Qualifying
Two big stories came out of NEXTEL Cup qualifying this week. First off Kasey Kahne put his Dodge on the pole by .002 seconds over Ryan Newman's Dodge. Kahne averaged 192.553MPH around the 1.54 mile quad-oval. Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and J.J. Yeley round out the top five.
The other big story is that Craftsman Truck Series regular Bill Lester qualified 19th in his Bill Davis Racing Dodge. This makes him the first African-American since Willy T. Ribbs in 1986 to qualify for a Cup series event. This is great for NASCAR and certainly will help with their diversity efforts.
Drop The Green Flag
Rain caused us to wait nearly 24 hours from the originally scheduled start time. Finally a few minutes after 11AM on Monday the green flag flew and the race was on.
Pole sitter Kasey Kahne lead lap one in a side-by-side battle with Ryan Newman. Then Newman finished the pass and lead the first few laps. Bobby Labonte made his move on lap four taking over the lead in the legendary Petty Enterprises car #43.
Unfortunately Bobby Labonte's engine let go in the first 100 miles and he wasn't able to complete his strong run. Labonte was credited with finishing 43rd.
Storylines
Bill Lester, the first African-American to start a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race since Willy T. Ribbs did it in 1986 had the kind of day he needed. He made the race, didn't cause any major problems and most importantly he ran all the way to the end and gained some valuable experience. I don't know what car owner Bill Davis has planned for him but I'm sure we'll see him again soon. Bill Lester handled the media attention extremely well and seems to be a decent driver as well.
Robby Gordon's catch can man was hit by Reed Sorenson as Reed was exiting his pit stall. It was a scary sight seeing an over-the-wall crew member loaded onto a backboard and into an ambulance. Fortunately he was treated at the infield medical center and released.
Chasing The Checkers
Kasey Kahne lead most of the final 100 laps. Mark Martin was charging hard at the end and closed up over a one second gap and found himself on Kahne's back bumper with twenty laps to go. Kasey got up the wheel and drove away from Mark as Mark got hung up a little bit in lapped traffic. The final margin of victory was almost two seconds.
Top Ten
- Kasey Kahne
- Mark Martin
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeff Gordon
- Tony Stewart
- Jimmie Johnson
- Paul Menard
- Kyle Petty
- Dale Jarrett
- Reed Sorenson
The Points
Jimmie Johnson had his worst finish of the season, but still managed a sixth place effort. Jimmie easily holds onto the point lead again this week.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Jarrett both crack the top ten this week as Jeff Burton and Elliott Sadler dropped out of the critical top ten spots.
The points are now:
- Jimmie Johnson -0
- Kasey Kahne -50
- Matt Kenseth -78
- Mark Martin -90
- Casey Mears -136
- Jeff Gordon -151
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -156
- Kyle Busch -160
- Dale Jarrett -200
- Clint Bowyer -219
Next Week
Bristol Motor Speedway hosts the NEXTEL Cup series stars next week. The high-banked half-mile speedway features very tight racing as there is only one quick way around. Making a pass often involves some beating and banging. Tempers will flare and the racing will be tight. Bristol features great short track racing.
