Backstretch Motorsports

FONTANA, Calif. — Forget the rivalry between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.

In Sunday’s Pepsi 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway, there was only one car that counted, the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson led 228 of 250 laps and held off a late-race challenge from Greg Biffle, who lost ground when the water temperature in his No. 16 Ford skyrocketed to 260 degrees when a paper wrapper stuck to his grille after a restart on Lap 223.

As the laps wound down, Biffle told his team, “Doing all I can, man. I can’t catch him. He’s beating me too bad in (Turns) 3 and 4.”

Johnson beat Biffle to the finish line by 2.076 seconds. Denny Hamlin ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.

In winning his third race of the season and the 36th of his career — breaking a tie with Mark Martin for 17th on the all-time victory list — Johnson also shattered Biffle’s record of 168 laps led at Fontana, set in 2006.

Johnson also qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with one race to go – Saturday at Richmond – before the 12-driver field is set. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton also clinched spots. Busch and Edwards already had clinched spots.

Johnson’s dominance forced other teams to gamble in the pits. Biffle, Edwards, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman took two tires on Lap 163 and held the top five positions for a restart on Lap 166.

Less than two laps after the restart, however, Johnson had regained the lead after passing Biffle through Turns 3 and 4.

Two tires didn’t work, but neither did four.

After a slower-than-usual pit stop on Lap 183 — under caution for Robby Gordon’s spin off Turn 4 — Johnson restarted fourth on Lap 186. Within three laps he had run down David Reutimann, Edwards and Biffle to regain the top spot.

NASCAR Race Number 25
Unofficial Race Results for the Pepsi “500″ - Sunday, August 31, 2008
Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA - 2 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 250 Laps - 500 Miles - Purse: $6,165,509

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet 250 195 10 $314,611 Running 8 228
2 15 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 250 175 5 $185,375 Running 5 12
3 21 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 250 165 $178,091 Running
4 33 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 250 160 $170,786 Running
5 37 17 Matt Kenseth R&L Carriers Ford 250 160 5 $169,941 Running 1 1
6 26 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 250 150 $153,300 Running
7 11 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 250 146 $120,225 Running
8 4 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 250 142 $141,691 Running
9 12 44 David Reutimann UPS/Toys For Tots Toyota 250 143 5 $108,075 Running 1 3
10 31 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 250 134 $120,150 Running
11 18 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 250 130 $108,750 Running
12 19 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 250 127 $107,825 Running
13 22 6 David Ragan AAA Insurance Ford 250 129 5 $108,475 Running 1 1
14 2 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 250 126 5 $98,225 Running 1 1
15 3 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet 250 123 5 $143,636 Running 1 2
16 17 12 Ryan Newman Kodak Dodge 250 115 $135,225 Running
17 27 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 250 117 5 $137,508 Running 1 1
18 5 10 Patrick Carpentier # Sears Auto Center Dodge 250 109 $96,700 Running
19 7 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 250 106 $125,458 Running
20 23 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco/Havoline Dodge 250 103 $124,033 Running
21 24 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerois Racing/Betty Crocker/Totinos Dodge 250 100 $130,086 Running
22 14 20 Tony Stewart Subway/Home Depot Toyota 250 97 $137,936 Running
23 42 38 David Gilliland CitiFinancial Ford 249 94 $111,608 Running
24 13 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 249 91 $99,725 Running
25 39 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 249 88 $107,958 Running
26 16 5 Casey Mears Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet 249 85 $105,800 Running
27 41 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 249 82 $117,964 Running
28 34 28 Travis Kvapil Hitachi Power Tools Ford 249 79 $117,739 Running
29 8 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 249 76 $104,583 Running
30 10 8 Aric Almirola U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 249 73 $124,533 Running
31 32 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Penske Truck Rental Dodge 249 70 $132,900 Running
32 40 21 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Ford 249 67 $105,595 Running
33 30 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota 249 69 5 $99,808 Running 1 1
34 6 19 Elliott Sadler McDonald’s Dodge 249 61 $113,495 Running
35 35 00 Mike Skinner Affliction Clothing Toyota 249 58 $96,647 Running
36 25 01 Regan Smith # DEI/The Principal Financial Group Chevrolet 249 55 $95,050 Running
37 29 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 249 52 $95,000 Running
38 38 45 Kyle Petty Wells Fargo Dodge 249 49 $86,950 Running
39 9 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 248 46 $86,900 Running
40 36 7 Robby Gordon Monster Energy Dodge 248 43 $94,850 Running
41 28 96 Ken Schrader DLP HDTV Toyota 247 40 $94,805 Running
42 43 08 Johnny Sauter FUBAR All Natural Dodge 161 37 $86,740 Overheating
43 20 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 67 34 $86,212 Accident
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 70,000 - Jimmie Johnson won the Pepsi 500, his 36th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and third at Auto Club Speedway. Prior to the green flag the following driver(s) dropped to the rear: #10 Patrick Carpentier (transmission)
Failed to Qualify: (1) 70 Tony Raines.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 36 Mins, 03 Secs. Average Speed: 138.857 MPH Margin of Victory: 2.076 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 34 laps: Laps: 5-8 (debris); 21-24 (debris); 44-46 (#2 spun turn 1); 70-73 (#78 accident turn 2); 147-152 (debris); 162-165 (debris.); 182-186 (#7 accident turn 4); 219-222 (debris).
Lead Changes: 20 among 9 drivers: J. Johnson (Pole); A. Allmendinger 1; J. Johnson 2-70; M. Waltrip 71; J. Johnson 72-73; G. Biffle 74; J. Johnson 75-110; G. Biffle 111; M. Kenseth 112; J. Gordon 113-114; J. Johnson 115-147; D. Ragan 148; J. Johnson 149-162; G. Biffle 163-167; J. Johnson 168-182; J. Burton 183; D. Reutimann 184-186; G. Biffle 187-188; J. Johnson 189-219; G. Biffle 220-222; J. Johnson 223-250.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) Kyle Busch 3,755;(2) C. Edwards 3,547;(3) J. Johnson 3,386;(4) D. Earnhardt Jr. 3,323;(5) J. Burton 3,234;(6) G. Biffle 3,159;(7) K. Harvick 3,132;(8) T. Stewart 3,110;(9) M. Kenseth 3,081;(10) J. Gordon 3,074;(11) D. Hamlin 3,065;(12) C. Bowyer 2,989.
Coors Light Pole Award : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (180.397 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Kasey Kahne, #9
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 (178.306 mph, Lap 154) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Jimmie Johnson, #48
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : David Reutimann, #44 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Greg Biffle, #16 (-.701 sec Avg. Imprv.)
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Patrick Carpentier, #10 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Jimmie Johnson, #48
USG Improving the Finish : Matt Kenseth, #17 (32 Places) WIX Lap Leader : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (228 Laps)
Next Race: Sep. 6, 2008 - Richmond International Raceway