Logan Fairbanks, middle, with his father, Josh Fairbanks, and Samantha Busch

Logan Fairbanks, the Michigan resident who made national headlines with his video response to bullying, was a guest of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his wife, Samantha, at Michigan International Speedway this weekend.

Samantha Busch saw Fairbanks’ story on “Good Morning America” several weeks ago, tracked down an email address for Fairbanks’ father, Josh, and extended the invitation.

Logan Fairbanks, 12, also received an invitation to visit the White House after he made a video in which he read cyber bullies’ comments about him and posted the video to the Internet.

The bullying comments were left on family videos that had been posted to YouTube.

“I was so proud of him because of the way he handled it,” Samantha Busch said. “I was so proud that at such a young age he stood up for himself, and didn’t stoop to their level.”

Hartford residents Logan and Josh Fairbanks got a tour of the Sprint Cup garage area at MIS, including an inside look at Busch’s hauler. Logan, who will start the seventh grade in September, received several souvenirs, and he and his dad had a pace car ride Sunday morning.

“Logan is very humble,” Josh Fairbanks said. “He’s always been very heavy on being thankful that the message has gotten out there. We get a lot of parents who have kids who say they are making their kids watch the video.”

A woman who identified herself as a school teacher approached Logan on pit road Sunday morning and extended her hand.

“Young man,” she said, “I am very proud of you.”

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR truck race at MIS with Logan on his pit box Saturday.

“It was nice to be able to win a race and get him in victory lane and show that there are nice people in this world,” Kyle Busch said. “That was fun to do … to have him kind of laid back and enjoying things.

“Logan is not much of a NASCAR fan. We’re trying to turn him into one. We’ll see if I can become his favorite driver, or if somebody else will.”

From left, Bill Lawson, Dave Randall of Great Clips and Joey Logano at MIS

Paralyzed Veterans of America doesn't limit its effort and advocacy to veterans with spinal cord injury or illness.
"We do not turn down any veteran, regardless," Oklahoman Bill Lawson, a former president of the PVA and a U.S.. Army veteran with a disability, said at Michigan International Speedway. "Anyone that has a family member who is a veteran that has a disability because of their service, or if they need care in a VA hospital, can contact us."
Go to www.pva.org or a local service office, or call 800-424-8200 and ask for the veterans benefits department, Lawson said.
Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded during World War II. It serves as a free-of-charge advocate for veterans who have had difficulty receiving medical services or benefits. PVA also has funded research and education in the search for a cure and improved care for individuals with paralysis, and it develops training and career services, works to ensure accessibility in public buildings and spaces, and provides health and rehabilitation opportunities.
PVA partnered with Great Clips as title sponsors of the NASCAR Xfinity race at MIS on Saturday.
Starting July 1, Great Clips customers in some markets, Michigan included, can get $2 off a haircut with a $4 donation to PVA, or $1 off with a $2 donation.
Joey Logano, who drives full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and a part-time Xfinity schedule, has championed the cause of PVA.
Logano, who drives the No. 22 Ford in Sprint Cup and Xfinity races, donated $22,222.22 to PVA following his win in the Sprint Cup season-opening Daytona 500.

Busch

Kyle Busch returned to NASCAR Xfinity racing in fine style at Michigan International Speedway.

Elliott

With his wife, Samantha, and son, Brexton, on hand, Busch and the No. 54 Toyota
won the Great Clips 250 Benefitting Paralyzed Veterans of America on Saturday.
It was Busch's first Xfinity race since he was injured in the season-opening event at Daytona in February.
"It's an emotional day, and any win is," Busch said. "You never know when it's your last, that's for sure after Daytona and what happened.
"I can't say enough my wife and my family and my friends, everybody that pushed me so hard to get me back to here and get me back in the race cars and doing what I love to do."

Defending series champion Chase Elliott finished second in the No. 9 Chevrolet, and Kyle Larson was third in the No. 42 Chevrolet.
Busch has 71 victories in the Xfinity Series.
Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 60 Ford, leads the series in points with 489.

Rookie Ryan Blaney is in for his first, and his team’s 91^st.

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Ford at MIS/Dave Marr photo

Blaney on Friday drove the No. 21 Woods Brothers Ford to the fifth qualifying position for the Quicken Loans 400 that will be at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

Blaney, whose top qualifying lap was 35.811 seconds at the 2-mile track, will make his first NASCAR Sprint Cup start at the track.

Meanwhile, Wood Brothers will have a car in an MIS Sprint Cup race for the 91^st time in 92 races, including 86 events in a row.

Rain was forecast, and teams practiced in the morning in qualifying setups, because they expected qualifying to be rained out, in which case lap times from practice would have set the race field.

If qualifying had been canceled, the No. 21 would have been left out of the race because it hadn’t made enough qualifying attempts this season.

“Luckily, it cleared out for us,” Blaney, 21, said. “It would have stung a little bit, knowing how good a car we have.”

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Chevrolet) won the pole position with a lap time of 35.645.  Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Chevrolet) was second at 35.712

“Our chances of winning Sunday are as good as anybody,” Blaney said. “The guys we have go into each weekend … thinking we can win the race. That’s the mindset you have to have.”

Trevor Bay^th and 41^st.

ne drove the No. 21 in both MIS races in 2014. He finished 19

Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards ran 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Michigan International Speedway for car owner Jack Roush.
But Edwards, who drove a Ford all those years with Roush, is in his first season in a Toyota with Joe Gibbs Racing.
"It is a little strange to come here to this race and not be driving for Jack Roush, because we put so much emphasis on this event for so many years," Edwards, driver of the No. 19 Arris Camry, said Friday at MIS. "There's always been a lot of pride driving for Jack here."
Roush has businesses based in Livonia.
"I can tell you this: To win this race would be really special for me now just because I know from the other side how much everyone prepares -- Jack and the other teams," Edwards said. "For the domestic car manufacturers, this is their backyard. They bring their best stuff. For me to win in a Toyota would be really special here."
Edwards won two Sprint Cup races at MIS for Roush.

Tony Stewart/Dave Marr photo

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet, on the racing surface at Michigan International Speedway, which was repaved following the 2012 season and hosts the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race Sunday:

“It’s hard to say, but it should be better. That first year, once it cleaned off, it seemed like the track got to be pretty good. It was still a relatively one-groove track but it got better as the weekend went on. It was even better last year and, really, we should see more of the same, even with the higher speeds. Hopefully, the race track will continue on that path and continue to widen out. It was a lot racier than I thought it would be right off the bat, and it’s just been getting better, so I’m anticipating it’s going to be even better when we get back on it this weekend with our Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy.

“With the repave a couple years ago, it’s just lightning fast. And the groove is getting wider and wider so it’s easier to race there. It’s definitely just a fast, fast race track. We talk about momentum. Momentum is a huge deal there. You carry so much speed to the turns, and the corners are so long and so round, you have to be very smooth there.”

AMP Energy will be the primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Chevrolet in the Quicken Loans 400. Earnhardt's car will feature the Passion Fruit flavor for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

The photo of the car was provided by the Hendrick Motorsports Web site.

Jimmie Johnson in Victory Lane at MIS

Forty-four cars were on the preliminary entry list for the Quicken Loans 400 that will be run Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Forty-three cars will take the green flag for the 200-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, is the defending race champion.

Jeff Gordon won the August 2014 race at MIS./AP photo

NASCAR Sprint Cup races for 2015 at Michigan International Speedway will be June 14 and Aug. 16.

The June race weekend at the track includes an ARCA race and a NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

A NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race will be part of the August weekend.

Here is the racing schedule:

Friday, June 12, ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Corrigan Oil 200 and Sprint Cup Qualifying

Saturday, June 13, NASCAR Nationwide Series

Sunday, June 14, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400

Friday, Aug. 14, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice and Qualifying

Saturday, Aug. 15, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Sunday, Aug. 16, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

JOHNNY SAUTER/Dave Marr photo

Johnny Sauter and teammate Matt Crafton finished first and second, respectively, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Careers for Veterans 200 race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.

The outcome left Sauter first and Crafton second in the driver standings. Both hurdled Ryan Blaney, who held the lead heading into the 100-lap event but fell to third place.

“This is a helluva day,” Sauter said. “Great pit stops all day long, that’s what got us in position. I’m going to relish it.

“We’re just past halfway (through the season). This is the momentum. This is the thing we needed to swing it.”

Sauter and Crafton drive for ThorSport Racing, which is based in Sandusky, Ohio. It was Sauter’s first race with new crew chief Jeff Hensley.

Sauter, a resident of Necedah, Wisc., drives the No. 98 Toyota, and Crafton, who’s from Tulare, Calif., drives the No. 88 Toyota.

The race featured three full-time Sprint Cup drivers.

Kyle Busch finished fifth in the No. 51 Toyota; Austin Dillon  17^th in the No. 20 Chevrolet, and Joey Logano 18^th in the No. 19 Ford.

Travis Kvapil, who has started 14 of the 22 Cup races run to date, finished 26^th in the No. 05 Toyota.

The race featured a front row of trucks owned by Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski, who came into the race as the series leader in owner points.

Blaney had the pole in Keselowski’s No. 29 Ford, and Logano started second.

Sauter has 448 points.

Crafton trails Sauter by nine points.

“Track position was everything,” Crafton said. “We were definitely a top-three, top-five truck.”

Ron Hornaday Jr. finished third in the race in the No. 30 Chevrolet.

“What a blast,” he said. “I had a lot of fun.”

Blaney is 16 points behind Sauter.

Mike Curb took the owner points lead from Keselowski, who slipped to fourth.

RYAN BLANEY

Wood Brothers Racing has had veteran NASCAR drivers like Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott behind the wheel of the No. 21 Ford in the last decade or so.

More recently, the team has gone with developing drivers.

Ryan Blaney, 20, has signed to run the Wood Brothers' partial Sprint Cup schedule in 2015.

He follows Trevor Bayne, who was 20 when he took over as driver of the 21 in 2011. Bayne, who won the Daytona 500 in 2011, is to run the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford next year.

"Youth seems to be what it is all about," team co-owner Eddie Wood said at Michigan International Speedway on Friday. "We had really good results and relationship with Trevor, and I can see the same thing with Ryan."

Blaney's father, Dave, is a part-time Sprint Cup driver.

"I have known Ryan's dad since he came into the sport and it is a really grounded family," Wood said. "It is a racing family, as we are.

"I have grandkids now, and kids are the coolest thing."
Blaney leads the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points heading into Saturday's race at MIS.

Tony Stewart will decide when he is ready to return to NASCAR Sprint Cup race, Brett Frood, executive vice president of Stewart-Haas Racing, said at Michigan International Speedway on Friday.

Stewart did not race at Watkins Glen the day after the sprint car he was driving struck and killed fellow driver Kevin Ward Jr. last Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, a dirt track in New York.

He will not drive in the Pure Michigan 400 at MIS on Sunday.

"This decision (to sit out the MIS race) was Tony's," Frood said. "He's grieving. (He) made the decision he's not ready to get in the race car and will take it week by week.

"It will be up to Tony when he's ready to get back in the car."

Jeff Burton will drive Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet at MIS.

PEMBERTON

NASCAR announced Friday updated rules that are to be followed by drivers and other team members when an on-track incident such as an accident occurs.
The action was in response, NASCAR president of competition and racing development Robin Pemberton said, by the death last Saturday night of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr., who was struck by the car driven by Tony Stewart after Ward left his vehicle following an incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, a New York dirt track.
When a race car is involved in an incident, Pemberton said, and the car is stopped on or near the racing surface, and unless emergency conditions (such as fire in the cockpit) exist, the driver must:
-- Shut off electrical power and lower window net if possible;
-- Not loosen or remove safety equipment until directed by safety personnel;
-- After exiting the vehicle, proceed to the ambulance or other safety vehicle.
At no time, Pemberton said, should the driver or other crew member approach the racing surface or apron, nor should a driver or crew member approach another moving vehicle.
All vehicles not involved in the incident that are able should slow to a cautious speed and use extreme care as they approach the incident scene, Pemberton added.

Carl Edwards leads current Ford drivers with two NASCAR Sprint Cup victories at Pocono Raceway, where the series runs this weekend.

Edwards, who is leaving Roush Fenway Racing and the No. 99 Ford at the end of the season, won on "the tricky triangle" in 2005 and 2008.

Greg Biffle, who drives the No. 16 Ford, won in 2010; Brad Keselowski won in a Dodge in 2011, and Joey Logano won in a Toyota in 2012. 

Keselowski (Rochester Hills) and Logano are Team Penske teammates in the Nos. 2 and 22 Fords, respectively.

The GoBowling.com 400 starts at 1 p.m. Sunday at Pocono.

Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski’s win at Kentucky last weekend marked the second time this season Ford has won consecutive races.  The last time Ford captured three straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events was in June 2005 (Dover, Pocono and Michigan), according to Warren native Dan Zacharias of Ford Racing.

What's more, Zacharias said, Ford’s six Sprint Cup wins this season through 17 races match the entire single-season totals for 2012 and 2013.

The Sprint Cup drivers run at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

Hunter Masling at MIS

Hunter Masling thought the text message from Brad Keselowski was a joke.

“I thought it was somebody messing with me,” the NASCAR front-tire changer said.

Indeed, Keselowski sent the text. The driver of the No. 2 Penske Racing Ford wondered if Masling would be on the pit crew for his Sprint Cup car.

Masling had been working as the front-tire changer for the No. 22 Penske car in the Nationwide Series.

Following the Memorial Day weekend race at Charlotte, where Keselowski finished 10^th, the Rochester Hills native sought to change his pit lineup.

So he texted Masling. Masling said yes.

“It’s a lot different,” Masling said.

Masling has worked on the No. 22 Nationwide crew all season.

The Louisiana native made his third Sprint Cup start with Keselowski at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

In Masling’s first two races, the No. 2 car had back-to-back runner-up finishes.

“That was just a coincidence,” Masling said with a smile. “It’s fun.”

Last year, in order to get Cup experience, a Penske pit coach “farmed out” Masling to the No. 93 Sprint Cup car driven by Travis Kvapil.

“It’s a whole different level (with Keselowski),” Masling said, noting that he now pits for a Sprint Cup championship contender.

“You don’t want to make a mistake,” he said. “If you do, you want it to be a minute one.

“I’ve got to keep doing what got me here.”

Next weekend, Masling pulls “double duty.”

He’ll pit for the No. 22 during the Nationwide race at the Road America course in Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon, and then go by team plane to California for a road-course race in Sonoma, Calif.

“It shouldn’t be too bad,” he said of the itinerary.

Paul Menard in victory lane./Dave Marr photo

Paul Menard took advantage of other drivers’ misfortune and won the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250, a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.

The win snapped Menard’s 98-race winless streak, dating to June 24, 2006, in Milwaukee.  It was the Richard Childress Racing driver's first Nationwide start of this season.

“It’s good to be back in victory lane,” Menard, whose No. 33 Chevrolet led 18 laps, said. “I thought the best car was going to finish second. We’ll take it.

“We started off a little too tight. We made a couple of adjustments.”

Elliott Sadler and Joey Logano contended for the win, but each had trouble in the final 25 laps.

Sadler had to give up second place when debris was lodged on the front of his No. 11 Toyota with about 25 laps to go. He finished 17^th.

Logano was leading when a right-side tire went flat with four laps left. His No. 22 Ford came in 16^th.

Sam Hornish Jr. finished second despite spinning on the second lap of the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., making a rare Nationwide start, finished third.

“We were fast in practice yesterday, and I thought we (would have) a better car than what we started the race with,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “But we made some real good adjustments. I ran over something between turns 3 and 4. We got a hole in the left-front tire, and it was going flat at the end.

“I think this is a great track for (racing) anything. I enjoy running whatever we run here. I wanted to run this race; I like this track.”
Kyle Busch, who won the pole with a track-record qualifying lap of 193.242 mph, finished fifth. 

Regan Smith, the defending race winner and the current points leader, finished seventh in the race that featured seven full-time Sprint Cup drivers.

Smith has a 14-point lead over Sadler, and 18-year-old rookie Chase Elliott is third, 20 points behind Smith.

Fourth-place Ty Dillon is 35 behind the leader, and fifth-place Trevor Bayne trails Smith by 50 points.

Elliott’s father, Bill, won seven Cup races at MIS.

“This is a fun race track,” Elliott said. “The groove widened out more to the bottom of the race track than I thought it would. I wish we came here again (this season). Our car performed great. I felt solid about our car all day.”

Michigan International Speedway is still a palace of speed.

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer said he went 217 mph during the Wednesday morning session during a Goodyear tire test at the 2-mile track.

"That's white-of-your-eyes fast," Bowyer told reporters and staffers at the track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman and Trevor Bayne also participated in the test.

Earnhardt Jr. said he reached speeds of 212-215 mph on the straightaways and about 180 in turns.

Greg Biffle tests at MIS

“This is one of our better tracks, and our fans will probably say the same,” Earnhardt said. “Having the success here over the last four or five years has given us a lot of confidence when we come here, and I think that’s why Goodyear brings us to test.

“I enjoy racing here. It’s a fun track. The asphalt is really aging well and it’s just going to keep getting better and better over the next couple of years.”

MIS was repaved in 2012, and drivers have since posted testing, practice and qualifying speeds that rank among the fastest in NASCAR.

The track hosts Sprint Cup races on June 15 and Aug. 17.

Jack Roush signs autographs at MIS. Dave Marr photo

Jack Roush has an plan.
But he's not sure he wants NASCAR to follow it.
The owner of Roush Fenway Racing wants the stock-car sanctioning body to inspect and send to a wind tunnel two cars from each manufacturer following each Sprint Cup race.
That way, Roush believes, everyone will know whether Ford, Chevrolet or Toyota has an advantage over the others in important areas like downforce.
"They don't want to introduce a reason why one manufacturer has an advantage," Roush, whose company owns three Ford-backed Sprint Cup teams, said Sunday, explaining why he doesn't think NASCAR will take up his idea.
Competition in Sprint Cup racing is close, Roush said, noting that all three manufacturers placed a car in the front two rows for the start of the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
"I think NASCAR is happy with that," Roush said.
What makes Roush nervous about NASCAR checking out two cars from each manufacturer after each race?
"My fear is that they might do the test and find that Ford is not at a disadvantage," Roush said.

Don't look for new garages to be built at Michigan International Speedway until 2017 or 2018.
That was the word from track president Roger Curtis on Sunday before the running of the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
Curtis said money for track improvements will be poured into an ambitious project at Daytona International Speedway, which like MIS is part of the International Speedway Corporation.
"We're supportive of that," Curtis said.
MIS "will continue to do things," Curtis said.
Curtis said the track will continue to make improvements to the fan transportation system.