Race Review

Pep Boys Auto 500

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Hampton, Georgia

Welcome race fans to the thirty-third race of the season and the seventh race of the Chase. Qualifying was rained out on Friday again, and the Line-up is again by Owner Points. 40 Bryan Clauson  couldn’t make his debut. And 02 Joey Logano also had to go home. 84 is again Scott Speed, who got in on the cars points. 47 is Marcos Ambrose from the NASCAR Nationwide Series, getting ready for his Rookie year next year. He is using the points of the 00 car. 10 again is AJ Almendinger. Reed Sorenson will be in the car next year. 45 is Chad McCumbee. 48 Jimmy Johnson is leading the points and will start on the pole. 16 Greg Biffle starts second. 325 laps on this 1.5 mile fast track is 500 miles. Atlanta is the fastest unrestricted track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
So, here we go. 48 leads from the pole.The first caution comes out on lap three when 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. turns 21 Bill Elliott and they both spin out to the inside wall. They both pit before pit road is open and will have to restart 42nd and 43rd. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 16 gets by 99 Carl Edwards for second. 99 gets by 16 for second. 18 and 88 get by 29 Kevin Harvick. 17 Matt Kenseth and 29 battle, 17 gets by. 8 Mark Martin gets by 29 for ninth. 99 is catching 48. 48 and 99 battle for the lead. 99 takes the lead on the bottom. 24 Jeff Gordon gets by 16 for third. 88 is up to fifth. 55 Michael Waltrip started 29th and is up to 16th. 88 gets by 16 for fourth. 99 laps 78 Joe Nemechek. 88 gets by 24 for third.
The second caution comes out when 66 Scott Riggs gets into the wall, after contact from 19 Elliott Sadler. 78 Joe Nemechek is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. 77 is a lap down and 21 is five laps down. The leaders all pit. 48 has his rear tire on the line, but I guess that is ok, because the Officials don’t say anything about it. 99 pitting behind 48 almost has to wait for him to leave before he can. Leaving the pits, 18 gets into his brother Kurt in the 2, who forces 29 into the grass. 88 had to wait on 22 Dave Blaney, and looses spots. Back to Green, 83 Brian Vickers, 07 Clint Bowyer and 26 Jamie McMurray are three wide. 99 takes the lead. 55 scrapes the wall.
2 gets by his brother 18. 17 is up to third. 17 takes second from 48. 24 and 48 battle. 24 gets by for third. Hendrick cars 24, 48, 88 are 3rd, 4th and 5th. 88 and 48 battle. 88 gets by. 9 Kasey Kahne and 07 battle. 07 gets by for twenty-second. 2 gets by 48 for fifth. 55 and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya get by 5 Casey Mears. 48 slides as 2 gets by. 99 laps 44 David Reutimann. 19 is pitting on lap 87 to start Green Flag Pitting. 88 leads, then pits. 48 is too fast entering the pits and has to pass through as a penalty, putting him a lap down. 55 is up to 12th. 9 gets sideways.
The third caution comes out during the commercial. The Leaders all pit. 17 comes out first. We are not told what the caution was for, nor who was the Lucky dog. We go back to more commercials. 99 had trouble in the pits. 48 comes out first of those a lap down and fights with the Leader 17 to get his lap back, but falls back. The fourth caution comes out again during the commercial. The Pace car picks up the field, they go around again and we come back from the commercial as the leaders are coming on to pit road. 48 Jimmy Johnson is the Lucky Dog. 88 has a tare-off bunched up on his wind sheild, but I’m not sure if that was the caution or something else. It did fly off at one point. Out of the pits, it’s 17, 99, 24, 88, 2. And we go to more commercials.
48 gets by 20 Tony Stewart for seventeenth. 55 gets into the wall again and is off the pace. 2 scrapes the wall. He was in third. The Leaders need to pit, but we’ll come back to that after the commercial. 18 starts Green Flag Pitting when we get back. 66 is back on the track, 126 laps down. 17 leads, pits, and is still in the lead! 84 Scott Speed led in there somewhere, but we didn’t see that. 42 is running well, in seventh. 55 and 26 battle. 48 gets by 88. 17 laps 16. 99 catches 17. The fifth caution comes out when 55 gets into the wall and his tire explodes, so there is debris all over the track on lap 209. 16 Greg Biffle is the Lucky Dog. It’s 2, 17 out of the pits and we go back to commercials. 99 comes out of the pits, nearly hitting 11 coming out and 48 still pitting. 2 and 17 battle for the lead. They battle side by side and 17 finally takes the lead.
18 and 29 battle for seventh. 88 gets by 1 Martin Truex, Jr. 18 and 26 get by 29. 11 gets by 2 for second. The sixth caution is for debris on the front straight away. 6 David Ragan is the Lucky Dog. 31 Jeff Burton is smoking with a tire rub. He got into 96 Ken Schrader coming out of the pits. 18 gets by 42. 18 and 24 battle. 18 takes the spot. 11 is leading. 42 and 88 battle. The seventh caution comes out when 55 spins with 37 laps to go. The leaders all pit. 88 gets in the middle of 42 and 99 out of the pits and gets hit by both. 31 Jeff Burton is the Lucky Dog. 24 and 48 battle.
The eighth caution comes out when the tape holding 55 together comes off with pieces flying. NASCAR decides this will be a quickie caution so everyone can pit at the same time. 07, a lap down gets into 42 on the lead lap in the pits. We go green with twenty-three to go. The ninth caution is the big one. 22 falls back and catches 31. 31 turns 22, who spins into the wall, taking 31. 41 Reed Sorenson has nowhere to go and gets into 22. 42 gets into 41. They all go down the track and 78 gets collected, trying to get out of the way by going low. 99 takes the lead. He bumped 11 to do it on the restart. 24, 48, 88 are three wide. 26 gets by 24 and 16 by going through the middle of them.
48 gets by 18 for fourth. Three laps to go. 48 and 17 battle for third. 48 takes the spot. 48 battles 11 for second. 11 gets loose and 48 gets by. 99 Carl Edwards wins the race and does his back flip. 48 finishes second after going a lap down. The Busch brothers finish 5th and 6th. 31 was 18th, the last car on the lead lap. 10 Almendinger had a good day, finishing fourteenth.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site: http://www.ilovemynascar.com

Race Review

Tums QuikPak 500

Martinsville, Va.

Welcome, race fans to the thirty-second race of the Season and the sixth in the Chase. This race takes place at Martinsville Speedway in south, central Virginia, the shortest track on the circuit. And a very flat track with only 12 degree banking in the turns. It’s a short, tight track, and quite exciting. Qualifying was rained out on Friday, so the field lines up according to Owner Points, putting 48 Jimmy Johnson on the pole and 31 Jeff Burton in second. 8 today is Aric Almirola. He shares the car with Mark Martin. 84 is Scott Speed, today with AJ Almendinger out of the car. He will be in the 10 car today, as Patrick Carpentier is out of it. 21 is Bill Elliott again. 00 is Mike Bliss from the NASCAR Nationwide Series. 6 is again Ken Schrader. 45 is Chad McCumbee from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. 70 is again Tony Raines. The in car reporter is 07 Clint Bowyer and his Crew Chief Gil Martin. There will be 500 laps around this .526 mile track for 263 miles. 6 David Ragan is in a back up car and will start from the rear.
So, here we go with the review of the race! 48 leads from the pole. 24 Jeff Gordon gets by 07 Clint Bowyer for fifth. 6 is moving on up through the field. 11 Denny Hamlin and 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr., battle and 11 gets by. 16 Greg Biffle and 99 Carl Edwards battle for third. 99, 16, 24 all battle for third. 24 gets third. 16 and 29 Kevin Harvick battle for fifth. 29 gets by 16. 96 is smoking from the front splitter rubbing the pavement. 20 Tony Stewart and 07 battle. 20 takes the spot. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 07. There is smoke coming from 20. Again, it’s the splitter. 00 with help from 22 Dave Blaney gets into the wall.
The first caution comes out on lap twenty-eight when 28 Travis Kvapil gets into the wall, trying to stay on the lead lap. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya got into 44 David Reutimann, 44 got into 28, and 28 ended up in the wall. 21 Bill Elliott is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. The top leaders stay out, while some farther back head to the pits. 88 is too fast in the pits and will restart forty-second! 24 takes the lead. 88 gets into 70 to get by. 99 and 31 battle. 99 gets by.1 Martin Truex, Jr. and 2 Kurt Busch battle. 1 gets by for eleventh. 16 gets by 31 for sixth. 31 is slipping back. 16 and 00 get together.
24 and 48 battle for the lead. 48 takes the lead. 88 is up to thirty-first from forty-second. 6 is up to thirty-sixth from starting in the rear. 00 is five laps down. 9 Kasey Kahne is very slow on the track with no power. The second caution comes out when 9 is stopped on the track, on lap sixty-one. The leaders all pit. Out of the pits, it’s 48, 99, 16, 24, 29, 07, 31, 41 Reed Sorenson, up ten spots, 18. 8 stays out to lead at the restart. 2 is in the garage with rear brake trouble. The top thirteen stayed out. 48 gets by 96 for thirteenth. 88 is in fifth after his speeding penalty since he stayed out. 20 gets by 16. 12 Ryan Newman and 26 Jamie McMurray battle for second. 88 and 5 Casey Mears battle. 88 gets by 5. 26 can’t get by 12. 88 spins 26, which brings out the third caution. Everyone gets by 26. The top ten are 8, 12, 88, 48, 5, 66 Scott Riggs, 99, 24 6 and 55 Michael Waltrip.
The fourth caution comes out when 01 Regan Smith looses his brakes and gets into the wall. He got into the corner too hard, got on the brakes too hard, burned out the brakes and ended up in the wall. 00 Mike Bliss is the Lucky Dog. 29 and 18 battle. 29 keeps the spot. 18 gets by 55. 48 gets by 88 for third. 48 gets by 12 for second. 16 and 31 get by 55. 1 gets by 55. 2 is back on the track. 24 gets by 88. 99 gets by 12. 24 and 88 get by 12.
The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 17 Matt Kenseth gets loose and wheel hops into 78 Joe Nemacheck who gets into the wall. 07 gets by the mess. 26 stays out to lead. 48, 70 (a lap car) and 11 are three wide. 48 and 11 battle. 48 gets by. 48 gets by 96 for sixth. 11 gets by 96 for seventh. 17 is in thirty-eighth, a lap down. 29 gets by 43 Bobby Labonte for eleventh. 48 gets by 07 for second. 29 gets by 38 David Gilliland for eleventh. 29 and 42 battle for ninth. 29 gets by. 48 takes the lead. 88 gets by 07 for sixth.
The sixth caution comes out when 18 gets into the wall and just sits there. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. and 70 also get into the wall. They all had right front tires go down almost on the same spot. They were using too much brake. 18 is being held two laps for stopping on the track. He comes back onto the track three laps down in thirty-eighth. 7 Robby Gordon goes to the garage for brake repairs. 16 stayed out to lead. 26 takes the lead from 16. 99 gets by 16. 83 Brian Vickers and 11 battle. 11 takes the spot. 29 and 83 battle. 29 and 31 get by 83. 5 gets by 83. 8 and 6 get together.
The seventh caution comes out during the commercial when 19 Elliott Sadler gets into the wall. 8 and 19 were battling for position and 8 turned 19 into the wall. 17 Matt Kenseth is the Lucky dog. The leaders stay out. 2, many laps down won’t let the leaders get by on the restart. 48 and 24 finally get by 2. 16 and 11 battle. 11 finally gets by for seventh. 6 and 42 are racing side by side. 6 finally gets by. 12 and 83 battle. 83 finally gets by. 24 catches 48. 24 takes the lead in traffic. 96 and 9 battle to stay on the lead lap. 24 is having a hard time lapping 96. 16 is out of gas and has to pit.
The eighth caution comes out when 43 spins. 15 Paul Menard and 70 blow tires. 10 gets into 43 and 43 gets into the wall. The leaders all pit, leaving 16 a lap down. 38 David Gilliland is the Lucky Dog. 29 and 31 get together in the pits. Out of the pits, it’s 48, 24, 99, 88, 26, 20, 11, 1, 83, 07. 16, 8, 88 are three wide. 24 takes the lead. 19 is back on the track after repairs. 31 locks up the brakes. 77 and 12 get by him. 48 takes the lead during the commercial. 44 David Reutimann goes up the track and into the wall, gets a flat tire and heads for the pits. 1 rubs the wall. He got into the turn too high. 2 gets his brakes too hot and flattens the tire. He goes to the pits again. 66 battles 48 to stay on the lead lap. 17 is up to seventeenth. 99 and 24 battle for second. 99 and 88 get by 24. 31 is getting loose and falling back. 12 gets into the wall. 26 gets by 24. 21 and 48 get together while 48 is trying to lap 21.
18 gets another flat tire and has to pit. The heat from the brakes is heating the bead of the tire and flattening the tire. 20, in seventh, has a right front tire going down and has to pit. 11 gets by 24. 83 gets by 88 for third. 2 gets into the wall. The ninth caution comes out for debris from 2. Kurt wants to park the car already. 10 AJ Allmendinger is the Lucky Dog. The jack man for 48 slips on the brake dust after changing right sides. 48 still comes out of the pits first. 26 breaks something and heads for the garage. 24 gets by 83. 11 gets by 83. 88 and 99 battle for second. 88 goes low and gets by. 18 is back in the pits with a flat right front tire. 48 slips getting by 00. 11 and 24 battle for fourth. 20 gets another right front tire flat. 83 gets by 24 for fifth.
The tenth caution comes out with forty-two laps to go when 41 gets into the wall. The leaders all pit. 31 has to back up to get out of his pit. 17 stays out to lead. 24 blocked 31 from getting into his pit, putting him out of the pit box. He doesn’t back up and right himself before being serviced, so he will get a drive-through penalty. 17 and 48 battle for the lead. 48 takes the lead. 88 gets by 17 for second. 17 and 99 battle for third. 99 gets by 17. 24 gets by 17. Twelve cars are on the lead lap.
The eleventh caution comes out when 38 gets into the wall with a flat tire. We go Green with eight to go. 88 and 99 battle. The final caution comes out when 6 spins with three laps to go. The top ten are 48, 88, 99, 24, 11, 5, 29, 17, 1 and 07. This will be a Green, White, Checker finish, with 504 laps completed. 48 takes off at the restart. 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the Tums QuikPak 500, after starting on the pole.
Jimmy Johnson increases his point lead. Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton swap positions. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart swap positions. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin move up one position and Kyle Busch falls back three positions to 12th, 445 out of the lead. He was leading the points going into the Chase. After six races, he is last in the Chase.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site: http://www.ilovemynascar.com

Race Review

Bank Of America 500

Lowes Motor Speedway

Concord, NC

Welcome race fans to the thirty-first race of the season and the fifth race in the Chase. This race takes place at most everyone’s Home Track. Qualifying was rained out on Thursday, so the line-up is by owner points. Three drivers were to make their Cup debut, but since their cars had no owner points, they had to go home. Those failing to qualify were: 40 Bryan Clauson, 25 Brad Keselowski, 82 Scott Speed and 175 veteran Derrike Cope. In this race, 84 is Mike Skinner from the Craftsman Truck Series. 21 is Bill Elliott, in with his 1988 Champion provisional. 00 is AJ Allmendinger, vacating the # 84, using the car’s qualifying attempts. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets in on past owner winner in 2007. 96 is Ken Schrader, in with owner attempts. 10 is Mike Wallace from the Nationwide Series, getting in on owner attempts, replacing Patrick Carpentier. 45 is Chad McCumbee from the Craftsman Truck Series, in on owner attempts. 70 is again Tony Raines.
9 Kasey Kahne  won at Lowes in the Spring, and the All-Star race here. (He got into the race with the fan vote and won!) He is going for the only person to win all three races in a season. Let’s see if he can pull it off. This will be Kasey’s 175th start in the Cup Series. He is also the in-car reporter.
So, here we go! 24 scrapes the wall on the first lap. 48 Jimmy Johnson, the points leader leads the first lap. 77scrapes the wall. 24 again gets into the wall and says over the radio “We’re in trouble”. 20 Tony Stewart gets by 29 Kevin Harvick for sixth. 24 is pitting. 20 gets by 16 Greg Biffle for third. 20 gets by 99 Carl Edwards for second. 20 takes the lead. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 31 Jeff Burton and 16 for third. 31 and 16 battle for fourth. 31 gets by 16. 99 and 16 get back by 88.
The first caution comes out during the commercial when 78 Joe Nemechek blows a tire and gets into the wall. 77 also had a flat tire and got into the wall. 20 has a long pit. 78 goes to the garage for repairs. 99 stays out to lead a lap and then pits by himself. The second caution comes out when 00 gets into 01 Regan Smith. 01 smashes hard into the wall, spins and backs into the wall. 24 Jeff Gordon is the Lucky Dog, and gets his lap back. 99 is a lap down. He had to back up to get out of the pits.
The third caution comes out when 84 Skinner and 96 Schrader get together. 55 Michael Waltrip goes into the grass, and back up the track into 84. 99 is on the track and can’t get the car started. They have to wave yellow for one more lap while an emergency truck pushes 99 into the pits. The crew has the hood up to try to figure out what is wrong. The Green flag comes out on lap 71. 20 takes the lead. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 16 for third. 99 is back on the track, sixteen laps down. The fourth caution comes out when 88 blows a tire and gets into the wall. 17 Matt Kenseth stays out to lead, then pits. 48 drives by 20. 20 is falling back. I guess he didn’t like that set of tires.
The fifth caution comes out when 10 M. Wallace spins by himself. 31 gets fuel only. 12 Ryan Newman stays out to lead. 12 and 48 battle for the lead. 83 Brian Vickers gets 18 loose to get by. 12 and 48 battle for the lead. 48 finally takes the lead. 83 gets by 12 for second. 48 and 83 battle for the lead. 83 takes the lead. 18 gets by 12 for third. 88 is back on the track, four laps down. 6 David Ragan is catching 18. 44 David Reutimann gets by 2 Kurt Busch for tenth. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya pits to start Green Flag Pitting. 6 and 01 are too fast. After all the pitting, 83 is back in the lead.
The sixth caution is for debris on lap 187. 9 Kasey Kahne is the Lucky Dog. There are twenty-one cars on the lead lap. The back of the pack make pit stops. 16 and 83 battle for the lead. The seventh caution comes out on lap 194. They were three-wide off turn four. 15 Paul Menard got into 21. 21 spins 70. 28 Travis Kvapil and 17 get together. 45 has damage. His front splitter is stuck in the grass, pointing up. 21 and 15 get by. 9 manages to get by. The leaders all pit. 31 again gets fuel only, and is first out of the pits. But 1 Martin Truex, Jr. stays out to lead. 17 slowed down to avoid the wreck, but the driver behind him didn’t, and he got wrecked. 6 and 7 Robby Gordon are ahead of the leader, the last cars on the lead lap.
1 and 24 battle for the lead. 24 takes the lead. The eighth caution comes out when 48 gets sideways and 43 Bobby Labonte and 55 spin together. Perhaps there was something on the track. 6 and 7 stay on the lead lap. 41 Reed Sorenson is the Lucky Dog. 15 is in his pit stall with the hood up. 45 is back on the track after pitting and his hood flies up onto his windshield! He can’t see a thing. 66 Scott Riggs was in front of the leaders and stays on the lead lap.
8 Mark Martin and 24 battle for the lead. 8 gets loose and under 24. 24 stays in the lead. 8 and 1 battle for second. 8 keeps second. 16 and 8 battle for second. 16 takes second from 8. 44 and 20 battle. 20 and 48 battle. 20 gets by. 07 Clint Bowyer gets into 11 Denny Hamlin to get him loose and into the wall. There is no caution. 83 and 44 battle for eighth. 24 pits to start another Green Flag Pitting. 16 leads when 24 pits. 15 gets Black Flagged for a loose back panel. 83 gets into the wall and can’t turn the car. He has a flat right front tire and heads for the pits. 31 leads when 16 pits. 20 leads when 31 pits. 44 slides sideways into the pits. 6 leads. 18 was too fast entering the pits. 7 leads. 7 blows a tire.
The ninth caution is for debris from 7. He had trouble in the pits with the air gun and only changed right side tires. The left side tire blew. 6 David Ragan is the Lucky Dog. 16 leads at the restart. 16 and 31 battle for the lead. 31 finally takes the lead. 07 gets by 16 for second. 26 Jamie McMurray and 48 battle for fourth. 70 goes to the garage. The tenth caution comes out when 42 gets into the wall, after contact with 2. Thirty-seven laps to go.
31 gets fuel only. 24 and 16 get four tires. 48, 12 and 9 take two tires. They restart with thirty-three to go. 31 and 48 battle for the lead. 31 keeps the lead. 16 and 26 battle. 2 and 9 battle for third. 9 takes third from 2. 18 gets by 26 for fifth. 9 and 48 battle for second. 9 gets by 48 for second. 2 gets into 48 for third. 18 and 48 battle for fourth. 18 gets by 48 when 48 gets loose. 26 gets by 48 for fifth. And 31 Jeff Burton wins the Bank of America 500. The top ten are 31, 9, 2, 18, 26, 48, 16, 24, 8 and 6. This race moves 31 up two spots in the points to second and moves 99 down two spots to fourth. 18 Kyle Busch moves up two spots to ninth and 17 down two spots to eleventh. Jeff Burton is sixty-nine points behind the leader Jimmy Johnson. Greg Biffle remains in third, eighty-six points behind. It looks like a three car race for the Championship, with five more races to go.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site: http://www.ilovemynascar.com

Race Review

AMP Energy 500

Talladega Super Speedway

Talladega, Alabama

Welcome race fans to the 30th race of the season and the fourth race of the Chase. Talladega is the longest and fastest track on the circuit. And because it is so fast, NASCAR mandates restrictor plates on the cars to reduce power. They do this at Daytona also. 28 Travis Kvapil is on the pole with a speed of 187.364. 5 Casey Mears will start on the outside of the front row. 8 today is Aric Almirola. I guess Mark Martin didn’t want to get involved in a probable mess. 33 is Mike Wallace in the new RCR (Richard Childress Racing) car that will race full time next year. 70 is again Tony Raines. 00 is Kenny Wallace from the NASCAR Nationwide Series, trying to get that car back into the top 35 in Owner Points. 09 is veteran Sterling Marlin, who has won at Talladega. 84 is Mike Skinner from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Toyota Headquarters has said good-bye to AJ Almendinger. (I hope he gets a ride for next year. He got himself into the top 35.) 45 is past Champion Terry Labonte, who got in on speed. 21 is Jon Wood in the family car. 38 David Gilliland qualified in a back up car with no practice. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. blew a tire in practice and will start from the rear.96 is Ken Schrader, maybe for the rest of the season. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. and 10 Patrick Carpentier failed to qualify. Casey Mears’ girlfriend is about to have their first baby, so Brad Keselowski is standing by in case she goes into labor.
So here we go! 28 leads from the pole. 5 drops from second to thirty-fourth. 48 Jimmy Johnson looses the draft. 99 Carl Edwards takes the lead. 83 Brian Vickers takes the lead. 8 takes the lead. 6 David Ragan and 8 battle for the lead. 6 takes the lead during the commercial, then drops down to the inside. David started in the rear after changing the engine. 24 Jeff Gordon leads the second pack of cars. 96 is pushing 48 . 88  takes the lead after starting from the rear. 7 Robby Gordon is ahead of the pack, about to go a lap down. The first caution comes out for debris.70 pits while pit road is closed. 7 Robby Gordon is the lucky Dog and gets his lap back.28 has a slow stop. 99 stays out to lead. 24 leads out of the pits. 99 pits after everyone leaves the pits. 6 got spun coming out of the pits. 96 is too fast out of the pits. 00 is held for excessive speed into the pits. He just didn’t slow down at all. So NASCAR holds him for a lap. 43 Bobby Labonte is also too fast.
31 Jeff Burton takes the lead with 48 pushing him. 17 Matt Kenseth takes the lead. 48 is leading the bottom line. 83 Brian Vickers takes the lead after pushing 48. The second caution is again for debris. Jimmy Johnson is the Lucky Dog. There are forty cars on the lead lap, so there is a quicky yellow so all forty-three cars can pit. 00 stays out to lead. 19 Elliott Sadler comes out first from the pits to lead. 22 Dave Blaney is having electrical issues. 18 takes the lead with 11 Denny Hamlin pushing him. 2 Kurt Busch takes the lead. 19 falls back to 30th. The third caution comes out on lap 54 when 44 David Reutimann blows a tire and slides into 24, who spins into the wall into 21 who had nowhere to go. Part of the tire hits the hood of 48 and breaks the splitter. 2 is in the pits with the hood up. 99 pitted early and will start at the end of the longest line. 83 Brian Vickers is the race leader when they go green.
11 pushes 43 , then drops down to lead. 2 goes to the garage. 12 Ryan Newman broke something and is out of the race. 41 Reed Sorenson takes the lead. The pack is three wide. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. takes the lead. 26 Jamie McMurray takes the lead. The fourth caution comes out during the commercial when 83 blows a tire on lap 69. Many are involved. 38, 45, 70, 9 Kasey Kahne, 28, 84, 43, 8, and 26. There is a Red Flag for clean-up. 31, 42 Juan Pablo Montoya, 29 Kevin Harvick get by. 99 is so far behind, he has time to slow down. The Red Flag lasts seventeen minutes. 88 took the lead before the caution and takes two tires to stay in the lead. All the twelve Chase cars got by. 55 Michael Waltrip had a commitment cone violation. 42 takes the lead, then gets shuffled out. 6 forces 42 below the yellow line, so he can’t improve his position. 48 takes the lead. 20 Tony Stewart takes the lead with help from 33.
The fifth caution comes out on lap 81 when 33 blows a tire, which lands on 55. They go Green on lap 87. 24 is back out onto the track with a new front end. 11 takes the lead. 17 takes the lead. 11 takes the lead. The sixth caution comes out when 11 blows a tire on lap 99. 11 went all the way up the track to get into the wall. 66 Scott Riggs leads out of the pits. 15 Paul Menard goes high to lead. 96 Ken Schrader was the Lucky Dog. 88 pushes 42. 20 takes the lead. 41 and 07 Clint Bowyer get ahead of 42. 6 gets ahead of 07. Hamlin  is alert and awake, and is transported to the local hospital. 15 takes the lead with help from 8. 42 pushes 20 into the lead. 44 goes to the pits. 17 pushes 31 into the lead.
29 takes the lead. 07 gets stuck on the top.  The seventh caution comes out with 49 to go, when 24 blows up. 45 Terry Labonte is the Lucky Dog. 99 spins himself out leaving the pits! They go Green with 44 to go. 99 pushes 17. 88 takes the lead during the commercial. 88 pushes 07. 07 gets into 18. 31 takes the lead. 88 challenges for the lead with no help. They are four-wide in the back of the field. 88 pushes 6 to the front to lead. 88 takes the lead with 42 pushing him, then goes down in front of 31. 42 pushes 55 into the lead. The eighth caution comes out when 29 spins into the infield. 18 and 55 take two tires to come out of the pits first and second. 48 had to back up to get out of his pit stall. The top twelve stay out. 42 leads. Twenty-seven cars are on the lead lap. 29 had too many men over the wall. He will have to start at the end of the lead lap. They go Green with 19 to go.
The first seven cars break away from the pack. They are four-wide behind them. 20 is leading the top line and challenges for the lead. 88 pushes 22 up the middle. The ninth caution comes out with fifteen to go. 99 gets into 16 Greg Biffle (team mates) to start it. 99 pushes 16 in the corner to spin him into 17 (another team mate) and back into 99 and 88. 29 got into 55. Others involved were 28, 22, 41, 42 and 18. 6, 48, 31 and 07 get by. And another Red Flag comes out for clean up. They restart with ten to go and 20 in the lead. The tenth caution comes out with four to go. 26 cut a tire. 5 had to pit for fuel. They go green with two to go. 19 pulls out, but no one goes with him. 01 Regan Smith tries to take the lead, but 20 blocks. 20 forces 01 below the yellow line, knowing 01 can’t better his position from below the yellow line.
20 Tony Stewart wins the race instead of 01 Regan Smith. NACAR puts 01 at the end of the lead lap, in eighteenth. Twenty-eight different cars led. And there were sixty-some lead changes. The fans got their money’s worth at this race.
Here’s the top twelve in points in the Chase:

1. 48 Jimmy Johnson  5714

2. 99 Carl Edwards         -68

3. 16 Greg Biffle              -73

4. 31 Jeff Burton            -100

5. 07 Clint Bowyer         -153    up 2

6. 29 Kevin Harvick       -167       – 1

7. 20 Tony Stewart        -199    up 4

8. 24 Jeff Gordon          -228        -2

9. 17 Matt Kenseth       -241

10. 88 Dale Earnhad, Jr. -245       -2

11. 18 Kyle Busch          -330     up 1

12. 11 Denny Hamlin    -331        -1
Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site: http://www.ilovemynascar.com