These were our pre-race stories. Here is how they are looking at the halfway-point of the event.
Will the Roush-kateers will rise above the rest? So far, the answer is yes. Greg Biffle has been dominant early and runs second, while teammate Matt Kenseth led briefly and Carl Edwards has been in the top-10 all race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to the site of his most-recent win, can he end another streak in the Irish Hills? Junior drove up into the top-10, but lost eleven spots on pit road during a caution for Brad Keselowski's incident.
Can Jimmie Johnson finally win at Michigan? Not likely. Johnson spun within the race's first 10 laps, damaging his front swaybar. He has lost two laps, and with several cars one lap down, it will take a monumental amount of luck to get back onto the lead lap to have any chance to challenge for the win.
Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are off probation; will there be fireworks? So far, no. Busch has charged to the top-five and currently leads, while Harvick is steadily working his way through the field
Can Brian Vickers complete his comeback with another Michigan win? Vickers has been solid, but hasn't shown to have a race winning Toyota, at least not in the first half of the race.