Earnhardt, Busch start new career phases at Michigan

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. may be the driver who helped build DEI, but Martin Truex already appears to be the company's No.1 driver, even before Junior's exit at year's end. Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

On Sunday the Cup boys will be in the Wolverine State at Michigan International Raceway, a two-mile oval with 18-degree banked turns. Here are five drivers to watch this weekend:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

More than ever, all eyes will be on Little E in Michigan. On Wednesday Junior announced that he'll be driving for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2008, and on Sunday we'll get the first indication of whether the rest of '07 will be a lost season for Junior of if he'll be competitive in his last months of driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his father.

Currently 14th in the points standings, Junior is in something of a mini-slump. In his last eight races he has zero top-five finishes and only three top-10s. Meanwhile, his DEI teammate Martin Truex Jr. has surged up the standings thanks to back-to-back top-five runs, including a win at Dover two weeks ago. Is it possible that Truex is now considered DEI's top-driver and that he's getting the better equipment since Earnhardt is a lame-duck driver? The recent results seem to indicate that, but Earnhardt should be good at Michigan, where he's finished sixth or better in his last two starts.

2. Kyle Busch

Speaking of lame-duck drivers, Busch is now searching for a ride for '08 and beyond. He was the odd man out at Hendrick and will be let go at season's end in order to make room for Earnhardt. As it is with Little E, this race is important for Busch because it could set the tone for the rest of his season. He's currently 10th in the standings and is one of a handful of drivers who I think is capable of getting hot late in the year and blossoming into a legitimate title contender. But will his team stay dedicated to the temperamental 22-year-old? The answer to that question will determine how the rest of the season goes for the driver of the No. 5 Chevy.

3. Matt Kenseth

A Ford driver hasn't won a race since February, but that trend could be broken on Sunday at Michigan, a raceway that Ford owner Jack Roush considers his home track. A Roush driver has won four of the last eight races at MIR, and Roush will desperately want to reach Victory Lane on Sunday when several of the top Ford executives will be on hand. Roush's top threat to take the checkers likely will be Kenseth. Though he's had a mediocre car for much of the season, Kenseth is second in the standings and he won at Michigan last summer.

4. Jeff Gordon

The winner of three of the last six races, Gordon heads into Michigan on a roll. Before Steve Letarte became Gordon's crew chief in September '05, Gordon had fits at two-mile tracks like MIR. For a stretch of nearly two years, he'd lose the handling in his car whenever he encountered traffic. But Letarte and his crew essentially solved this problem before the start of the '06 season, and since then Gordon has been dominant on the intermediate-length tracks. He finished second at Michigan in his last start at the track.

5. Denny Hamlin

One of these Sundays Hamlin is going to catch a break and reach Victory Lane, a place he hasn't visited this season in spite of leading the most laps in four different races. In two career starts at Michigan, Hamlin's average finish is 10.5.