Qualifying
Toyota scored their first pole since entering the NEXTEL Cup series. Dave Blaney set the fastest time in Friday's qualifying with his Bill Davis Racing Camry. Starting beside him on the outside of row one was Kurt Busch in his Penske Dodge.
The second row was made up on Reed Sorenson's Dodge and Johnny Sauter's Chevrolet. Last week's winner Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top five.
Drop Of The Green
Dave Blaney took the early lead and lead through the first caution when Ward Burton blew the motor on lap four. When the green flag flew again Blaney set sail and maintained the lead over Kurt Busch.
Jeff Gordon worked his way quickly up through the field and took over the lead on lap 31. In the early going Jeff Gordon looked to be the car to beat. He was able to pass easily and looked comfortable out front.
Storylines
A round of green flag pit stops came with just over 100 laps remaining in the race. Carl Edwards passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead right before this stop. However, the jack fell while they were changing tires and he came out one lap down. That mistake on pit road knocked Carl Edwards from the lead and out of contention.
Chasing The Checkers
The final pit stop came under caution with about 50 laps to go. Denny Hamlin took only two tires to take over the lead. Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Gordon took four tires and restarted second and third. Hamlin got away on the restart but a quick caution caused him to have to do it again. He did.
Martin Truex Jr. wasn't able to gain any ground on Hamlin. Jeff Gordon battled Truex for second and finally made the pass stick with just six laps to go.
Jeff Gordon tried to run down Denny Hamlin for the win but Hamlin was just too strong. Denny Hamlin slipped coming off of turn four on the final lap which allowed Jeff Gordon to get to the inside of him but Denny Hamlin held on for the win by just one carlength.
Top Ten
- Denny Hamlin
- Jeff Gordon
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jeff Green
- Jeff Burton
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
- Ryan Newman
The Points
Jeff Gordon was penalized 100 points earier this week but posted yet another great finish. Gordon still maintains a solid point lead. The point penalty that he received is virtually meaningless since his points will be reset when the Chase begins in nine more races.
The top twelve are now:
- Jeff Gordon -0
- Denny Hamlin -156
- Matt Kenseth -365
- Jimmie Johnson -381
- Jeff Burton -383
- Tony Stewart -428
- Carl Edwards -465
- Kevin Harvick -507
- Kyle Busch -573
- Martin Truex Jr. -580
- Clint Bowyer -627
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -628
Next Week
Next week is the traditional halfway point of the NEXTEL Cup season. The series returns to Daytona for the Pepsi 400 on Saturday night. This is the only restrictor plate race under the lights and one of NASCAR's biggest races.
