Little E's winless streak is history and other lessons from Michigan

Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrated his first win at HMS with his good friend and team owner Rick Hendrick (left). AP

Five things we learned this weekend in the Irish Hills of Michigan:

1. The 76-race winless streak is mercifully over for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Every week this season the questions have been hurled like rocks at Little E: When will you win, Dale? Is this the race you'll break the losing streak, Dale?

Last week at Pocono I was hanging out with Earnhardt in the back of the No. 88 hauler when the subject of his winless streak, which had lasted for over two years, came up. "I try not to think about it," Earnhardt said. "We're running in the front and we're looking at the bigger picture of winning the championship. But man, dude, it would be nice to get that first win for Mr. Hendrick."

Mission accomplished. On Sunday at Michigan International Speedway Earnhardt and his crew chief Tony Eury Jr. gambled on fuel strategy and won the LifeLock 400 -- barely. After the race was extended three laps because of a late caution flag, Little E ran out of fuel shortly after crossing the finish line. There's a stigma in the garage when it comes to winning races on fuel mileage -- Sure he won, but he didn't have the fastest car! is a refrain you'll often hear -- but this victory was long overdue for Earnhardt. He's consistently been in contention for the checkers this season, and with a little racing luck, he'd be sitting on three wins right now.

But the drought is now over for Earnhardt, and on Sunday afternoon he celebrated his inaugural win at Hendrick Motorsports with his owner Rick Hendrick. As I wrote in a cover story on Little E a few months ago in the magazine, Hendrick is almost like a second father to Earnhardt, and their close relationship was the single most important factor that led Earnhardt to sign a contract with HMS in the offseason. So it was perfectly fitting, on Father's Day, to see these two hugging in Victory Lane and smiling like they'd just conquered the sport, which for one afternoon, they did.

2. Kasey Kahne's summer roll continues.

After he finished 22nd at Darlington on May 10th, Kahne was in 14th in the standings and looking very much like a long shot to qualify for the Chase. He'd struggled in the middle of the pack for most of the season and had shown precious few flashes of speed. But since that evening no driver has been as scorching hot as Kahne, who over the last month has two wins. He likely would have taken his third checkered flag on Sunday if the final caution hadn't come out and ended the race prematurely, but the yellow flag meant that he had no chance to catch Earnhardt, who was rapidly running of gas. Still, Kahne finished second and is now a virtual lock to make the Chase; after all, he's currently seventh in the standings and seemingly rising with every lap.

Last week Rich O'Brien, SI's motorsports editor, made this point to me about Kahne: Whenever he has a fast car, the kid wins. And it's true: he may be the best closer in NASCAR today. Whenever he has a car that's capable of contending for the checkered flag, he's almost always in the lead pack in the final laps. In other words, he's not one of those guys that you hearing saying after the race, 'I should have won.' Because when Kahne should win, he normally does.

3. The quietest big story of the season has been the emergence of David Ragan.

On Sunday Ragan, a second-year driver for Roush Fenway Racing, authored another a typically solid race, finishing eighth. Over the last seven events Ragan has been out of the top 15 only once and he's now 13th in the standings, trailing Clint Bowyer by only 10 points for the 12th and final spot that advances to the Chase.

Like Mark Martin, who was his predecessor in the No. 6 car, Ragan isn't flashy on or off the track. In fact, I doubt many race fans could even pick him out of a small crowd. But a year after finishing 23rd in the final standings, he's on the cusp of doing what few drivers do: Making the Chase in their second seasons on the circuit. Most young drivers suffer from severe cases of Sophomore Slumpitis, but Ragan has yet to be afflicted. In fact, he's showing that he's more than capable of filling the shoes of Martin, who had long been the heart and soul of Jack Roush's racing operation.

4. The plot is thickening in the $225 million lawsuit filed against NASCAR last week in New York.

Brian France, the chairman of NASCAR, met with reporters in the infield media center at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, and he strongly suggested that the lawsuit was about one thing: money.

"Knowing what I know, not to compromise the investigation, I can tell you not to jump to conclusion about what a lawsuit attempts to say in an attempt to create some monetary reward," France said. "We've been down this road before. Usually the facts are something different in a lawsuit." France repeated NASCAR's stance that Mauricia Grant, a former inspector in the Nationwide Series, never told her superiors that she had been the target of inappropriate behavior, racial slurs, and sexual harassment by other inspectors. "It didn't happen. It just didn't happen," France said about whether or not Grant reported the misconduct to the governing body at the time she claims the alleged incidents happened. "She chose to make this about money and about a lawsuit. We'll deal with that."

And so they are. On Saturday the Associated Press reported that NASCAR suspended the two officials who are accused in the suit of exposing themselves to Grant. NASCAR has launched an internal investigation into Grant's allegations; as more facts are uncovered, don't be surprised if more heads roll in the coming days. But what's clear is that this he said-she said melodrama is just starting to heat up.

5. Joey Logano is officially the Next Big Thing in NASCAR.

On Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway Logano, who is 18 years and 21 days old, became the youngest driver in the history of the Nationwide Series to reach Victory Lane. Mark Martin has been hyping Logano as a future champion for several years, and in the opening laps of his career, the young driver is delivering just the way Martin envisioned. On Saturday Logano passed the most dominant driver of the year, Kyle Busch, late in the race to capture his first victory. Logano reminds me a little of Jimmie Johnson because, like Johnson, he rarely makes mistakes on the track, he can lull his competitors to sleep because he's so smooth behind the wheel, and he's as poised as any 18-year-old you'll ever meet.

Given his performance on Saturday, there's little doubt that Logano will be racing in the Cup Series later this year. He appears ready. He's been the primary test driver for Joe Gibbs Racing this season, which means he's turned thousands of laps in the Car of Tomorrow. Who knows? If Tony Stewart somehow gets out of his contract a year early and walks away from JGR at season's end, Logano could find himself piloting the No. 20 Chevy sooner rather than later.