Michigan thoughts and observations

The long, agonizing wait is over for Dale Earnhardt Jr. The prodigal son returned to victory lane Sunday, coasting across the line on fumes to win the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. He was followed to the line by Kasey Kahne (who is still red hot), Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers and Tony Stewart.

Thoughts and observations

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it perfectly in victory lane, the critics can say whatever they want, Dale Jr. and the No. 88 team won one. In the long run that's really all that matters. Besides, with the year he is having he was bound to earn himself a victory sooner or later.

Food for thought: The only two victories for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 have been on fuel mileage.

Question: Name three drivers who seem to be getting it all right lately. Answer: Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers. These three have been spot on lately. Kahne, as we all know, has been on fire. Kenseth found his consistency again and is back to his old self. And Vickers? Well Vickers looks like a serious threat to win every week suddenly. I'd wager that the No. 83 will find itself in victory lane by seasons end.

Since you did so well on the last question, lets ask another. Question: Name three drivers who have been slipping back off the radar. Answer: Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch. Bowyer, who sits 12th in the points (the last chase eligible spot) has been free falling since winning at Richmond. His last four finishes? 25th, 36th, 39th, 26th. Not good at all.

As for Newman and Busch, these two saw their finest hour during the Daytona 500. Since then? Well ... lets just say it hasn't been all peaches and creme. Newman has been falling steadily back in the points for weeks now and his 42nd place finish at Michigan certainly didn't help that. Busch? Well, he only has two top 10's this season and 8 finishes of 20th or worse. That should say everything.

David Ragan continues to impress. His 8th place finish at Michigan Sunday was his 4th top 10 of the season, which is more then he achieved all of last year. These strong runs continue to keep him in the hunt to make the chase. He sits 13th in the points, only 10 points behind the struggling Clint Bowyer.

Two drivers in desperate need of solid runs found them Sunday, Elliott Sadler and Jamie McMurray both earned top 10 finishes at Michigan. Sadler has been on the verge of something, maybe this is the start of it. As for McMurray, there are lots of rumors about him losing his ride, maybe this top 10 will knock out some of those rumors.

What a shame Sam Hornish Jr. couldn't hold onto his car late in the running of the LifeLock 400 Sunday. He raced up front late in the race, even taking the lead from Jimmie Johnson for a few laps before handing it back. The fact is Hornish looked good running up front and I'll bet it felt good too. Now, lets see if Hornish can capitalize on the positive of running up front and ignore the negative of spinning out.

Despite that late crash with Patrick Carpentier, Michael Waltrip managed to scratch and claw his way back into the top 35 in owner points Sunday, pushing the No. 66 driven by Scott Riggs back into 36th place. That's going to hurt Riggs heading into next Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infienion Raceway, Riggs has never been known as a road course racer and with all the experts coming in for that race, Riggs may be watching the race from his RV.