After Saturday's Busch Series race, the complaints about the tires Goodyear provided for the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway just got louder. The drivers were very concerned about the race becoming a miserable crashfest. Some guys like Jeff Burton didn't complain. He just said everyone has the same problem and guys need to adjust accordingly. As it turned out, the race didn't have as many cautions as expected. It really came down to Jimmie Johnson overcoming adversity. Kasey Kahne won the pole.
There were a lot of cautions early in the race. David Ragan's #6 AAA Ford spun out and hit the wall on lap 2. On lap 9, Robby Gordon's #7 Ford goes three wide, gets loose and takes out Ward Burton & Casey Mears. Gordon continues but the other two guys are out. Then on lap 17, Clint Bowyer taps Joe Nemechek's #13 CertainTeed Chevy. He hits the wal and crashes into Dave Blaney's #22 Caterpillar Toyota. The leaders hit pit road. Some guys who pitted earler stay out. Jimmie Johnson's #48 Lowe's Chevy leads.
Aric Almirola's #80 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevy spins to bring out the caution on lap 40. Guys have varying pit strategies but Mark Martin's #01 US Army Chevy leads. Elliott Sadler's #19 UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge takes the lead on lap 51. Martin regains the lead on lap 58 but Johnson is catching both guys and he takes the lead on lap 58. Green flag pit stops cycle through by lap 86 and Johnson is still leading.
Johnny Sauter's #70 Yellow Freight Chevy smacks the wall to bring out the caution on lap 107. Everyone pits. A tire rolls away from Jimmie Johnson's pit. He has to restart in 25th place. Jeff Gordon's #24 Nicorette Chevy leads. Gordon continues to lead through green flag pit stops. Jeff Burton's #31 Cingular Chevy has moved up to fifth but he is concerned about electrical problems. Paul Menard's #15 Menards Chevy spins on lap 170. Everyone pits. Burton's crew chief Scott Miller considered changing batteries but decides against it. Meanwhile Jimmie Johnson has moved up to third.
Jeff Gordon continues to lead through green flag pit stops. Clint Bowyer's #07 Jack Daniels Chevy hits the wall on lap 226. Unless the race goes green the rest of the way, this will likely be most everyone's final pit stop. Gordon leads with Burton second and Johnson third. Burton takes the lead but Johnson passes him on lap 240. Burton is still having electrical problems. Kasey Kahne's #9 McDonalds Dodge hits the wall to bring out a caution on lap 240. Burton pits while pit road is closed because of his electrical problems. Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes a huge blunder by following Burton onto pit road. He is penalized and finishes 11th. Earnhardt says he just followed Burton and didn't see the red light on pit road. Johnson has no trouble holding on to the lead after the lead and wins his third Las Vegas race in a row.
Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and car owner Rick Hendrick for the win. The race was nowhere near the mess that drivers were predicting but it was difficult to get the cars to handle properly. Big top ten finishes for Ryan Newman & Jamie McMurray. Mark Martin still leads the points. Next week all three NASCAR series are in Atlanta. The interesting thing is that Mark Martin isn't scheduled to race in Bristol in two weeks. Will he change his mind if he is still leading the points? He's been waffling lately. Here's the top ten of the race and a six minute condensed video from NASCAR.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
2.24/Jeff Gordon/Nicorette/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
3.11/Denny Hamlin/FedEx Kinko's/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
4.17/Matt Kenseth/DeWalt Tools/Ford/Jack Roush
5.01/Mark Martin/US Army/Chevy/Bobby Ginn
6.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush
7.20/Tony Stewart/Home Depot/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
8.12/Ryan Newman/Alltel/Dodge/Roger Penske
9.5/Kyle Busch/Kellogg's-Carquest/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
10.26/Jamie McMurray/Crown Royal/Ford/Jack Roush
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