NASCAR’s three car companies have vested interests in how the Pure Michigan 400 plays out with Toyota holding a 30 point advantage over Chevrolet and 67 ahead of Ford.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Michigan International Speedway this weekend for the Pure Michigan 400. Much is on the line, not just for the drivers, but for the car makers as well.
While Ford is trailing by a wide margin in the standings, they have won half of the races at MIS (47 of 94), which includes 35 wins by Ford and 12 under the Mercury banner. The last time out, Joey Logano won from the pole in the Firekeepers Casino 400 in June. Logano, who is locked into the Chase with a win and is fifth in the standings, led six times for 138 total laps and gave Team Penske their 50th Cup victory as well as giving Roush Yates engines their 100th.
When MIS made its debut in 1969, a Ford product swept both races with Cale Yarborough (Mercury) and David Pearson (Ford) taking the checkers. Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett registered his first Cup victory at the two-mile paved track in 1991 while Greg Biffle gave Ford its 1,000th NASCAR win June 16, 2013 in the Quicken Loans 400.
Next: Updated NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase standings after Bristol
Meanwhile, Chevrolet has won 13 consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series manufacturer championships and their trophies are displayed at their headquarters located just 75 miles from MIS. The car has visited victory lane 23 times in Cup competition at Michigan. Future Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon holds the track qualifying record when he lapped the track with a speed of 206.558 mph on August 15, 2014. Kasey Kahne, holds the record for the most poles of any active driver competing in this weekend’s race with three pole awards to his credit.
Overall, Chevrolet has won 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championships while drivers of the Bowtie Brand have notched 759 wins and 684 poles.
Toyota, on the other hand, is trying to snap Team Chevy’s grip on the manufacturer’s championship while trying to grab another Michigan Heritage trophy. Created by MIS in 2013, the award was generated to celebrate the importance of manufacturers’ role in NASCAR and to add to the rivalry between the three. As part of the trophy program, Toyota, the other manufacturers and the speedway each donate $10,000 to a youth-related charity in Michigan each year.
There are seven Cup drivers who drive Toyotas which include Denny Hamlin (No. 11), Kyle Busch, (No. 18), Carl Edwards (No. 19), Matt Kenseth (No. 20), David Ragan (No. 23), Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78) and Matt DiBenedetto (No. 83).
In the Chase standings, Kevin Harvick (Chevy) tops the field while Brad Keselowski (Ford) is second. Carl Edwards is the top Toyota in fourth.
The Pure Michigan 400 is slated to start at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.