Backstretch Motorsports

Jimmie Johnson has done it again, winning of the NASCAR Banking 500 Only From Bank of America. It was Johnson’s sixth win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and put him another step closer to a fourth consecutive championship, which would be a first in NASCAR history.

Johnson extended his lead in the Chase standings to 90 points over second place teammate Mark Martin with five races remaining in the season.

Johnson drove away from the field after dicing with teammate Jeff Gordon in the closing laps of the 334-lap race.

“He (Gordon) was real quick. But when he was mired in traffic he didn’t have the speed that he needed.” said the victor in post-race interview. “So in my opinion I needed to suck it up and get all that I could those first two or three laps to get out in front of him, and once I did that he didn’t have the benefit of clean air and it hurt his car and he started slipping back.”

“But that last restart I had my hands full. I was loose on the inside of him. I had a couple moments, I had to fall in behind him, collect my thoughts and try to find another way by him. Once I cleared him, I knew we’d be in good shape, but if he could have held on three or four more laps in front of me, I could have then got too tight and not been able to get by.”

Trailing Johnson at the finish line were Matt Kenseth, with his best finish since winning at Auto Club Speedway in February, Kasey Kahne, Gordon, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex and Kurt Busch.

Martin had his worst night of the Chase thus far after accidentally hitting the rear of Juan Pablo Montoya’s car on a restart. The accident ended Montoya’s streak of top-five finishes at four, and relegated Martin to a 17th-place finish. Montoya didn’t fare so well. He wound up 35th.

It was not a good night for other Chase drivers as well. Denny Hamlin ran with the leaders before losing an engine. Carl Edwards was the victim of an accident and his damaged car lost an engine when he returned to the track in an attempt to get as many points as possible. Edwards was 39th. Brian Vickers had another terrible run, finishing 34th.

Other drivers in the Chase wound up better with Ryan Newman finishing 11th; Tony Stewart 13th and Greg Biffle 16th.

The race was delayed several minutes by a cold, spitting rain but it stopped and Johnson took off from the pole in quest of another win at LMS, a track he owns in recent statistics.

Sam Hornish Jr. brought out a caution on Lap 3 when he spun and barely glazed the second Turn 2 wall. The race was back underway at Lap 7 and Hornish spun again, this time off the fourth turn. Once again, the former Indy 500 winner escaped with no serious damage to his car.

When the race resumed on Lap 13, it was Johnson out front, followed by Martin, Kyle Busch, Newman, Kahne, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Montoya, Kenseth and Hamlin. Montoya had gained 10 spots in just a few laps from his 18th starting position.

Rain prompted NASCAR officials to throw a caution again on Lap 35. Following pit stops, Kenseth was the leader on the 42nd lap restart with Johnson and Kyle Busch right behind him. Rounding out the top 10 were Hamlin, Biffle, Kahne, Montoya, Gordon and Newman.

Johnson eventually regained the lead with Hamlin in second and Kenseth third. By Lap 70, Johnson had built nearly a full-second lead, showing everyone why he has been so successful at this 1.5-mile hometown track.

However, just a few laps later, Hamlim zoomed to the front in his FedEx Toyota owned by Joe Gibbs.

All of the frontrunners pitted under green between Laps 93 and 96 and when the smoke cleared, it was Kenseth in front briefly before Hamlin took back over, followed by Kyle Busch, Johnson, Montoya, Mears, Martin, Bowyer, Kahne and David Reutimann.

Kyle Busch spun in Turn 4 at 120 laps to bring out another caution. Gordon was the leader on the 124th lap restart with Biffle, Newman and Hamlin in tow.

Martin got into the back of Montoya on the restart, causing considerable damage to Montoya’s Chevrolet. Montoya dropped well back in the pack due to the accident because his right rear fender was bent outwards, acting like a parachute catching the wind.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled into the garage shortly after the restart with transmission problems.

At the halfway mark (162 laps), the top 10 were Gordon, Hamlin, Johnson, Kahne, Kenseth, Biffle, Newman, Bowyer and Bill Elliott.

Montoya brought out a caution when his ill-handling car spun shortly before the halfway point. He lost two laps while his crew made repairs.

NASCAR Race Number 31
Unofficial Race Results for the Nascar Banking 500 Only From Bank Of America
- Saturday, October 17, 2009
Lowe’s Motor Speedway - Concord, NC - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 334 Laps - 501 Miles - Purse: $5,331,342
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 334 195 10 139.1 $328,826 Running 5 92
2 4 17 Matt Kenseth Carhartt Ford 334 175 5 122.3 $240,915 Running 4 45
3 3 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 334 170 5 125.6 $198,723 Running 2 67
4 9 24 Jeff Gordon Dupont/Trnsfrmrs 2 Revenge of the Fallen Chevrolet 334 165 5 115.1 $172,701 Running 3 64
5 12 20 Joey Logano # The Home Depot Toyota 334 155 96.0 $162,976 Running
6 11 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 334 150 106.2 $113,875 Running
7 42 07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 334 146 88.2 $109,550 Running
8 10 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s / Susan G. Komen Foundation Toyota 334 142 101.5 $134,623 Running
9 25 1 Martin Truex Jr. Guitar Hero / DJ Hero Chevrolet 334 138 95.6 $127,065 Running
10 15 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 334 139 5 97.6 $99,600 Running 1 2
11 6 39 Ryan Newman U.S. Army/Trnsfrmrs 2 Revenge of the Fallen Chevrolet 334 130 93.1 $113,304 Running
12 8 25 Brad Keselowski GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 334 127 80.3 $77,850 Running
13 5 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet 334 124 85.3 $100,373 Running
14 34 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 334 121 80.1 $119,931 Running
15 21 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 334 118 84.6 $101,548 Running
16 23 16 Greg Biffle 3M / IDG Ford 334 115 77.4 $90,975 Running
17 2 5 Mark Martin Pop-Tarts / CARQUEST Chevrolet 334 117 5 86.3 $87,375 Running 1 6
18 32 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 334 109 74.2 $111,178 Running
19 27 12 David Stremme No. 12 Penske Dodge 334 106 64.8 $106,065 Running
20 29 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 334 103 67.7 $82,925 Running
21 37 43 Reed Sorenson Super 8 Motels Dodge 334 100 57.1 $109,751 Running
22 13 47 Marcos Ambrose Clorox / Kingsford / Bush’s Baked Beans Toyota 333 97 64.6 $86,573 Running
23 26 44 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Dodge 333 94 61.5 $72,550 Running
24 7 71 Mike Bliss TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 333 91 63.5 $71,850 Running
25 14 02 David Gilliland Farm Bureau Toyota 333 88 56.1 $68,225 Running
26 38 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Dodge 332 85 51.4 $78,725 Running
27 31 98 Paul Menard Johns Manville / Menards Ford 332 82 43.4 $100,806 Running
28 16 82 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 332 79 50.5 $82,173 Running
29 36 21 Bill Elliott Warriors in Pink Powered by Ford 332 76 42.4 $66,875 Running
30 19 7 Robby Gordon Freightliner Toyota 332 73 53.1 $89,910 Running
31 24 96 Bobby Labonte Ask.com / Search for the Cure Ford 331 70 45.0 $96,579 Running
32 33 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA/Susan G. Komen Fndtn Toyota Camry Toyota 331 72 5 40.1 $74,225 Running 1 3
33 20 26 Jamie McMurray Jeremiah Weed Southern Style Sweet Tea Ford 331 64 46.4 $75,050 Running
34 30 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 330 61 58.2 $94,298 Running
35 18 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Lysol Chevrolet 330 58 66.2 $100,398 Running
36 41 34 John Andretti Taco Bell Chevrolet 330 55 29.0 $73,650 Running
37 43 08 Terry Labonte Carter/Simo Racing Toyota 329 57 5 31.9 $68,025 Running 1 1
38 39 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet 304 49 44.3 $83,400 Running
39 28 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 299 46 35.6 $114,131 Engine
40 22 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 298 43 27.1 $83,910 Running
41 40 13 Max Papis # GEICO Toyota 286 40 27.8 $65,000 Engine
42 17 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 192 42 5 100.5 $87,875 Engine 4 54
43 35 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 26 34 27.0 $65,251 Rearend
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 105,000, Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Banking 500 Only from Bank of America, his 46th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. To start the race, the follwing cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #21, #98 (transmission change).
Failed to Qualify: (4) 36 Michael McDowell, 09 Sterling Marlin, 66 Dave Blaney, 37 Travis Kvapil.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 38 Mins, 22 Secs. Average Speed: 137.658 MPH Margin of Victory: 2.303 Seconds
Caution Flags: 10 for 42 laps: Laps: 4-6 (#77 accident turn 2 [None]); 11-13 (#77 spun turn 4 [None]); 36-42 (Precipitation [None]); 121-124 (#18 spun turn 4 [7]); 165-169 (#42 spun turn 4 [None]); 190-194 (Debris [02]); 292-295 (Oil on track [12]); 301-303 (#02 accident turn 2 [5]); 305-308 (Oil on track [6]); 314-317 (#12, 16, 39 accident frontstretch [43]).
Lead Changes: 22 among 9 drivers: J. Johnson 0; M. Martin 1-6; J. Johnson 7-36; M. Waltrip 37-39; T. Labonte 40; M. Kenseth 41-42; J. Johnson 43-44; M. Kenseth 45-51; J. Johnson 52-70; D. Hamlin 71-94; M. Kenseth 95-98; D. Hamlin 99-121; J. Gordon 122-164; D. Hamlin 165-170; J. Gordon 171-189; D. Hamlin 190; M. Kenseth 191-222; K. Kahne 223-245; Kurt Busch 246-247; K. Kahne 248-291; J. Johnson 292-318; J. Gordon 319-320; J. Johnson 321-334.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) J. Johnson 5,923;(2) M. Martin 5,833;(3) J. Gordon 5,788;(4) T. Stewart 5,768;(5) Kurt Busch 5,746;(6) J. Montoya 5,728;(7) G. Biffle 5,655;(8) R. Newman 5,635;(9) K. Kahne 5,592;(10) C. Edwards 5,582;(11) D. Hamlin 5,551;(12) B. Vickers 5,438.
Coors Light Pole Award : Jimmie Johnson, #48 192.376 mph DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Matt Kenseth, #17 crew chief Drew Blickensderfer
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Jimmie Johnson, #48 EA Sports Move of the Race : Jimmie Johnson, #48
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Jimmie Johnson, #48 186.935 mph, Lap 310 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Jimmie Johnson, #48
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Martin Truex Jr, #1 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Jeff Gordon, #24 0.167 seconds
O’Reilly Auto Parts People, Service and Performance : Matt Kenseth, #17 305.296 seconds Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Joey Logano, #20
Sunoco Diamond Performance : Jimmie Johnson, #48 Tissot Pit Road Precision : Jeff Gordon, #24 271.888 seconds
WIX Filters Lap Leader : Kasey Kahne, #9 67 Laps
Next Race: Oct. 25, 2009 - Martinsville Speedway