Quicken Loans 400

 

Greg Biffle: "I'm so happy for him."

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Hell yea. I don't know what to say."

"Good job guys, I know you've been waiting on that one. I know I have."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins at Michigan, snapping 143-race winless streak.

Radio chatter on Lap 199: Crew chief Steve Letarte: There you go buddy, white flag.

Radio chatter on Lap 197: Spotter T.J. Majors: "You're pulling away to a six-second lead."

Lap 197: Mark Martin to garage.

Radio chatter on Lap 196: Crew chief Steve Letarte: "Four more."

Radio chatter on Lap 195: Crew chief Steve Letarte: "You got over five seconds, five to go."

Lap 194: Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to run the fastest laps on the track. He now leads by more than five seconds over Tony Stewart.

Lap 192: Kasey Kahne pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 190: Tony Stewart complains of debris, adds, "but no one gives a flying (expletive)" as he runs second to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 190: Regan Smith has problems in Turn 3.

Lap 190: With 10 laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a 4.882-second lead over the field. Only four drivers are within 10 seconds of Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 189: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the field covered today. He is steadily pulling away from the field as the laps wind down at Michigan.

Lap 187: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a lead of more than two seconds and is running the fastest times on the track.

Radio chatter on Lap 180: Crew chief Steve Letarte: "Twenty to go, looking great."

Lap 180: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a 1.982-second lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 175: Greg Biffle: "I think the right rear is coming apart."

Lap 175: Jimmie Johnson gets past Matt Kenseth for third.

Radio chatter on Lap 174: Dale Earnhardt Jr. tells his crew that his car is tight.

Lap 173: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a 1.669-second lead over Tony Stewart. Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson round out the top five.

Lap 171: Jeff Burton pits; Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes the lead.

Lap 170: Brad Keselowski pits; Jeff Burton now leads. Dale Earnhardt Jr. follows.

Lap 169: Brad Keselowski and Jeff Burton, who have not pitted, lead the field.

Lap 168: Jamie McMurray pits.

Lap 167: AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon among those pitting. Kasey Kahne returns to the track.

Lap 166: Clint Bowyer pits for only fuel, Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte among those pitting.

Lap 165: Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya among those pitting.

Lap 164: Marcos Ambrose, Ryan Newman among those pitting.

Lap 163: Leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. pits for two tires. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin among those pitting.

Lap 162: Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard pit.

Radio chatter on Lap 161: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is three laps from pitting.

Lap 159: Tony Stewart just ran the fastest lap on the track, but he's not making up any significant ground on Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 156: Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to lead, holding a three-tenths of a second edge over Tony Stewart.

Radio chatter on Lap 143: Tony Stewart: "We're not going anywhere." Stewart is running second.

Radio chatter on Lap 152: Spotter T.J. Majors tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. the only place Tony Stewart is gaining on him is in Turn 3."He gets in easier and a little bit lower."

Lap 151: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart are pulling away from the field, but Stewart is staying close to Earnhardt Jr. He trails by just three-tenths of a second.

Lap 146: Kyle Busch pits for right-side tires.

Lap 146: Dale Earnhardt Jr. now has a four-tenths of a second lead over Tony Stewart.

Lap 144: There's a lot of battling for position inside of the top 10 right now. Matt Kenseth slips past Juan Pablo Montoya for sixth.

Lap 143: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a three-tenths of a second lead over second, which is now Tony Stewart.

RESTART - Lap 140: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon lead the field to the green.

Radio chatter on Lap 139: Spotter T.J. Majors says: "Tony (Stewart) says get your ass going and he'll push you."

Radio chatter on Lap 138: Crew chief Steve Letarte tells Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "We're good one lap to the finish."

Lap 138: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his Hendrick Motorsports' teammate Jeff Gordon will lead the field back to the green. Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Marcos Ambrose and Mark Martin round out the top 10. Among those, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon (two), Stewart, Biffle (two), Edwards (two), Kenseth (two), Martin (five) have previous wins at Michigan.

Lap 135: Greg Biffle's pit stall is a mess with residual from the extinguisher used to put out Denny Hamlin's car fire.

Lap 134: Joey Logano said he overcorrected, then got into the wall. ... Says the restarts were hairy.

Radio chatter on Lap 134: Denny Hamlin's spotter: Left front fender splitter gone, big fire under the car, get out of it, get out.

Lap 134: It's been a rough day for Joe Gibbs Racing as Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano all have problems.

Lap 134: Denny Hamlin flies down to pit road with his car on fire.

CAUTION 8 - Lap 134: Denny Hamlin slides into the grass.

RESTART: Lap 133: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon lead the field to the green flag.

Radio chatter on Lap 132: Crew chief Steve Addington: “Aren’t you glad you took that second nap in today?" Tony Stewart. "Yeah, it’s amazing what the extra hour and a half did for me. I need a mattress sponsor. Cause I’d be an awesome test pilot for them."

Lap 129: Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Aric Almirola, Landon Cassill, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Regan Smith, Bobby Labonte, Casey Mears and David Ragan pit.

Lap 128: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart are the top five.

Radio chatter on Lap 127: Joey Logano: "I’m all right, (expletive) I can’t drive it. Ah, (crap)."

Lap 127: Kyle Busch returns to the track.

Lap 127: Kurt Busch pits.

CAUTION 7 - Lap 126: Joey Logano, who was having an excellent outing, sits against the wall with his heavily damaged race car. Kasey Kahne is driving in his also heavily damaged car. David Gilliland gets loose and wiggles, then Joey Logano tries to avoid David Gilliland and then spins. Kasey Kahne has nowhere to go and piles into the accident.

Lap 126: Cars are crashing hard on the backstretch.

RESTART: Lap 126: Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. lead the field to the green.

Lap 123: Austin Dillon pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 123: Crew chief Matt Puccia says, "Save gas, save gas, save gas!"

Lap 122: Juan Pablo Montoya, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer pit. Greg Biffle gets four tires and a spring rubber in the right rear.

Lap 121: Juan Pablo Montoya is the leader as he has not pitted during the green-flag stops. Carl Edwards sits second during the caution period, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. third.

Radio chatter on Lap 120: Crew chief Steve Letarte tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. to save some gas.

CAUTION 6 - Lap 120: Kurt Busch spins.

Lap 120: Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears among those pitting.

Lap 119: Leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. pits. Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex Jr. and Greg Biffle among those pitting.

Lap 118: Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Aric Almirola among those pitting.

Lap 117: Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick among those pitting. 

Lap 116: Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Paul Menard pit.

Lap 114: Brad Keselowski pits with a vibration.

Lap 114: Look at him go: Dale Earnhardt Jr., looking to snap a 143-race winless streak, now holds more than a two-second lead over the field.

Lap 110: Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn't wasting any time running away from the field. Earnhardt Jr., shortly after taking the lead, has a 1.564-edge over Tony Stewart.

Lap 106: NEW LEADER: Dale Earnhardt Jr. once more takes the lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 105: Jeff Gordon tells his crew his water temperature is 215, oil 250. He's running fourth.

Radio chatter on Lap 103: Tony Stewart says that he's loose off the center exit.

Lap 103: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is now less than four-tenths of a second off Tony Stewart's pace.

Lap 101: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is catching Tony Stewart. Stewart radios his team that he is "Pretty neutral on entry."

Lap 100: Tony Stewart continues to lead at the halfway point. He has a .622 of a second lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 96: The track is overcast again.

Radio chatter on Lap 95: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that he is "loose," but mainly off of the turn.

Radio chatter on Lap 94: Carl Edwards: "I can't tell what's going on with the front, it might be rubbing the splitter. I can't tell. Absolutely no grip, none, zero." He is running 25th.

Lap 94: Tony Stewart is setting the pace, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle.

Lap 89: Tony Stewart just ran the fastest time on the track.

RESTART - Lap 87: Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. lead the field to the green.

Radio chatter on Lap 86: Kyle Busch: "We blew up again. We blew up the (expletive) motor again." He was 18th.

Lap 86: Kyle Busch behind the wall.

Radio chatter on Lap 84: Greg Biffle says the sticker tires didn't chatter as bad.

Radio chatter on Lap 84: Crew chief Todd Gordon says the car was bad enough that it caused them to come to pit road to have the rear fixed.

Lap 83: AJ Allmendinger is in the pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 83: Crew chief Steve Letarte tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. that there's a small piece of paper on the grille, he hopes they got it off in the pits. "You're driving a helluva race, a helluva race," Letarte said.

Radio chatter on Lap 82: AJ Allmendinger says he was hit by Kyle Busch.

Lap 82: Leaders pit.

CAUTION 5 - Lap 81: Debris on the track.

Lap 81: AJ Allmendinger pits.

Lap 80: Tony Raines back to the garage.

Radio chatter on Lap 78: Crew chief Steve Letarte tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. that he's about 10 laps away from pitting.

Lap 78: Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin pit.

Radio chatter on Lap 77: Leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. says his car is "real neutral."

Radio chatter on Lap 73: Carl Edwards' spotter on Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "He's running as low as that rubber will take him."

Lap 73: Race-leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned his last Cup win in 2008 - at Michigan.

Lap 72: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is now setting the pace. Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin and Brad Keselowski are in the top five.

Radio chatter on Lap 70: Greg Biffle: "It's just way too loose, I can't drive it." Biffle is now third.

Lap 70: NEW LEADER: Dale Earnhardt Jr. moves past Marcos Ambrose to take the lead.

Lap 69: Dale Earnhardt Jr. closes up on the leaders as well, moving to second behind Marcos Ambrose as Greg Biffle falls to third.

Lap 69: NEW LEADER: Marcos Ambrose slips into the lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 67: Blisters on Jeff Burton's tires.

Lap 67: Tony Raines returning to the track.

Lap 67: Greg Biffle continues to set the pace. He leads Marcos Ambrose by 0.564 of a second.

Radio chatter on Lap 62: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says: "I'm a little bit snug in the center at both ends. ... it's very, very small." Crew chief Steve Letarte says he'll have to put on left side tires next time.

Radio chatter on Lap 60: Carl Edwards says, "I can't stay on the gas." Edwards is running 15th.

Radio chatter on Lap 60: Jimmie Johnson spotter Earl Barban: "Look out ... here we come." Johnson is running 15th.

Radio chatter on Lap 57: Aric Almirola says that his car won't turn, it's really loose.

RESTART: Lap 56: Greg Biffle and Mark Martin lead the field to green.

Radio chatter on Lap 56: Crew chief Rodney Childers tells Mark Martin to watch his restart marks.

Radio chatter on Lap 54: Crew chief Dave Rogers tells Kyle Busch he needs work on the body. The right rear is fine.

Lap 54: Kurt Busch pits again.

Lap 54: Kyle Busch pits with damage to the right side.

Lap 53: Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya almost collide on pit road. Brad Keselowski and Aric Almirola take no tires.

Lap 52: Leaders pit.

Radio chatter on Lap 52: Dale Earnhardt Jr. plans to take right-side tires. Crew chief Steve Letarte says: "We need six seconds worth of gas."

CAUTION 4 - Lap 51: NASCAR competition caution.

Lap 49: NEW LEADER: With traffic in front of the leaders, Marcos Ambrose moves low and to the inside to retake the lead as Matt Kenseth moves to the outside to make the pass.

Radio chatter on Lap 48: Crew chief Matt Puccia asks Greg Biffle about balance in his car: "It's a hair free," Biffle says while running fourth.

Radio chatter on Lap 46: Dale Earnhardt Jr. reports that his balance "feels good."

Lap 45: Marcos Ambrose continues to ride Matt Kenseth's bumper.

Lap 41: Matt Kenseth continues to set the pace, followed by Marcos Ambrose. Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger and Aric Almirola round out the top 10.

Radio chatter on Lap 40: Tony Stewart reports that his temperatures are 215 and 230.

Radio chatter on Lap 39: Carl Edwards: "We'll get them, we're just really loose in dirty air." Edwards is currently running 28th.

Lap 39: Matt Kenseth holds the lead, but isn't exactly racing away from fellow Ford driver Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose is less than two-tenths off the pace.

Lap 35: Tony Stewart to fifth. Ryan Newman, his teammate who dropped to the rear because of an engine change at the start, is up to 11th.

Lap 32: NEW LEADER: Matt Kenseth slips to the inside of Marcos Ambrose and takes the lead.

Lap 31: Marcos Ambrose will once more take command at the front. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver is seeking his first Cup win on an oval track.

RESTART - Lap 30: Matt Kenseth, Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola lead the field back to green.

Lap 30: Kurt Busch pits again. Kevin Harvick has a vibration and pits again.

The next competition caution will now be on Lap 50.

Lap 29: Kevin Harvick returns to pit road.

Lap 28: Landon Cassill stalled on pit road, gets it going again.

Lap 28: Kurt Busch pits a second time.

Lap 27: Leaders pit. Heading into the stop, Greg Biffle had the lead. Marcos Ambrose, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer lead the field. Ambrose, Kenseth, Logano, Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. take two tires. Jimmie Johnson takes only fuel.

Radio chatter on Lap 26: Carl Edwards on his car: "Terrible, it's chattering the left sides."

CAUTION 3 - Lap 25: Competition caution - drivers can add fuel.

Radio chatter on Lap 23: Carl Edwards, running 25th, says he's "a lot looser than a lot of these guys."

Radio chatter on Lap 24: Greg Biffle is saying there's debris on the track ... something orange.

Lap 23: Hometown favorite Brad Keselowski is running 17th. How does Keselowski feel about his Detroit roots?

Lap 22: Matt Kenseth has a nose inside of Joey Logano. Kenseth, the series points leader, takes the spot.

Lap 21: As the Fords of Greg Biffle and Marcos Ambrose set the pace, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth are close for third. Logano, who won his fifth Nationwide Series race of the year Saturday, is holding the position but Kenseth is closing on the slot.

Lap 20: NASCAR has moved the competition caution to Lap 25.

Lap 19: Greg Biffle holds the lead as teams prepare for the competition caution. Kurt Busch, now 31st, picked up 10 positions in two laps.

RESTART - Lap 16: Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose lead the field to the green. Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola and Tony Stewart follow.

Lap 15: Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland pit.

Radio chatter on Lap 15: Matt Kenseth reports that the water temp is a little lower than usual.

Lap 15: Trevor Bayne to the garage.

Radio chatter on Lap 14: Greg Biffle asks crew chief Matt Puccia what the 9 (of Marcos Ambrose) is up to. Puccia: "We're on it." Biffle: "I like you." Puccia: "We think alike."

Radio chatter on Lap 12: Crew chief Chad Knaus asks the crew to clean the grille and Johnson to save fuel.

Radio chatter on Lap 12: Trevor Bayne to crew chief Donnie Wingo: "What's wrong with the engine Donnie?" Wingo: "I don't know, it's the ECU and all that rot."

Lap 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Landon Cassill, David Gilliland, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Joe Nemechek pit. Tires only, no fuel until the competition caution. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team also makes a track-bar adjustment. Johnson takes four tires.

CAUTION 2 - Lap 10: Josh Wise engine fails.

Lap 9: Some of the drivers who started at the back are already making moves. Jimmie Johnson is only up to 30th after starting at the rear with an engine change, but Carl Edwards is up to 24th after starting 42nd and Ryan Newman, who also went to the rear at the start, is 19th.

Lap 9: Greg Biffle has a half-second lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 8: Kurt Busch: "This car is beyond sideways."

Lap 8: Trevor Bayne pits.

Lap 7: Trevor Bayne in the Wood Brothers Racing Ford is off the pace.

RESTART - LAP 5 - Marcos Ambrose will lead them to the green once more, with Greg Biffle beside him. Biffle has been fast all weekend.

Radio chatter on Lap 3: Crew chief Nick Harrison tells the crew to just do right tires and work on the damage.

Lap 3: Kurt Busch pits for tires. He has left front damage after making contact with David Gilliland as he lost control. Gilliland also has some damage.

CAUTION 1 - LAP 2 - Kurt Busch spins.

3:05 p.m. ET: GREEN FLAG!

Prerace radio chatter: "It's going to be a fun day here," crew chief Steve Letarte tells the crew. "Have fun everybody, be safe on pit road," Dale Earnhardt Jr. replies

Prerace radio chatter: Carl Edwards, starting the race on sticker tires, says that it feels real slick. Crew chief Bob Osborne says: "You think you have issues, come down pit road." Edwards, who start 42nd, says: "We've got the fastest race car here so let's be real smart."

Prerace radio chatter: Brad Keselowski: "Let's have fun with it, let's get to the front and win." Team owner Roger Penske reminds Keselowski that this is his hometown track.

Marcos Ambrose and Kevin Harvick will lead the field to the green.

3 p.m. ET: Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman preparing to drop to the rear because of the engine changes.

2:59 p.m. ET: Cars are rolling on the track. The radar looks clear for the race.

2:54 p.m ET: Command to start engines!

2:50 p.m.: There will be two competition cautions today at Michigan, on Lap 20 and Lap 45, for teams to adjust on their cars. Teams have had one practice session on the tires they are using today and are now racing on a rain-washed track.

2:45 p.m. ET: Track drying is almost complete. Looks like they'll be racing soon.

2:36 p.m. ET: Marcos Ambrose will lead the field to the green today. He topped the qualifying field with a stellar lap of 203.241 mph at a track where drivers were continually hitting top speeds. The teams shifted to a different tire for the race, adding a practice last night on those. For the full lineup, click here.

2:31 p.m.: National anthem is being sung at the track.

2:20 p.m. ET: Jet dryers are working on the track once more.

2:11 p.m. ET: Rain has started falling once more at the track, especially in Turns 1 and 2. Reports at the track that those turns have been lost.

2:04 p.m. ET: Cars are being pushed to pit road.

1:53 p.m. ET: Jet dryers continuing to work at Michigan. Driver introductions to begin shortly.

1:29 p.m. ET: Driver introductions have been set for 2 p.m. ET.

1:13 p.m. ET: NASCAR is firing up the jet dryers and getting ready to put them on the track.

12:55 p.m ET: Two teams have changed engines this weekend, those of Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman. 

12:50 p.m. ET: Hard rain continues to fall at Michigan International Speedway, delaying track drying efforts.

12:15 p.m. ET: The start to today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Quicken Loans 400 will be delayed as rain continues to fall at the track. This rain shower is expected to last about another hour, according to several weather forecasts.

Welcome to the FOXSports.com coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

The race is scheduled to begin shortly after 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

Already, there's a lot of buzz surrounding the race weekend as speeds in Thursday's open test session exceeded expectations. What did the drivers have to say about the high speeds? Lee Spencer covers the session.

Miss any of the action so far? Check out the photo highlights.

Is this the weekend Dale Earnhardt Jr. breaks out and wins? He talks about his potential - and his new paint scheme.

Which drivers are on a roll heading into Michigan? Tommy Kendall discusses hot streaks and drivers to watch.

What impact will high speeds have on the race overall? Tommy Kendall weighs in.