Just as at Friday night’s Nationwide Series race, Kyle Busch had the car to beat—until the end of the race. In the final laps, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson were relegated to fighting over the runner-up position as Jamie McMurray’s Chip Ganassi/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet led the field home with a 1.9 second gap.
Kyle Busch seemed on track to win until he lost the lead on a restart 21 laps from the end. McMurray had been chipping away at Busch’s lead, but without the late-race yellow might not have had time to catch him.
McMurray said his car was best on long runs; he was no more pleased to see the last yellow flag than was Kyle Busch.
“As I was catching Kyle toward the end of the race I was thinking, as long as the caution doesn’t come out, we’re going to be able to win this thing, because I was catching him pretty fast,” McMurray told the postrace press conference on NASCAR.com.
“Then when the caution came out I really wasn’t sure if I was going to have enough speed to outrun him in 25 or 30 laps, but it was just our night.”
The caution for debris on Lap 308 gave McMurray all the chance he needed. Busch, usually excellent at restarts, lost the lead and McMurray drove away from the field.
Still, it was a stellar day for Kyle Busch. After telling the world he was out of the Chase last week, he gained four spots to move into fifth in the points after Charlotte.
Jimmie Johnson, who spun here in the Coca-Cola 600 in May, finishing 37th, seemed like he would repeat his disastrous performance. On Lap 33, the points leader lost control and flat-spotted all four tires as he spun.
While he was in the pits, crew chief Chad Knaus found the magic. Johnson rejoined well back in the pack but his car suddenly started working, and he carved his way towards the front with ease. Johnson stayed out on through a yellow flag and one hundred laps after his spin, was back in the top five.
Despite finishing third, Johnson increased his lead over Denny Hamlin, though only by five points, as Hamlin drove an excellent race to finish fourth.
NASCAR heads to Martinsville this weekend, widely considered to be a Jimmie Johnson-friendly track, and then the week after, on to Talladega, a track which could ruin any driver’s Chase.
As the season winds down, the tension is ramping up. Jimmie Johnson is going to have to work very hard and get very lucky as well, if he hopes to win his fifth championship.
| 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Standings | ||||
|
|
+/- |
Driver |
Points |
Behind |
|
1 |
— |
Jimmie Johnson |
5843 |
Leader |
|
2 |
— |
Denny Hamlin |
5802 |
-41 |
|
3 |
— |
Kevin Harvick |
5766 |
-77 |
|
4 |
— |
Jeff Gordon |
5687 |
-156 |
|
5 |
+4 |
Kyle Busch |
5666 |
-177 |
|
6 |
-1 |
Tony Stewart |
5666 |
-177 |
|
7 |
— |
Carl Edwards |
5643 |
-200 |
|
8 |
+2 |
Greg Biffle |
5618 |
-225 |
|
9 |
-3 |
Kurt Busch |
5606 |
-237 |
|
10 |
-2 |
Jeff Burton |
5604 |
-239 |
|
11 |
— |
Matt Kenseth |
5587 |
-256 |
|
12 |
— |
Clint Bowyer |
5543 |
-300 |
|
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Bank of America 500 |
|||||||
|
|
# |
Driver |
Make |
Sponsor |
Pts/bns |
Laps |
Status |
|
1 |
1 |
Jamie McMurray |
Chevrolet |
Bass Pro Shops / Tracker |
190/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
2 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
Toyota |
M&M's |
180/10 |
334 |
Running |
|
3 |
48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Chevrolet |
Lowe's |
170/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
4 |
11 |
Denny Hamlin |
Toyota |
FedEx Ground |
165/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
5 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
Ford |
3M Scotch-Blue Painter's Tape |
160/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
6 |
17 |
Matt Kenseth |
Ford |
Crown Royal Black |
155/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
7 |
20 |
Joey Logano |
Toyota |
The Home Depot |
151/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
8 |
29 |
Kevin Harvick |
Chevrolet |
Shell / Pennzoil |
147/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
9 |
00 |
David Reutimann |
Toyota |
Aaron's Outdoors Mossy Oak |
138/0 |
334 |
Running |
|
10 |
6 |
David Ragan |
Ford |
UPS / United Way |
134/0 |
334 |
Running |
|
11 |
42 |
Juan Montoya |
Chevrolet |
Target |
135/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
12 |
99 |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
Aflac |
132/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
13 |
78 |
Regan Smith |
Chevrolet |
Furniture Row Companies |
124/0 |
334 |
Running |
|
14 |
5 |
Mark Martin |
Chevrolet |
GoDaddy.com |
126/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
15 |
56 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
Toyota |
NAPA / Susan G Komen for the Cure |
118/0 |
334 |
Running |
|
16 |
47 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Toyota |
Lance Snacks / Tom's Snacks |
115/0 |
334 |
Running |
|
17 |
33 |
Clint Bowyer |
Chevrolet |
Cheerios / Hamburger Helper |
117/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
18 |
83 |
Reed Sorenson |
Toyota |
Red Bull |
114/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
19 |
82 |
Scott Speed |
Toyota |
Red Bull |
106/0 |
334 |
Running |
|
20 |
31 |
Jeff Burton |
Chevrolet |
Caterpillar |
108/5 |
334 |
Running |
|
21 |
14 |
Tony Stewart |
Chevrolet |
Old Spice Showtime / Office Depot |
100/0 |
334 |
Running |
|
22 |
110 |
Bobby Labonte |
Chevrolet |
Gander Mountain |
97/0 |
333 |
Running |
|
23 |
24 |
Jeff Gordon |
Chevrolet |
DuPont |
99/5 |
333 |
Running |
|
24 |
98 |
Paul Menard |
Ford |
Schrock Cabinetry / Menards |
91/0 |
333 |
Running |
|
25 |
43 |
A.J. Allmendinger |
Ford |
Wix Filters |
93/5 |
333 |
Running |
|
26 |
19 |
Elliott Sadler |
Ford |
Stanley |
85/0 |
332 |
Running |
|
27 |
12 |
Brad Keselowski |
Dodge |
Penske Racing |
82/0 |
332 |
Running |
|
28 |
38 |
David Gilliland |
Ford |
Taco Bell |
84/5 |
332 |
Running |
|
29 |
88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet |
Amp Energy / National Guard |
76/0 |
331 |
Running |
|
30 |
2 |
Kurt Busch |
Dodge |
Operation Home Front / Miller Lite |
73/0 |
331 |
Running |
|
31 |
34 |
Travis Kvapil |
Ford |
Long John Silver's |
70/0 |
331 |
Running |
|
32 |
37 |
Dave Blaney |
Ford |
"Andy Griffith Show" 50th Anniversary |
67/0 |
331 |
Running |
|
33 |
7 |
Robby Gordon |
Toyota |
Extenze |
64/0 |
327 |
Running |
|
34 |
71 |
Andy Lally |
Chevrolet |
ModSpace / Savory Thymes / TRG Motorsports |
61/0 |
315 |
Running |
|
35 |
21 |
Bill Elliott |
Ford |
JDRF / Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center |
58/0 |
305 |
Running |
|
36 |
39 |
Ryan Newman |
Chevrolet |
Haas Automation |
55/0 |
272 |
Running |
|
37 |
26 |
Patrick Carpentier |
Ford |
Air National Guard |
57/5 |
217 |
Accident |
|
38 |
9 |
Kasey Kahne |
Ford |
Budweiser |
49/0 |
214 |
Running |
|
39 |
46 |
Michael McDowell |
Chevrolet |
Conely for School Board / Whitney's Collision Centers |
51/5 |
127 |
Rear End |
|
40 |
77 |
Sam Hornish Jr. |
Dodge |
Mobil 1 |
43/0 |
122 |
Accident |
|
41 |
164 |
Jeff Green |
Toyota |
Gunselman Motorsports |
40/0 |
91 |
Trans |
|
42 |
09 |
Landon Cassill |
Chevrolet |
Phoenix Construction / GracewayPharmaceuticals |
37/0 |
89 |
Rear End |
|
43 |
36 |
J.J. Yeley |
Chevrolet |
Tommy Baldwin Racing |
34/0 |
73 |
Ignition |
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