Johnny Benson

Kasey Kahne's my favorite to get to Victory Lane in Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, and that wouldn't be a new experience for him since he won this event last year.

Working in Kahne's favor
He's always run good at Michigan where besides his win a year ago, he has finished second and recorded for top-fives in six starts. He has impressive averages in starting position (11.3) and finishing position (9.8). Last year he took the pole on his way to winning a race shortened from 200 laps to 129 due to rain. Kahne led the event four separate times for a total of 19 laps.

Kahne drives a Dodge and if past history is any indication that can work in his favor at Michigan. Chevrolet has won 12 consecutive races this season and 13 of 14, but at Michigan Chevrolets haven't seen anywhere near that kind of success. A Chevrolet has not won at Michigan since 2001 when Jeff Gordon got to Victory Lane. Chevrolets are winless in the last 11 races at Michigan. So there's an opening for Kahne's Dodge to steal the spotlight on Sunday.

A couple of wrecks and engine woes have contributed to a disappointing season so far for Kahne, who made the Chase for the Nextel Cup last year and wound up eighth in points. In 2007 success has been elusive, and Kahne comes to Michigan 28th in points with no wins, no top-fives, and only one top-10.

But the pieces might be starting to come together for him. Over the last few weeks the No. 9 Dodge has shown significant progress to where it's back at a level where it's running up front. Kahne and his team still have some work to do, but they've grown much more optimistic over what the rest of the season could hold. No driver was better than Kahne at intermediate tracks last season so if he cracks the win column this weekend it won't come as a big surprise.

Other drivers to watch
I like Kahne's chances at Michigan more than any other driver but next on my list would be Jeff Burton. Last year in this event Burton placed 11th, and he has a solid Michigan resume with two poles, four top-fives, and eight top-10s in 26 starts.

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Burton's going with the chassis that got him to Victory Lane earlier this season at Texas Motor Speedway. He's fifth in the standings and hoping to have a big points day at Michigan, where if he gets the win it will be the first at this two-mile oval for Richard Childress Racing since 1990 when Dale Earnhardt took the checkers.

Tony Stewart wrecked in this event last year, but throw out that result and the two-time Cup champion has averaged a 4.75-place finish in his last five races at Michigan. In June of 2003 Stewart won at this venue where in addition to that victory he has six top-threes, seven top-fives, and 10 top-10s in 16 starts.

This is the time of year where Stewart starts heating up just like the weather. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has 29 Cup wins but only four have come before the month of June. It's not difficult to envision him turning in a big Sunday and using the result as a launching pad to the kind of sizzling summer we've come to expect from him.

Interactive Resurgent Kahne headed for the Chase

It's been a big week for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who made it official that he will drive for Hendrick Motorsports starting next season. Junior got his two best career finishes at Michigan last year -- third in this event and sixth in the August race. His team hit on something and that allowed Junior to put the hammer down and compete for wins. It's no surprise that the chassis used in both Michigan races a year ago will again be run this Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson was sixth in this event a year ago, his second-best result at Michigan where he hasn't won but has one pole, one top-five, and four top-10s in 10 starts. The defending Cup champion has marked this two-mile oval as one of the tracks he wants to improve on and he likes that it's a venue with several grooves and good side-by-side racing.

One of Johnson's teammates at Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, has said that one of his favorite tracks is Michigan, where he has two wins, four poles, 15 top-fives, and 19 top-10s in 28 starts. Gordon's been competitive in almost every race this year, and his numbers through the first 14 races of this season -- four wins, five poles, 10 top-fives, and 12 top-10s -- are better than those through the first 14 races of any of his 14 Cup seasons.