Date: Aug 18, 2013
Event: Pure Michigan 400 (Round 23 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Winner: Joey Logano of Penske Racing (Ford)
SHR Finish:
Ryan Newman (Started 21st, Finished 13th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Austin Dillon (Started 27th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Danica Patrick (Started 28th, Finished 23rd / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
SHR Points:
Ryan Newman (15th with 636 points, 177 out of first; 27 behind 10th)
Tony Stewart (18th with 594 points, 219 out of first; 69 behind 10th)
Danica Patrick (27th with 418 points, 395 out of first; 245 behind 10th)
No. 14 car owner points (13th with 653 points, 160 out of first)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans/PTA Chevrolet SS, led the way for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn by finishing 13th in the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
It was Newman’s 16th top-15 finish of the season.
Austin Dillon, interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 14th. It was his second top-15 finish in 10 career Sprint Cup starts.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Go Daddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 23rd. It was Patrick’s 33rd career Sprint Cup start and her second at Michigan.
Joey Logano won the Pure Michigan 400 to score his third career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his first at Michigan.
Kevin Harvick finished 1.018 seconds behind Logano in the runner-up spot while Kurt Busch, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-five. Marcos Ambrose, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were nine caution periods for 34 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 200-lap race.
With round 23 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He dropped one spot to 15th place and has 636 points, 177 back of series leader Jimmie Johnson and 27 behind 10th-place Biffle. Stewart, who was forced to miss the race due to injury, dropped one spot to 18th, 594 out of first and 219 points behind Biffle. Patrick remained in 27th place and has 418 points, 395 behind Johnson and 245 away from 10th.
The No. 14 team is 13th in the owner standings with 653 points, 160 points behind the series-leading No. 48 team of Hendrick Motorsports.
Three races remain before the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Only the top-10 in points are locked into the Chase. Positions 11 and 12 in the Chase are wild cards, awarded to the two drivers between 11th and 20th in points with the most wins. In the event of multiple drivers having the same number of wins, a driver’s point standing serves as the tiebreaker.
Kasey Kahne, who is 11th in points, is the first wild card via his two wins. Martin Truex Jr. holds the second wild card spot as he is 12th in points with one victory. Logano, Newman, and Stewart each have one victory and are 13th, 15th, and 18th in points, respectively.
Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished four spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 19th.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Irwin Tools Night Race Saturday, Aug. 24, at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.
