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Erik Darnell, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all won their first race of the season in dramatic fashion.

Drama was the word of the day at Michigan, Kentucky

Two end winless drought while another gets first victory

By NASCAR.COM
June 16, 2008
01:12 PM EDT

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A recap of the nail-biting action in Michigan and Kentucky:

Figuratively speaking

1 -- Only one driver spent all 203 laps in the top 15 during the LifeLock 400 at Michigan -- race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Cup Series

Pit Crew of the Week

No. 48 Chevrolet: Jimmie Johnson lost the draft and went a lap down early. Once Johnson got the lap back he hit David Reutimann's blown tire breaking a splitter brace on Lap 55. The crew was able to make the repairs without losing a lap and Johnson extended his points lead with a ninth-place finish.

Tip of the Week

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Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended his 76-race winless string, coasting to victory at Michigan International Speedway under a caution flag with little but fumes left in his gas tank. NASCAR's most popular driver gave his new boss, Rick Hendrick, only his second victory of the season as he somehow squeezed enough gas out of his last fillup to go three laps beyond the regulation finish in the Lifelock 400.
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Qualifying
• Rain cancelled qualifying for the LifeLock 400 at Michigan, forcing the field to be set by NASCAR's rulebook and thus allowing Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch to start from the pole position for the third time this season. It may have been a blessing for Busch, who was 27th in practice, 3.1 mph slower than pacesetter Jimmie Johnson.
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Also check out ...
Kenseth, Vickers question race finish
Gillett Evernham has another solid day
Menzer: Junior not usually the gambling kind
Hornish thought he had the car to beat

Nationwide Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Everybody knew Joey Logano would win in the Nationwide Series. It was just a matter of how quickly he could get it done. In only his third career start, Logano answered that question Saturday night in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the youngest driver to win in Nationwide Series history at 18 years and 21 days.
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Qualifying
• Joey Logano set the mark early in qualifying and no one came close to matching it giving the 18-year-old his second consecutive Nationwide Series pole. It was a series-only top five as Jason Keller, Marcos Ambrose, David Stremme and Brad Coleman ran great laps while double-duty drivers like Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch struggled with no practice time.

Truck Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Erik Darnell surged past Johnny Benson in the final 50 yards to win by inches Saturday in the Cool City Customs 200 Truck Series race at Michigan. Benson drove inside Darnell in Turns 3 and 4 on the 100th and final lap and had a half-truck length lead coming onto the frontstretch. Darnell dove down to run alongside Benson, who was on the apron beneath the white line, and they ran side-by-side to the finish.
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Qualifying
• Mike Skinner won his 42nd Truck Series pole and second of 2008 but it was close. Jack Sprague was .001 seconds off of Skinner's lap and Todd Bodine was .001 seconds by Sprague. Chad McCumbee and Scott Speed completed the top five as only 34 trucks made a qualifying attempt.

Survey says ...

Following Joey Logano's first Nationwide Series win in just his third start, NASCAR.COM asked: When will Joey Logano win his first Cup Series race?

Answer	Votes	Pct.

2009	14170	48%
2010	6601	23%
2008	4370	15%
2011 or later	4112	14%

Off the Marx

Bill Marx of Sporting News Wire Service weighs in with his top 10:

Pos.	Driver	Need to know ...

1.	Kasey Kahne	Kahne has two wins and a second in the past four races.
2.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Sunday's win was his fourth top-five in the past five races.
3.	Carl Edwards	The hottest Roush driver. Barely.
4.	Matt Kenseth	The old Kenseth has returned. He is now 14 points out of 12th. Sure didn't take him long to wipe out that 204-point deficit.
5.	Jimmie Johnson	Speaking of the old Kenseth, I think we're seeing the old Johnson, too.
6.	Kyle Busch	Is all that racing and traveling catching up to Busch?
7.	Jeff Burton	His 15th-place finish keeps his top-15 streak alive.
8.	Brian Vickers	Second last week, fourth Sunday. Another Toyota heard from.
9.	Denny Hamlin	Gets back-to-back top-15s for the first time since April.
10.	Joey Logano	How many of you had this thought on Saturday? If Tony Stewart leaves Gibbs, Logano will slip into the 20.