NOTEBOOK \ NASCAR
Yeley fades: J.J. Yeley took one step forward and two steps back this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. He’s driving for his job, and he posted his first career pole Friday. But he fell to sixth by the end of the first lap of Sunday’s Citizens Bank 400 and was 20th by the first pit stops. Yeley has been better this year than last, but he’s still nowhere near his teammate, Denny Hamlin, though the two have the same amount of Cup experience. Yeley fought his way back into the top 10, but it didn’t last. He fell off the lead lap and finished 28th. He is 18th in points.
Hamlin’s pit crew falters again: Denny Hamlin’s pit road woes continued. On Lap 114, his team had a nearly 30-second pit stop — equivalent to more than three-quarters of a lap on the track. That put him far enough behind that he eventually went a lap down. Joe Gibbs Racing made changes to the over-the-wall team several weeks ago after a series of mistakes. Hamlin finished 14th yet moved up one position to second in points behind Jeff Gordon because Matt Kenseth struggled.
Bad day for Kenseth: Matt Kenseth was collected in a wreck on Lap 75 after Ryan Newman spun in front of the field. Kenseth went behind the wall — thus ending his streak of completing every lap this season. “They build reliable equipment, and we try to keep our nose clean the best we can,” he said. “But heck, you can’t stay out of all of them.” Kenseth finished 42nd and dropped to third in the points race.
Truex on a roll: Martin Truex Jr. is the hottest driver on the Nextel Cup circuit. He has finished first, third and second in the past three races — and the tracks could not be more different. He got his first win at Dover, a high-banked, concrete mile-track. He finished third at Pocono, a triangle-shaped track with tricky turns. And he finished second Sunday at Michigan, a wide-open intermediate track. He is 10th in points.
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service