The Nextel Cup drivers consider the Allstate 400 At The Brickyard second only to the Daytona 500 in importance. Of course this is because of the legacy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The one concern in the race was possible tire problems. NASCAR mandated a minimum tire air pressure and called for competition cautions at lap 15 & 40 to be there would be no tire problems. It didn't turn out to be a factor. And of course The Chase is looming. One driver in particular would take a tumble today. I'll get to that later. Richard Childress drivers Jeff Burton & Clint Bowyer made up the front row.
Jeff Burton-#31 Cingular Chevy dominated the early part of the race. Jeff Gordon-#24 has a broken bolt in his sway bar on lap 9. He goes down a few laps but is able to get back on the lead lap and finished 16th. Gordon remained in the top ten in points. Jimmie Johnson-#48 Lowe's Chevy had a flat tire on lap 39. He brought out a caution so was able to stay on the lead lap but now he had to come from the back. Kevin Harvick-#29 Reese's Chevy takes the lead from Burton on lap 73.
Jeff Burton would lead the most laps but would lose the lead To Matt Kenseth-#17 DeWalt Tools Ford and Burton dropped back and finished 12th. Jimmie Johnson took over the lead on lap 116 and regained the lead on lap 128 after green flag pit stops. It certainly looked like Johnson had the race in the bag.
But a debris caution came out on lap 142. This would tighen up the field. Also, Kyle Busch-#5 Delphi Chevy, Dale Earnhardt Jr.-#8 Budweiser Chevy, Ryan Newman-#12 Alltel Dodge & Joe Nemechek-#01 Army Chevy stayed out for track position. Denny Hamlin-#11 FedEx Chevy & Clint Bowyer-#07 Jack Daniels Chevy took two tires. This worked out very well for Earnhardt. He finished 6th and got back into the top ten in points.
Jimmie Johnson got the lead back on lap 152 and won the race. A final lap crash killed Kasey Kahne-#9 UAW Dodge Dealers Dodge. He finished 36th and dropped out of the top ten in points. Ouch!
Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and car owner Rick Hendrick. A big top ten finish for rookie Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got back into the top ten in points. Here's the top ten of the race.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
2.17/Matt Kenseth/DeWalt Tools/Ford/Jack Roush
3.29/Kevin Harvick/Reese's/Chevy/Richard Childress
4.07/Clint Bowyer/Jack Daniels/Chevy/Richard Childress
5.6/Mark Martin/AAA/Ford/Jack Roush
6.8/Dale Earnhardt Jr./Budweiser/Chevy/Dale Earnhardt Inc.
7.5/Kyle Busch/Delphi/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
8.20/Tony Stewart/Home Depot/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
9.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush
10.11/Denny Hamlin/FedEx/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
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