Gordon loves racing at Michigan, but so does Roush Fenway gang

BROOKLYN, Mich. –- When you ask drivers what their favorite racetrack is on the Sprint Cup schedule, many point to Michigan International Speedway.

Not surprisingly those --- including Jeff Gordon -- who give that answer have a pretty successful record at the two-mile track.

That will happen when you have 15 top fives and 20 top-10 finishes in 32 career starts at a track.

"I've always loved racing here –- it's my favorite track," said Gordon, who comes into Sunday's Lifelock 400 second behind Tony Stewart in the standings. "The track is big, wide, and it's fast. The corners have multiple grooves, so you can run from the white line all the way to the wall. And you can change your angles in and off the corners.

"It's just an all-around great track because the drivers can do so much here to change their racing line."

Gordon has had his No. 24 Chevrolet out front for 899 laps during his Michigan Cup career and he's hoping to add to that total for a second win of the year on Sunday.

•  Michigan: Vickers wins pole | Lineup | Fantasy: Kenseth No. 1 | B/R: Picks

But he knows that it won't be easy simply because of the competitive nature of both the series and the track, with its wide and sweeping turns through the banking giving drivers several options to race to the lead.

"The foundation underneath the track –- that they accidentally happened to have in there -– has created some great lines and grooves, which creates great racing in my opinion," Gordon said.

"You can't copy it. It's just a great track. It's the way the soil, the foundation and everything settled."

Carl Edwards, who won at MIS in August, is seeking his first win of '09. (Getty Images)

Last August's Michigan winner Carl Edwards was forced to settle for second last week behind Stewart at Pocono.

But despite still being winless in 2009 after finding Victory Lane a series-high nine times a year ago, Edwards feels that runner-up finish will give him the push he needs to take his first checkered flag of the year on Sunday.

"We haven't won a race yet, but I feel like our team has grown a lot over the last month or so," Edwards said. "Our pit stops have been a lot better. Our cars have been faster. And Sunday was exactly almost what we needed. I mean, we led the most laps. We had good pit stops. We almost won the race."

That was a learning experience in many ways for Edwards who knows that although the season is long and grueling, the time to shine is yet to come.

"The most important thing that came out of Sunday was jumping up in the points because the reality of this series is that you can win all the races you want, but it really matters what you do in those last 10 races, and you have to be in the Chase," he said.

Who's hot

Carl Edwards: Edwards has dominated the NASCAR Loop Data stats over the last eight races at Michigan International Speedway. He won his first Sprint Cup race at MIS in the 2007 June event after leading 63 laps from the 12th starting position. He went on to earn another victory last August to mark his eighth top 10 in nine starts.

Greg Biffle: Biffle is coming off his seventh top 10 in 12 starts at Michigan after finishing fourth last August. His worst finish came in this event last season after the team missed the setup on the No. 16 Ford. Biffle won consecutive races at MIS in 2004-2005.

Matt Kenseth: With the exception of the 2007 June race, Kenseth has put together a stellar career in 19 races at Michigan. In that event, Kenseth recorded his first DNF, and first finish outside the top 20, after crashing on lap 75. He has two wins, 13 top 10s, including six straight from 2002-2005, and has led 222 laps at MIS. Kenseth is coming off three consecutive top fives at MIS, which have lowered his average finish to 9.1, the second-best among all drivers.

Who's not

David Reutimann: Reutimann has yet to finish in the top 10 in a Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan. He has made four starts at MIS, and his best finish, 14th, came in the fall 2008 race.

Kasey Kahne: Kahne is coming off his worst finish -- 40th -- at Michigan after the engine expired in his No. 9 Dodge. Last year in this event, Kahne finished second for his fifth top five, which includes a win in the 2006 June race.

Juan Pablo Montoya: Michigan is Montoya's worst track on the circuit based on his 33.0 average finish. His best run at the track came in the CART series, where he posted a win and a second-place finish with Chip Ganassi.

Make a note

•  Mark Martin has four MIS victories and 28 top 10s in 46 starts.

•  Two-time winner Gordon has an 11.8 average finish in 32 starts.

•  Stewart has a 6.6 average finish in his last five starts.

•  David Ragan recorded a 5.5 average finish in 2008 at MIS.

•  Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be looking to return to Victory Lane for the first time since winning at Michigan last June.