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SPORTS Kurt Busch back at 'bleepin'job' BILL FLEISCHMAN fleiscbphillynews.com THIS WEEK'S RACE Quicken Loans 400 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Mich. When: Sunday, 1 p.m. TVRadio: TNTWNPV (1440-AM) Race course: 2-mile oval Race distance: 200 laps400 miles Race forecast: chance of isolated thunderstorms, mid-80s Last year's winner: Denny Hamlin Last year's pole winner: Kurt Busch, 188.699 mph Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman, 194.232 mph (June 2005) Track facts: It's the second consecutive race on a repaved track, so expect the track qualifying record to be shattered as it was at Pocono last weekend Denny Hamlin led only the last eight laps in winning last year's race for his only victory of the year; Matt Kenseth was runner-up; Kyle Busch was third. Kyle won the August race at Michigan Mark Martin has the most wins (five) at MIS among full-time active drivers. His last there was in 2009..

24th-place finish at Pocono ended Greg Biffle's 11-week reign as points leader. Biff le is third, 16 points behind leader Matt Kenseth, a Roush Fenway teammate. Carl Edwards' victory last year at Las Vegas in the season's third race, he is win-less in 47 races. STANDINGS 1. Matt Kenseth 523 2.

D. Earnhardt Jr. 513 3. Greg Biffle 507 4. Denny Hamlin 504 5.

Jimmie Johnson 493 6. Kevin Harvick 470 7. Martin Truex Jr. 465 8. Tony Stewart 448 9.

Clint Bowyer 443 10. Brad Keselowski 426 11. Carl Edwards 423 12. Kyle Busch 420 Germany, Portugal win ASSOCIATED PRESS WARSAW, Poland The exciting tempo of the European Championship extended into the tournament's sixth day as Germany beat the Netherlands, 2-1, after Portugal edged Denmark, 3-2, on Wednesday. Germany forward Mario Gomez struck twice in the first half to settle the latest chapter in a classic rivalry of world football.

Robin van Persie scored for the Dutch, who have now lost twice. Portugal's early two-goal lead was canceled out by two headers from Nicklas Bendtner for the Danes, before substitute Silvestre Varela struck a late winner. Cristiano Ronaldo had another disappointing game on the international stage, as the Portuguese star squandered two excellent second-half chances. Once more, the good football was tempered by bad headlines involving fans' behavior. UEFA threatened Russia with a six-point deduction in Euro 2016 qualifying as punishment for fans attacking stadium stewards Friday in Wroclaw.

UEFA also ordered Russia to pay a 120,000 euro ($150,000) fine. The mayor of Warsaw apologized to foreign visitors after violent clashes Tuesday when Poland played Russia. The Germans and Dutch renewed their tournament rivalry on a hot and humid evening in Kharkiv, Ukraine. A flop at Euro 2008, Gomez added to his winning goal against Portugal on Saturday with rightfooted shots in the 24th and 38th minutes. Both Denmark and Portugal have three points and can advance to the quarterfinals together, even though Germany leads with six going into the final round of matches.

In Thursday's matches in Poland, Italy faces Croatia in Poznan and Spain will play Ireland later in Gdansk. HE IS 27TH in the Sprint Cup standings. Driving for an underfunded team, he has no chance of making the Chase for the Championship. Still, on Sunday, he will attract as much attention as the top drivers. Kurt Busch will be back in the No.

51 Chevrolet at Michigan. After serving a suspension for Sunday's race at Pocono, Busch met with Phoenix Racing team owner James Finch Tuesday. "At the end of the day, we are racers," Finch said, "so we're going racing together with Kurt. We know adjustments have to be made, but how we fix that is between Kurt and myself. We're going to the track, work hard, race hard and work on trying to attract a sponsor." Busch, 33, was suspended by NASCAR for Pocono for verbally abusing a reporter following the Nationwide Series race at Dover, Del, June 2.

Responding to a question by Bob Pockrass, of The Sporting News, about whether being on probation caused Busch to drive differently, Busch said, "It refrains me from beating the bleep out of you right now because you ask me stupid questions." Busch later apologized to Pockrass, one of the most diligent reporters on the NASCAR beat. While Busch is one of most talented racers in NASCAR, he has lost jobs with two of the top organizations in NASCAR: Roush Fenway (after winning the 2004 Sprint Cup championship) and Penske Racing. Following last season's finale, Busch was fined $50,000 by NASCAR and placed on probation for an expletive-laced tirade against ESPN reporter Dr. Jerry Punch. Busch also was involved in an incident last month at Darlington after he sped through Ryan Newman's pit stall.

He was fined another $50,000 for that maneuver. During the Darlington race, Busch was heard saying to his crew, "I hate my bleepin' job." I wrote then that he sounded like someone who needs time away from his job. Television analyst and former crew chief Larry McReynolds, emphasizing that he is a "Kurt Busch fan," summed up the attitude of many in NASCAR when he said on a recent "NASCAR Race Hub" show on Speed: "He alone is holding his career in his hands and he is absolutely throwing it away. It makes me want to shake him and say, 'Kurt, please take a look at what you're If Busch doesn't abruptly change his ways, what he's doing is crashing his racing career. Michigan should be a comfort zone for Busch: He was fastest qualifier in last June's race and he's a two-time winner at the track.

Meanwhile, brother Kyle, 12th in points, has been plagued by engine trouble in his No. 18 Toyota the past two races. Not a good time lately for the Busch brothers. Dale Winner? Here at NASCAR North, we rarely make predictions, but we are forecasting Dale Earnhardt Jr. will finally halt his 0-for-143 race burden and win at Michigan Sunday.

We just feel it is Junior's time. His last victory, and his only for Hendrick Motorsports, was in 2008 at Michigan. Earnhardt is second in the standings, with 11 top-10 finishes. At Pocono, Earnhardt led the second most laps (36) before finishing eighth. "We had a really, really good car at Pocono," he said.

"That was the funnest car I've had all year, and the best car I've had at Pocono in a long, long time. So, I'm just really trying not to be too upset about eighth place because we did a lot of good things today and we've got a lot to look Wins: Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, 2 each; Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, 1 each. Up next: ToyotaSave Mart 350, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, 3 p.m.; TV: TNT; last year's winner: Kurt Busch. Bill Fleischman mountaintop track. A tip of the oP restrictor plate to everyone at Pocono for a successful weekend.

China race canceled IndyCar Series canceled its race set for Aug. 19 in Qingdao, China, because of ongoing differences with Chinese promoters, who wanted to move the race to a different date and location. IndyCar officials needed to make the decision to allow drivers and teams to set plans for the second half of the season, but left open the possibility for scheduling a future event in China. Contact Bill Fleischman at fleiscbphillynews.com. forward to.

Our team is strong. We've really been strong enough all year. I expect it to keep going." Pocono perfecto Pocono's first 400-mile race was exactly what we thought it would be: much more compelling than the traditional 500-milers, with a greater emphasis on strategy. Polesitter Joey Logano's out-dueling his mentor, Mark Martin, for his second career win was a bonus. With 36 drivers breaking the track qualifying record, plus the tributes to the late Dr.

Joseph Mattioli, Pocono's longtime board chairman, it was one of the more memorable race weekends at the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS Thursday, June 14, 2012 Page 44.