Back at Bristol, Matt Kenseth bumped Jeff Gordon, spun him out and ruined his finish. After the race, Kenseth tried to apologize and Gordon pushed him. NASCAR put Gordon on probation for that. Of course no one ever does this on purpose. And there's never any retaliation. Oh, you don't believe that either? With that in mind, the Nextel Cup was at Chicagoland Speedway Sunday for the USG Sheetrock 400. Jeff Burton won the pole.
Until the end, the race was fairly mundane. Jeff Burton-#31 Cingular Chevy led the first part of the race. Jeff Gordon-#24 Dupont Chevy takes the lead after green flag pit stops on lap 63. Debris brought out a caution on lap 68. There were varying pit strategies but Kevin Harvick-#29 GM Goodwrench Chevy stayed out to take the lead. Generally the leader was going to be able to keep the lead as clean air made the car easier to handle. But Dale Earnhardt Jr-#8 Budweiser Chevy was strong on long runs and he took the lead on lap 109.
It's deja vu all over again. After green flag pit stops gave Earnhardt back the lead on lap 131, another debris caution came out on lap 139. Everyone pitted but Reed Sorenson-#41 Target Dodge took fuel only to take the lead. Matt Kenseth-#17 USG Sheetrock Ford took the lead on lap 144 and he would dominate the rest of the race. But things would get interesting.
Tony Raines-#96 DLP Chevy spun on lap 196. Everyone hit pit road for their final pit stops of the race. Matt Kenseth led with Jeff Gordon was second. There were two issues here. First, would everyone have enough fuel to get to the finish? And Kenseth was concerned that Gordon had a much stronger car on long runs. He wasn't sure if he could hold him off. Crew chief Robbie Reiser reassured him but fuel was still an issue.
Gordon continued to gain on Kenseth until he tapped him in the rear, spun Kenseth out and Gordon took the lead on lap 263. The caution came out. During the caution, Kenseth suggested that if NASCAR wants to be consistent, they should penalize Gordon for spinning him out. After watching replays, it looked like Kenseth got a little loose with lapped car Casey Mears-#42 Texaco Havoline outside, had to slow up and Gordon tapped him by accident. No penalty for Gordon. Then Kenseth ran out of fuel and so did Tony Stewart-#20 Home Depot Chevy. Stewart finished 32nd. Kenseth finished 22nd but collided with David Stremme-#40 Lone Star Steak House Dodge and wrecked his car. Needless to say, Kenseth was very upset and continued to complain about Gordon after the race.
Congratulations to Jeff Gordon, crew chief Steve Letarte and car owner Rick Hendrick on the win. Big top ten finishes for rookies Reed Sorenson, Clint Bowyer & JJ Yeley. Jimmie Johnson finished sixth and still leads the points. I'm sure NASCAR will attempt to defuse the situation between Kenseth & Gordon but these things are never over. Here's the top ten of today's race.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.24/Jeff Gordon/Dupont/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
2.31/Jeff Burton/Cingular/Chevy/Richard Childress
3.5/Kyle Busch/Carquest Auto Parts/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
4.29/Kevin Harvick/GM Goodwrench/Chevy/Richard Childress
5.8/Dale Earnhardt Jr/Budweiser/Chevy/Dale Earnhardt Inc.;
6.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
7.41/Reed Sorenson/Target/Dodge/Chip Ganassi
8.2/Kurt Busch/Miller Lite/Dodge/Roger Penske
9.07/Clint Bowyer/Jack Daniels/Chevy/Richard Childress
10.18/JJ Yeley/Astellas VESIcare/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
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