Penske, Ganassi struggle

Late spin costs Hornish good run

BROOKLYN, MICH. -- Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi have 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.

"It's a tough way to end the race," said Hornish, who wound up 22nd. "We had a decision to take on two tires during our last pit [stop] because we were so loose the last 20 laps. Every time I tried to touch the gas, the back end was coming around, and it almost felt like [a tire] was going down or something.

"But I'm real happy with the progress we're making. We just need to keep the driver calm and get a little bit of luck on our side."

Ryan Newman, the third Penske entry, wound up 42nd with an engine failure.

None of the three Chip Ganassi Racing drivers was ever in contention. Reed Sorenson finished 34th, Juan Pablo Montoya was 38th and Dario Franchitti finished last with an engine failure.

NO NEWS ON STEWART: 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."

But Gibbs did say Logano could be racing on Sundays later this season, regardless of what Stewart decides.

Logano, who had to wait to race in Nationwide until after he turned 18 late last month, already has two poles and two top-five finishes in his three starts.

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 the first and third turns and plenty of empty seats on the lower part of the main straight grandstands.

Track officials gave no crowd estimate, but published reports said up to 30,000 fewer tickets were sold than for the race last June, because of high gas prices and the depressed Michigan economy.

CHEVROLET ENDS SKID: Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave Chevrolet its first Cup victory at Michigan International Speedway since Jeff Gordon won at the track in 2002.