Qualifying
Tony Stewart the car owner put both of his Chevrolets on the front row with Ryan Newman on the pole and Tony Stewart the driver on the outside.
David Reutimann qualified third in his Toyota. Penske Dodge drivers rounded out the top five with Kurt Busch fourth and Brad Keselowski fifth.
Drop Of The Green
Newman got the jump on the start as the top five quickly got into single-file line. Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart traded second place back and forth before Tony's car came to him. Stewart moved up to the lead on lap six and continued to rule the rest of the early going.
Storylines
In just eight more races the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will lock in the top ten drivers pls two wild-card racers into the 2011 Chase for the Cup. The first race of the ten race Chase will be back in New Hampshire.
This weekend Stewart-Haas drivers Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart qualified together on the front row. Then, 301 laps later, they finished the race just like that.
Stewart-Haas Racing has to be thrilled with their chances of getting a strong start on the 2011 Chase for the Cup when we return here in September.
Chasing The Checkers
With 20 laps to go Ryan Newman was out front with a two second lead over Jeff Gordon. Fuel mileage was a question as the laps were winding down.
Denny Hamlin moved up to second place and then Stewart got past Hamlin for second and set his sights on his teammate for the lead with eight laps to go. Stewart closed the gap to less than one second but he was running out of laps.
Other drivers who pitted on the same lap as Newman were running out of gas but Newman was able bring it home for a One - Two finish for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Top Ten
- Ryan Newman
- Tony Stewart
- Denny Hamlin
- Joey Logano
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kasey Kahne
- Bobby Labonte
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Marcos Ambrose
- Kurt Busch
The Points
Kyle Busch fell four spots from the lead after beating and banging with Dale Jr., cutting a tire and hitting the wall early in the race. Despite the attitude he gave the interviewer during the race I believe Kyle caused his own demise here. Nobody else had tire problems and nobody else was beating and banging as much as Kyle this early in the race.
Carl Edwards returned to the top of the point standings as the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season rolls on.
No new drivers cracked the top ten and Ryan Newman was already in the top ten so this race did not affect the wild-card battle.
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:
- Carl Edwards
- Jimmie Johnson -7
- Kurt Busch -11
- Kevin Harvick -15
- Kyle Busch -20
- Matt Kenseth -26
- Jeff Gordon -65
- Ryan Newman -66
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -75
- Denny Hamlin -82
