Qualifying
Jimmie Johnson was the top dog in qualifying. Ryan Newman and Casey Mears put their Dodges second and third with Matt Kenseth fourth and Brian Vickers rounding out the top five.
After crashing hard in practice Tony Stewart was in the hospital and missed qualifying. JJ Yeley put the #20 Home Depot car in the field for Tony but the driver swap forced Tony to start at the back of the pack.
Drop The Green Flag
As they took the green Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson took turns leading early in the race. Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle were also running towards the front.
NASCAR promised a mandatory yellow flag at lap 25 so that teams could check their tires. There was some concern after practice that tires had been wearing and blistering excessively. Jimmie Johnson lead the field into and out of the pits as he was dominating the early going.
Biffle passed him shortly after they resumed green flag racing as Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth controlled the rest of the early going.
Storylines
The NBC crew were hard pressed to find something to talk about during the race. Matt Kenseth lead the majority of the middle portion of the race and there wasn't a lot of good racing to talk about.
There were some tire problems caused by the high heat. Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Dave Blaney, Elliott Sadler and others all had problems with the right rear tire blistering.
In addition this week was once again all about the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. Who's in the top ten and who's out. Carl Edwards had climbed back into the top ten but a tire problem and a hard crash has him on the outside looking in. An unscheduled pit stop for points leader Jimmie Johnson caused him to give up the points lead to Greg Biffle, but more importantly now the 400 point cutoff to make the chase now includes 14 drivers.
Chasing The Checkers
Matt Kenseth lead the most laps but Tony Stewart spent the entire day climbing up through the field. Tony Started last because someone else qualified the car for him but after winning the last two races of 2005 and also winning this race last year clearly he was going to be a factor before this one ended.
The caution flew with just 24 laps to go. Matt Kenseth was leading and Tony Stewart was running second. Everybody pitted and the guys in the pits were front and center. The first guy off of pit road would have a huge advantage.
Scott Wimmer didn't stop and restarted in the lead, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took two tires and won the race off of pit road to restart in second. When the green flag flew Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth were in the back half of the top ten but coming hard to the front.
A caution for Jeff Gordon's wreck finally put his bad day to an end. Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his pass for he lead with 12 to go with Brian Vickers on his heels. Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson were third and fourth and closing fast.
At the checkers Kenseth was catching him but just couldn't quite get there as Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought home the win. Junior is the ninth different winner of 2005 as he breaks a painful 19 race losing streak.
Top Ten
- Dale Earnhardt Jr
- Matt Kenseth
- Jimmie Johnson
- Brian Vickers
- Tony Stewart
- Jeremy Mayfield
- Ricky Rudd
- Kurt Busch
- Casey Mears
- Mark Martin
The Points
Jimmie Johnson had to suffer an unscheduled pit stop for a tire problem early in the race but he rebounded for a third place finish to extend his points lead.
Dale Jarrett fell out of the top ten and Jeremy Mayfield leaped from eleventh to ninth as now only the top ten drivers are within 400 points. If you want to race for a championship in 2005 you MUST be in the top ten within the next 8 races.
- Jimmie Johnson 0
- Greg Biffle -108
- Tony Stewart -151
- Rusty Wallace -248
- Elliott Sadler -318
- Mark Martin -346
- Ryan Newman -352
- Jamie McMurray -358
- Jeremy Mayfield -369
- Kurt Busch -376
Next Week
New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH will host both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch series drivers next weekend. The flat one mile oval has had a tragic past as Kenny Irwin and Adam Petty both lost their lives there. It's normally a one-groove race track but a car that is truly handling can usually find a way to the front.
