With nine races remaining until The Chase For The Nextel Cup, it's time to think about who is going to make The Chase. This was the backdrop for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at the mile long flat track in Loudon, New Hampshire. Points leader Jimmie Johnson & second place Matt Kenseth seem safe but it's very close from third to thirteenth so there's still a lot of room for movement. And there are perennial Chase participants like Kurt Busch & Ryan Newman who have to get in gear or they're going to be out of contention. Newman won the pole and it was a good race with a screwy finish.
Brian Vickers-#25 GMAC Chevy was leading when a caution came out on lap 20 for a Travis Kvapil-#32 Tide Chevy spin. Vickers pitted and Ryan Newman-#12 Alltel Dodge stayed out to take the lead. Jeff Burton-#31 Cingular Chevy took the lead on lap 26. Newman dropped back to 27th place. Tony Stewart-#20 Home Depot Chevy took the lead on lap 62. Stewart looked like he would have a dominant car but during green flag pit stops on lap 91, Newman spun out Stewart while trying to get his lap back after Newman's pit stop. You have to give guys more room early in the race. Stewart broke his radiator, finished 37th and dropped out of the top ten in points.
The restart was a traffic jam with several guys on the tail end of the lead lap. Leader Brian Vickers was in the middle of the pack. On the restart, Michael Waltrip-#55 Napa Auto Parts Dodge tapped Ryan Newman and spun him into the wall. Newman broke his radiator and finished 39th. This kills any chance Newman had of making the Chase. And it was karma. Vickers & teammate Kyle Busch-#5 Kellogg's Chevy swapped the lead for a while. Reed Sorenson-#41 Target Dodge took the lead on lap 119. Dale Earnhardt Jr-#8 Budweiser Chevy blew an engine on lap 135 and finished 43rd. He dropped to fifth in the points. Greg Biffle-#16 takes the lead on lap 151 and then Kyle Busch gets the lead back on lap 173.
Again green flag pit stops are interrupted by a caution. Kenny Wallace-#78 Furniture Row Chevy lost his brakes and hit the wall on lap 186. Like before, Kyle Busch led but had a bunch of guys in front of him on the tail end of the lead lap. They all get back on the lead lap when Joe Nemechek-#01 Army Chevy is spun out by Brian Vickers. Jeff Green-#66 Haas Automation Chevy hits the wall on lap 209 to bring out a caution. Most guys make what could be their final pit stops. Six guys stay out and Clint Bowyer-#07 Sylvania Chevy leads. Kurt Busch-#2 Miller Lite Dodge is spun into the wall by David Stremme-#40 Coors Light Dodge on lap 233. Busch finishes 38th and that should knock him out of the Chase. Bowyer pits to give Elliott Sadler-#38 M&M's Ford the lead.
Fuel mileage is the big question now. Who has enough fuel to finish the race? Kyle Busch takes the lead on lap 239 and clearly has the race won when Clint Bowyer spins to bring out a caution on lap 298. This sets up a green/white/checker finish but Reed Sorenson gives up third place to pit as he's out of fuel. Then while the caution is out, Michael Waltrip rear ends Robbie Gordon-#7 Menards Chevy and breaks his radiator. More caution laps. Elliott Sadler runs out of fuel on the restart and finishes 25th and then second place Denny Hamlin-#11 FedEx Chevy runs out of
fuel on final corner and finishes sixth. Kyle Busch wins.
Congratulations to Kyle Busch, crew chief Alan Gustafson & car owner Rick Hendrick on the win. Jimmie Johnson finished ninth to keep the points lead and top ten finishes for Denny Hamlin & Scott Riggs. Next week Nextel Cup returns to Pocono. Here's the top ten of the race.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.5/Kyle Busch/Kellogg's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
2.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush
3.16/Greg Biffle/Subway/Ford/Jack Roush
4.6/Mark Martin/AAA/Ford/Jack Roush
5.29/Kevin Harvick/GM Goodwrench/Chevy/Richard Childress
6.11/Denny Hamlin/FedEx/Chevy/Jow Gibbs
7.31/Jeff Burton/Cingular/Chevy/Richard Childress
8.9/Kasey Kahne/Ask Dr. Z.com/Dodge/Ray Evernham
9.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
10.10/Scott Riggs/Auto Value-Bumper To Bumper/Dodge/Ray Evernham
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