Qualifying
Hendrick Motorsports driver Brian Vickers put his Chevy on the pole with a new track record. Vickers' lap was actually the fastest qualifying speed of the year among all tracks.
Dodge drivers qualified in the next three spots as Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne started second, third and fourth. Jimmie Johnson, who entered the race second in points, qualified fifth in his Hendrick Chevrolet.
Drop The Green Flag
The race started about forty minutes late as track crews were finishing up with the track drying process.
The green flag flew in combination with the yellow flag. This means that NASCAR was able to start counting laps, but passing was not allowed. As the drivers dropped into single-file line to continue drying the track drying process pole sitter Brian Vickers was credited with leading the first few laps under caution.
The green flag flew for real on lap five. Kurt Busch bolted to the front from his third place starting spot. Busch then put a small gap on second place Vickers and lead all the way to the mandatory safety caution on lap 40.
Storylines
This week's race helped clarify the Championship Chase.
Jeff Burton blew a tire and tagged the wall on lap 88 which brought out the first incident caution of the day and eliminated him from Chase contention. Burton finished the day 38th and fell from fifth to seventh in the points. Burton's slim hopes are now completely dashed. The 2006 Championship is out of reach.
Kasey Kahne was running in the top five when he blew the engine with just six laps to go in the race. Kahne ended up 33rd in the race and fell as far as he possibly could in the standings, to tenth overall.
On lap 165 Dale Earnhardt Jr. got loose and slapped the wall. It looked like it could have been bad for Junior but he stayed on the lead lap and still managed a sixth place finish. Due to this great comeback Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved up one spot in the standings to third. Junior is 78 points behind with two races left and still has a shot at this Championship.
Chasing The Checkers
Tony Stewart was by far the fastest car on the track all day long. Stewart totally dominated the race from lap 40 all the way to the end.
At the end we saw a variety of pit strategies play out during the final round of green flag pit stops. Matt Kenseth pitted early to get more laps on new tires. Leader Tony Stewart took two tires to minimize his time on pit road. Jimmie Johnson was running second and he took four tires to maximize his performance over the final run.
There was a ton of drama at the end of this race as Jimmie Johnson closed in for the win.
The final green-white-checkers restart saw Stewart leading with Jimmie Johnson hot on his heels. Stewart got a great start and got just enough space to hold off Johnson's fresher tires. Tony Stewart held on for the win and became the twelfth different winner in the twelve NEXTEL Cup races held in Texas.
Top Ten
- Tony Stewart
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
- Kyle Busch
- Clint Bowyer
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Casey Mears
- Kurt Busch
- Jeff Gordon
- Denny Hamlin
The Points
Matt Kenseth came into the day as the point leader. However he started deep in the field. When the green flag flew Jimmie Johnson instantly took over the point lead based on his running position. Kenseth climbed through the field all day to finish twelfth but still gave up the top spot to Johnson.
This is still a great point battle as every single spot in the top ten changed hands this week.
The top ten in points are now:
- Jimmie Johnson -0
- Matt Kenseth -17
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -78
- Denny Hamlin -80
- Kevin Harvick -105
- Jeff Gordon -157
- Jeff Burton -184
- Kyle Busch -233
- Mark Martin -253
- Kasey Kahne -290
Next Week
We are now down to the final two races of the year. The 2006 Chase For The Cup has provided a lot of twists and turns along the way. Is this really a two-horse battle between Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth or does fate have more tricks up her sleeve? We will find out part of the picture next week as the NEXTEL Cup series heads to Phoenix.
