Kyle Busch lead the most laps but Jimmie Johnson looked like he had the fastest car at the end. Busch simply out-drove Johnson for the final two lap shootout and stole the win.
Qualifying
Qualifying was rained out on Thursday evening so the starting lineup was determined by 2008 car owner points. That put point leader Kyle Busch on the pole. Next to him was Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The rest of the top five were Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.
Drop Of The Green
When the race began Kyle Busch took the early lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Busch continued to lead the early going as Carl Edwards made his way up to second while Dale Earnhardt Jr. slipped back.
There wasn't much going on during the first part of the race as Chicagoland's wide racing surface gave drivers plenty of room for clean racing. They raced uneventfully to NASCAR's competition caution on lap 36.
Storylines
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season has seen point leader Kyle Busch dominate a number of races. Add to that the fact that Chicagoland Speedway has a history of uneventful races and we should not be surprised that this was was painfully boring.
Kyle Busch continued his strong 2008 with another dominant performance through the first 240 laps of the 2008 LifeLock.com 400. Would he be able to close the deal?
Chasing The Checkers
Kyle Busch set a Chicagoland record for the most laps lead in a single race but Jimmie Johnson was hot on his heels as the race began to wind down.
Jimmie Johnson got past Busch with 16 laps to go and started to pull away. However a late caution for a blown motor gave Busch one last chance.
The final restart came with two laps to go. When the green flag flew Kyle Busch jumped to the outside of Jimmie Johnson and they ran side-by-side down the back stretch. Busch came out on top in turns three and four and held the lead at the white flag.
Kevin Harvick got into the mix in third as the three of them raced back towards the checkers.
These final two laps were easily the most exciting of the entire race. Kyle Busch took the win with Jimmie Johnson crossing the line in second after getting knocked sideways by Harvick. Kevin Harvick gave Johnson room and finished third.
Top Ten
- Kyle Busch
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
- Greg Biffle
- Tony Stewart
- Brian Vickers
- Matt Kenseth
- David Ragan
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Ryan Newman
The Points
Kyle Busch did it again. Hstretched his point lead further and claimed even more bonus points for The Chase with another big 2008 win. His seven 2008 wins so far in the season would give him a 40 point lead over Carl Edwards when the Chase begins.
Clint Bowyer fell out of the top twelve tonight as Kevin Harvick jumped all the war from thirteenth up to ninth in points. Denny Hamlin is now on the bubble with a 27 point cushion over Bowyer.
The top twelve are now:
- Kyle Busch
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -259
- Jeff Burton -288
- Carl Edwards -372
- Jimmie Johnson -387
- Jeff Gordon -497
- Greg Biffle -563
- Matt Kenseth -564
- Kevin Harvick -573
- Tony Stewart -576
- Kasey Kahne -589
- Denny Hamlin -598
Next Week
Next week the Sprint Cup series takes one final week off before they run every single weekend from Indianapolis through Homestead. One of NASCAR's showcase events, the Brickyard 400, is on tap in two weeks.
