Fords have a strong history in Irish Hills, but as Mamba Smith reports, Toyota was tops on Saturday with Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - What's going on NASCAR fans?
00:04 Mamba Smith here in the Irish hills of Michigan,
00:07 right outside of Michigan International Speedway.
00:10 And according to Chase Elliott,
00:12 it hasn't lost a bit of speed or an ounce of grip.
00:16 - Whatever asphalt they used,
00:17 I wish they used it on the roads
00:19 and the highways around the United States
00:21 because it just doesn't seem to age.
00:23 For that reason, you know,
00:24 the middle of the track is still
00:26 kind of the dominant place on the road.
00:28 The bottom lane's a little too flat to run
00:31 at pace for a lengthy period of time.
00:33 And the middle, just the way the track is shaped,
00:36 is just kind of the fastest way through
00:37 and it has enough banking to make it work.
00:40 - Chase Elliott is currently outside
00:41 looking in in the playoff picture.
00:44 Now a driver who's inside is Brad Kislowski.
00:47 Even though they are a hundred points to the good,
00:50 Brad does not want to rest on the points to get in.
00:52 He wants to win right here in his backyard.
00:55 - You know, we've got a good race track for us
00:57 here in Michigan.
00:58 This is a track I've had, you know,
00:59 a number of really good runs and second place finishes
01:03 and most laps led and stage wins.
01:04 And I know that all the Fords are loaded for bare
01:08 and we've worked really hard to make sure
01:10 we have a strong showing here
01:12 with our car prep for all of our cars.
01:15 And hopefully that bodes well for us come Sunday.
01:18 But ultimately you're not in until you're in
01:21 and when we ain't in.
01:22 - Looking at the history books,
01:23 this bodes well for Brad Kislowski
01:25 as Ford has dominated here at Michigan
01:27 over the last decade.
01:29 A lot of that is due to Kevin Harvick.
01:31 Kevin gives credit to Rodney Childers and his Ford team
01:34 for bringing fast race cars every year.
01:36 - Yeah, I think, you know,
01:37 our sport's no different than any other.
01:38 You find things that you like and momentum and streaks
01:42 and obviously we got the win at RCR,
01:45 but I think I've just fallen into a situation
01:48 that happens to be good at bringing good cars
01:51 to this particular racetrack
01:53 and falls into the wheelhouse of the things
01:55 that we've done.
01:56 So it's, yeah, all of this just come together here
02:00 and it's been a good place for us.
02:01 - Ford's dominance may be in jeopardy
02:03 with Christopher Bell taking the bush light pole
02:05 and Toyota taking three of the top five positions
02:08 in the starting lineup.
02:10 - And last year, all of the Camrys were super fast
02:12 and we weren't able to get it done,
02:14 but it wasn't because we lacked speed.
02:16 The next gen car is very interesting
02:17 because the Ford, the Chevrolet and the Toyota
02:19 all has their unique strengths and weaknesses.
02:22 And for whatever reason,
02:23 the high speed racetracks are really good for the Toyotas.
02:25 So we've been able to capitalize on that through last year
02:28 and the early part of this year.
02:29 And once again, it showed up in Michigan.
02:32 - Make sure you tune in on USA 2.30 Eastern time.
02:35 Let's go racing.
02:36 (gentle music)
02:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]