Nascar Notebook: From Michigan

Bad day: Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi have both had some pretty good days at Michigan International Speedway, both in open-wheel racing and NASCAR. But Sunday wasn’t one of them. Among the six cars fielded by the two highly respected team owners, Kurt Busch’s 21st-place finish for Penske Racing was the best. Rookie teammate Sam Hornish Jr., a three-time IndyCar Series champion, had the best day among them, leading laps for the first time in his NASCAR career. But the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner fell out of contention when he had to pit for gas late in the race, then spun just three laps from the scheduled finish.

Speculation: Joey Logano’s Nationwide victory on Saturday night has revived speculation about whether the 18-year-old phenom could replace Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing entry. Logano, who won in only his third start in the developmental series, could step in for the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, who is considering leaving the team for another ride, possibly one with an ownership position attached. “I don’t think we’ve gone in that direction,” team owner Joe Gibbs said Sunday at Michigan International Speedway before the start of the Lifelock 400. “We’re still hoping we get things worked out [with Stewart]. You’re never quite sure and certainly where we are right now with Tony it’s kind of hard to predict the future.”

Crowd down: At a track where NASCAR used to regularly draw about 160,000 spectators to its two Cup races each season, Sunday’s crowd was noticeably smaller. There were huge gaps in the big grandstands in turns one and three and plenty of empty seats on the lower part of the main straight grandstands. The campgrounds that surround the track also appeared considerably less crowded. Track officials gave no crowd estimate, but published reports said up to 30,000 fewer tickets were sold than for the race last June, thanks to high gas prices and the depressed Michigan economy.

Associated Press