Category: Race Central

Jamie McMurray held off Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson in the final 21 laps to win the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After winning the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, McMurray added another big race win to his belt this season. McMurray started in 27th position and took home his third big win of the season at Charlotte.  

“Yes, it has been an unbelievable year. I certainly can’t thank Chip (Ganassi) and everybody enough. We’ve had a really good season and we’ve been blessed to have some really good runs in some bigger races. Really, really excited about our success this season.” McMurray said.  

Busch and Johnson battled for second place in the final 10-laps of the race. Both drivers raced hard, but clean. Busch held off Johnson for second place.   Busch led a race-high 218 laps and was not happy about finishing second.  

“Nobody can put it perspective for me, it’s very, very disappointing.” Busch said.   Points leader Jimmie Johnson had an up and down day. On lap 33, Johnson got loose and spun out. He kept it out of the wall and was able to get to pit road without any damage. Johnson battles back from 37^th to finish third.  

“We had a really loose race car and I was trying to run the middle lane down in one and two and lost it. Then I had to drive backwards and out the side window and everything to keep it off the inside wall and luckily I did that. We stayed on the lead lap and just went to work from there. The track slowly started coming our direction and that is when we got fast and was able to drive up to the front.” Johnson said.  

Pole sitter Jeff Gordon started having alternator trouble on lap 190. Gordon loses power and loses a lap while switching over to the backup battery. Gordon received the lucky dog after a spin by Marcos Ambrose. The crew changed both batteries during the stop but the alternator still was not working. Gordon later was too fast entering pit-road and went down a lap again. Gordon finished 23^rd and now sits 156 points out in the series standings.  

“We had about everything go wrong that could go wrong. Track position being crucial at this place. I’ve never seen it so sensitive. We lost a little bit of track position and then we had the battery issue which took me a little while to figure out.” Gordon said.   Pre-race winner pick, Kurt Busch battled a loose car early. Busch got loose and spun on lap 24. Busch finished in 30^th place, 237 points out in the series standings.  

“Just a really confusing night for this Miller Lite Dodge Charger.  It’s really tough to explain.” Busch said. “We fought loose on exit early in the race and it cost us when I just nicked the wall off of (turn) 4. After that, we were all over the place. Loose, tight, loose again.”  

Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer got together on lap 246 coming out of turn two. Burton came down on Bowyer and Burton slide sideways down to the apron of the track. A lot of smoke, but no major contact was made and bother drivers were able to continue on.  

Kasey Kahne got loose on lap 123 and hits the wall, also collecting Sam Hornish Jr. Both sustained heavy damage and went to the garage. JJ Yeley later returned to the speedway driving the No 9.   Johnson now holds a 41 point lead in the series standings over Hamlin with five races remaining.    

Unofficial Race Results

Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway

October 16, 2010 – Race 31 of 36

Tony Stewart held off Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson in the final laps and won Sunday’s Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Stewart also gained five spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings and  secured the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Cup for Chevrolet for the 34th time since the inception of the award in 1950.

“We’re doing everything we can do.  We’re going to need some help, but we’re doing everything we can do.  I’m proud of these guys, and just so thankful.  Thank Hendrick Engines and Chassis, and everybody at Stewart Haas, they refuse to give up, they refuse to back down.” Stewart said.  

Bowyer and Johnson both contended for the win but the No. 33 outdid the champion’s car on the final lap to finish second.   “I didn’t need that caution to come out there. That piece of debris was back there the whole run, but finally a mysterious caution came out. Tony just beat us there at the end. The Hartford Chevrolet was good. It was a good day for us. We will regroup and hopefully get us another win.” Bowyer said.  

“I think if it had stayed green at the end, we had a shot to get the No. 14, But it didn’t turn out that way, there was a caution at the end with that wreck. Starting on the inside was kind of a problem for me. I just didn’t get going like I needed to. The No. 33 got there.” Johnson said.   “One race down, still in the points lead, but a lot of racing left.” Johnson added.  

Jeff Gordon was running in second place until he pitted during a caution flag.  He was too fast on pit road and restarted the race in 24^th place.  The final caution flag allowed Gordon to pit for tires with the rest of the cars in the mid pack which helped him pass a bunch of cars in a short period allowing him into the top-10 before the race ended.  Gordon finished in 9^th place.  

“It wasn’t the kind of day we were hoping for. Things are going pretty well for us and we’re hanging in there but honestly I think we were anywhere from a third to a fifth-place car, so to come home ninth, there’s no doubt, we need to get better. There’s no doubt. We’ve got to get better.” Gordon said.  

Other chase drivers didn’t fair so well.  Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards all had engine trouble.  Matt Kenseth who was also having engine trouble, nursed his car to a disappointing 30th. Kurt Busch was involved in an accident with David Regan and finsihed a disappointing 21st.  

“It’s unfortunate for us,” he said. “This was our opportunity to get back in the Chase and it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. It’s disappointing, but what can you do? It broke. Everybody is giving this program 110 percent, so you can’t blame anybody. We were trying hard to win the title and it isn’t going to happen this year.”  

After his engine blew, Busch said his championship chances were over.    “On to another year.  It’s over.” Busch said from the garage while the race was still underway.    

Unofficial Race Results

Pepsi Max 400 October 10, 2010 – Race 30 of 36

Chase contenders dominated the top 15 all day during the Price Chopper 400 at the Kansas Speedway. When it was all over it was Chase contender Gregg Biffle who ended up taking the hardware home with a commanding seven second win over a resurgent Jimmie Johnson. Chase participants made up the top finishing positions and Denny Hamlin finished twelfth.

The race had only five cautions, twenty lead changes amongst twelve different drivers. Tony Stewart led the most laps with 76 as Biffle led 60. “It’s a big win for us. The car ran great today and it just kept getting better and better all day,” Biffle said in victory lane. “We were kind of down in the dumps after Dover and we’re going to do the best we can.”

“It sounds awesome,” is what Jimmie Johnson said after he found out that he was the points leader after his second place finish and Hamlin’s top 15 finish. Hamlin dropped to second only 8 points back, Kevin Harvick is in third 30 points back with Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon within 53 points of the leader.

Kasey Kahne, the pole sitter led the race early until Jeff Gordon took over. Gordon led until David Reutimann was spun out by Kyle Busch after apparently getting loose. On lap 154 Reutimann ran into Kyle Busch putting him hard into the wall and wrecking himself in the process. Busch protested over the radio that NASCAR needed to do something because his car “is destroyed” and needed repairs to complete the race. Reutimann said, “We just got run over early and it ruined our day. It just did not work for us. No reason, its get a little old. It just didn’t work out”

Busch, after the race was asked he wanted NASCAR to do and he said, “Nothing, I thought about it and I don’t want them to do anything. It’s unfortunate to have it happen; the guy was loose and I got into him. He could have wrecked me anyone of the first twenty six races but not today.” Busch’s crew chief decided that it would be better for Busch to stay on the track and try to tough it out with a tore up rear end rather than losing laps in the garage. Busch finished in 21st , the first car one lap down. Reutimann finished in 35th ; 11 laps off the pace.

Tony Stewart dominated the middle section of the race which saw long green flag runs and Stewart extending his lead. But when Biffle finally made it by Stewart he never looked back.

Dover, DE – With his sixth Dover win in the books, Jimmie Johnson surges in the NASCAR Chase Championship point’s battle to second just 35 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. The No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet team demonstrated their desire to win a fifth straight title and that six wins in 2010 are just the beginning.

Johnson earned his 53^rd career victory in the 40^th running of the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. This was his 319 career start. “Obviously, the weekend we would dream of,” said Johnson. “winning the pole, leading the most laps, and winning the race.”  

“There are eight races left in the Chase and the points can shake up a lot,” Johnson said. “We want to win five in a row; we want to win this championship.” And well he is pleased to have won the race; Johnson is keeping his sights set on the bigger prize.  

In the interim, he got to celebrate with his daughter for the first time in victory lane.   The first caution of the race came around lap 38, when a safety light blew on the back straightaway.   David Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing drew the second caution after a spin in turn four. Back to racing and it was A.J. Allmendinger leading the way. At one point, Allmendinger opened up a six second lead on local favorite Martin Truex Jr.  

Following a tire issue, Allmendinger would be relegated to mid pack. Allmendinger lead 143 laps in Sunday’s race, the most in one event. “Everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports is building great race cars and Doug Yates and all those guys are bringing a lot of horsepower,” he said. “We’re getting really good at fighting back and making good finishes out of a problem that happens.”  

During green flag pit stops, Chase contender Tony Stewart was penalized with a drive thru penalty for being too fast entering pit road. He finished two laps down in 21^st.   The weekend woes for Clint Bowyer continued as he hit the wall. And then following the race, Bowyer’s Chevrolet was tagged for a return trip to the R& D Center. The RCR appeal is set to be heard this week on his New Hampshire penalty.  

Cautions also flew for debris following two incidents with Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne, respectively, during Sunday’s race.  

Rounding out the top five was Jeff Burton, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards. Burton’s stellar performance was attributed to his team’s ability to change with the track. “We thought we had a really good racecar coming into the race today,” he said. In true ‘Tony the Tiger’ fashion, Burton gave props to the No. 48 team. “They’re not good, they’re great! They’ve been in the hunt. I think there as seasoned as you can possibly be together.”  

The top 10 included Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and A.J. Allmendinger. Kevin Conway was the highest finishing rookie in 37^th place.  

The top five contenders in the Chase for the Championship are separated by a mere 65 points. Kyle Busch is third followed by his brother Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Denny Hamlin leads the pack with a total of 5368 points, and is satisfied to be leaving Dover in his mist with a thirty-five point cushion.  

“I think there is going to be a handful of guys running for the championship in Homestead,” Hamlin said. The 14 can light things up at anytime. This is the most wide open chase that we’ve had so far.”  

Next week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway.  

Unofficial Results