TOTAL POINTS: 2,697
Last week: 103 (Mark Martin)TOTAL POINTS: 3,003
Last week: 129 (Jeff Gordon)TOTAL POINTS: 2,972
Last week: 175 (Tony Stewart)TOTAL POINTS: 2,912
Last week: 175 (Tony Stewart)
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