Kenseth leaves little doubt in Bristol

The Sharpie 500 is the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. This is the toughest ticket to get in all of NASCAR and there is good reason. The fast half-mile short track forces drivers to bump and grind as 43 cars in that small space means that the leaders spend all night in traffic looking for a way by.

Qualifying

Matt Kenseth is not known for qualifying up front. In fact this weekend he scored only the second pole position of his entire NEXTEL Cup career. His only other pole came at Dover in 2002. He finished 40th that day. Today would go much better for him.

Trying to fight his way into the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, Jeff Gordon scored the second starting spot. Dave Blaney, Greg Biffle and Ricky Rudd rounded out the top five.

Drop The Green Flag

When the green flew Matt Kenseth took the early lead with Jeff Gordon in his tire tracks. They caught the back of the pack on the tight half-mile very quickly. The leaders then spent lap after frustrating lap working slower traffic trying to make time.

The first caution didn't come until lap 68 when Sterling Marlin hit the wall right in front of leader Kenseth. Jeff Gordon's pit crew was faster in the pits and gave him the lead. Jeff Gordon was well on his way to climbing back into the top ten in points.

Kenseth retook the lead shortly before lap 100 and the drivers seemed to settle in for the middle portion of the race. There was no doubt that Kenseth was the class of the field tonight.

Storylines

How many times can one driver be the Lucky Dog and get his lap back when the yellow flies? Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not having a good night, but was the first car one lap down three different times when the yellow came out and scored the free pass known as the "Lucky Dog" to get back on the lead lap. Dale Jr. rebounded from his early race problems to score a solid ninth place finish.

Like every race in Bristol tempers were overheating all night long. Dale Jarrett let his get the best of him as he blatantly punted Ryan Newman. Teammates Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers traded paint a couple of times too. There were others too numerous to mention that didn't get as much television coverage. Bristol brings out the worst in the drivers.

Chasing The Checkers

This was not a typical NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Bristol. Matt Kenseth lead 415 of the 500 laps and was never seriously challenged. A late race restart tried to add some drama as Jeff Burton restarted hot on his bumper but Kenseth got away cleanly and this one was never in doubt.

Top Ten

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Jeff Burton
3. Greg Biffle
4. Ricky Rudd
5. Rusty Wallace
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Mike Bliss
8. Tony Stewart
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10. Kurt Busch

The Points

Greg Biffle and Rusty Wallace added their names alongside Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson as drivers that have now clinched a spot in The Chase.

Jeff Gordon climbed into the top ten and Matt Kenseth jumped from 15th up to 11th with his strong win. Kenseth is only 11 points out of a spot in the Chase.

1. Tony Stewart -0
2. Jimmie Johnson -213
3. Greg Biffle -224
4. Rusty Wallace -271
5. Mark Martin -396
6. Jeremy Mayfield -427
7. Kurt Busch -428
8. Carl Edwards -561
9. Ryan Newman -591
10. Jeff Gordon -611

Next Week

Next week the NEXTEL Cup drivers are headed west to California Speedway. This track is a lot like Michigan which the teams just ran last week. Last week, Michigan ended up as a fuel-mileage and strategic battle and California could well go the same way. No matter what happens the points will once again take center stage as the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup is closing in fast.