Qualifying
Chase leaders Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin topped qualifying. The two Hendrick Motorsports teammates came to Lowes Motor Speedway hoping for a good night to settle the 2009 Chase between themselves.
The second row featured Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth while Tony Stewart rounded out the top five.
Drop Of The Green
Johnson and Martin stayed side-by-side for most of lap one but Mark Martin made the outside work in turns three and four to lead lap one and claim those critical bonus points for leading.
The green flag was short-lived as Sam Hornihs spun on lap three to bring out the first caution.
Jimmie Johnson got the jump on the second green flag and stretched out a bit of a lead until Sam Hornish spun again on lap ten. Clearly this wasn't Sam's best performance of the year.
Green flag number three of the night came on lap 14. Jimmie Johnson again got clear from the inside lane ahead of Mark Martin. Johnson again put some distance between himself and the rest of the pack as we ticked off the early laps.
Storylines
Mark Martin and Juan Montoya came into the race second and third in points but the 2009 NASCAR Banking 500 had a huge impact in their Chase hopes. Martin and Montoya got together on a restart shortly before the halfway point.
Mark Martin ended up with a hole in front end of his car which required a tape bandaid. His car was never quite right for the rest of the night and he ended up 17th.
Juan Montoya had damage to the rear end of his car from that incident. It would get worse for Montoya as he then spun and finished 35th. Montoya fell all the way from third to sixth in the points.
Chasing The Checkers
With 50 laps to go Kasey Kahne had the field covered. He was well out front and was able to pull away furhter second whenever he had clear race track.
The caution flew with 43 laps to go. The battle in the pits was exciting but Jimmie Johnson beat Kasey Kahne off pit road by an inch to win the race off of pit road.
There were additional cautions after that but Jimmie Johnson was able to win the race into turn one every time until the final restart. With 17 laps to go Jeff Gordon was able to hang on the outside of Johnson on the final restart. They stayed side-by-side for two full laps before Johnson got loose and let Gordon past on the outside.
Jimmie Johnson came back one lap later, got a great run and passed Gordon on the bottom. He ran away from there and easily won his third Chase race of 2009.
Top Ten
- Jimmie Johnson
- Matt Kenseth
- Kasey Kahne
- Jeff Gordon
- Joey Logano
- Clint Bowyer
- Casey Mears
- Kyle Busch
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kurt Busch
The Points
Johnson's third race win of the 2009 Chase allowed him to extend his Chase lead. Mark Martin and Juan Montoya had troubles that allowed Johnson to pull even further away.
Coming into the race the top five were separated by 105 points. Now Jimmie's lead over Mark Martin is 90 points. Fifth place Kurt Busch is now 177 points behind.
The top twelve are now:
- Jimmie Johnson
- Mark Martin -90
- Jeff Gordon -135
- Tony Stewart -155
- Kurt Busch -177
- Juan Montoya -195
- Greg Biffle -268
- Ryan Newman -288
- Kasey Kahne -331
- Carl Edwards -341
- Denny Hamlin -372
- Brian Vickers -485
