Race 24: Sharpie 500 at Bristol

THE STARTING GRID:





THE WINNER:
#99-Carl Edwards claimed his second straight Sprint Cup win with his second consecutive Sharpie 500 victory, taking his sixth checkered flag of the season in an electrifying finish. Despite smacking the outside wall off turn four with the right-rear of his car, Edwards still won the pole on Friday, his first of the season, and shook off the disappointment of a poor finish in the Nationwide race to lead all but one of the opening 54 laps. Thanks in part to the fast lapped car of #42-Juan Pablo Montoya that blocked the leaders, point leader #18-Kyle Busch then took the lead on lap 55 and went on to dominate much of the race, dropping Edwards to an often-distant 2nd place in a car that was somewhat loose. Where Busch was good on long green-flag runs and he constantly beat everybody off pit road, Edwards was very good on restarts and the final few cautions played right into his hands. With 31 to go, eight laps after the eighth and final caution of the night, Edwards pulled the bump-and-run on Busch going into turn one and led the rest of the way. Busch returned the favor by body-slamming Edwards in turn two on the cooldown lap, to which Edwards promptly responded by spinning Busch on the backstretch and puckering his left-front fender, much the delight of the capacity crowd. Led 84 laps.













RESULTS:
1) #99-Carl Edwards THE WINNER!
2) #18-Kyle Busch A very difficult week for Joe Gibbs Racing in the wake of their Nationwide teams’ controversial actions at Michigan ended with a different kind of controversy. After winning the Craftsman Truck race and qualifying 9th for the Cup race, he flew up through the pack and passed #99-Edwards for the lead on lap 55 after the leaders were held-up behind #42-Montoya’s lapped car. After that, he dominated the race, often by more than a full second, and consistently won the battle off pit road. However, the final cluster of cautions put #99-Edwards back on his rear bumper, the eighth and final caution with 39 to go ultimately leading to #99-Edwards bumping him out of the lead in turn one with 31 to go. #99-Edwards had been the first driver to take the lead from him since he first took it on lap 55. He tried to get back at #99-Edwards by with a light bump to the rear bumper in turn three, but fell back after that to wrestle with teammate #11-Hamlin for 2nd. After the finish, he promptly retaliated with a congratulatory doorslam to #99-Edwards in turn two on the victory lap followed by another that nearly put #99-Edwards in the wall. #99-Edwards then cut a hard left and spun him out and, after chasing him down, ended up going down pit road. Led a race-high 415 laps, tying #17-Kenseth’s laps led mark in this race back in 2005.
3) #11-Denny Hamlin Slowly moved into the picture from the 21st spot by moving up to 9th on lap 154 and was never far from the top 10 after that. When #99-Edwards pulled the bump-and-run on #18-Ky. Busch with 31 to go, he got in on the action, trying to get past #18-Ky. Busch on the outside for 2nd. #18-Ky. Busch still held him off, but he still cored a much-needed top 5 finish.
4) #29-Kevin Harvick Hovered around his 6th starting spot early on, running 7th on lap 80 as the cars in front of him (#01-Smith, #12-Newman, and #44-Reutimann) still struggled to get by the #42-Montoya road block. He barely missed involvement in the tremendous third caution of the race on lap 216 despite running behind #07-Bowyer, his less-fortunate teammate. In the final run to the checkers, he looked to have the fastest car on the racetrack, passing #24-J. Gordon for the 4th position just before the finish.
5) #24-Jeff Gordon Still looking for that first win of the season, he looked very strong in the early going, shoving #99-Edwards past #44-Reutimann and into the lead at the very start. As the leaders struggled to pass the lapped car of #42-Montoya, he edged ahead of #99-Edwards on the outside to lead lap 49, held onto 2nd, then took 2nd from #99-Edwards on lap 58 after #18-Ky. Busch had passed them both. Still among the leaders, but not in the lead, he was shoved up the track by #20-Stewart on lap 233 in a race for position. Led 1 lap.
6) #12-Ryan Newman Moved from the 12th starting spot to 6th on lap 70 and was briefly in 2nd when he followed leader #18-Ky. Busch off pit road under the second caution on lap 195. His car started to fall back after the lap 206 restart, dropping him to 6th, but he was able to regroup when the third caution fell just ten laps later.
7) #07-Clint Bowyer After it was announced that he would move to Richard Childress’ new #33 team in 2009 with #5-Mears taking over his ride, he narrowly lost the Nationwide race to Brad Keselowski after a late slip, but had a good points day with the struggles of #99-Edwards. He had an adventurous race on Saturday as well, climbing from 22nd to the top 10 in the first 100 laps, then dropping from 9th to 12th after an altercation with #88-Earnhardt, Jr. ended with him getting shoved up the track. His race took a different turn when, still running with the leaders, he was involved in the tremendous lap 216 wreck when #5-Mears, just after hitting the outside wall, turned hard left and hit him directly on the right-rear tire, knocking the tow end out so bad that his tire was turned in at a very sharp angle. Despite the contact, he managed to barely avoid contact with the outside wall when his car tried to go straight up the banking. Still, he was furious. Believing #55-Waltrip was to blame, he radioed in that “Michael Waltrip is the worst driver ever,” even questioning NAPA’s decision to re-sign with #55-Waltrip. The crew was able to make the cosmetic sheetmetal repairs to the top of his right-front fender and give him new tires, and though he stayed on the lead lap in a race with less than 20 cars on the same lap as the leader, he found himself out of the Chase with #6-Ragan, then running 11th, in his 12th-place Chase spot. Still, despite all this, he gained 3 spots on pit road under the fourth caution on lap 281 and fought his way around #6-Ragan and back into the top 10. On lap 387, he was back up to 9th with #6-Ragan in 10th, 4 points ahead of #6-Ragan for 12th.
8) #20-Tony Stewart Started a disappointing 28th, but promptly made use of every groove on the track to make up ground, running the high, middle, and low lines to make it up to 13th on lap 94. By lap 135, he was in 8th, having gained the most spots of any driver up to that point (20). Firmly in the top 10 and in traffic, he had nowhere to go when #77-Hornish, Jr. caused #09-Marlin to check up in front of him, his car clipping the left-rear of #09-Marlin and sending #09-Marlin spinning to the inside. He later made contact with #24-J. Gordon in a race for position on lap 233, first pushing #24-J. Gordon up the track, then banging doors with #24-J. Gordon as he passed.
9) #17-Matt Kenseth Solid night looked like it wasn’t going to happen early on when he was lapped in the 21st spot by #18-Ky. Busch on lap 182. He ironically benefitted most from the huge wreck that brought out the third caution and, eventually, the red flag on lap 216 when he got the Lucky Dog.
10) #6-David Ragan His fight to get into the Chase faced a setback during qualifying on Friday when, right before clocking in the 27th fastest time on his first lap, he lost control off turn four and slammed the inside wall going into turn one. The car was totaled, forcing him to a backup car in the back of the pack. By lap 135, he had moved up to 24th and was one of the biggest climbers through the field. From there, he fought his way into the top 10 and raced #07-Bowyer for the 12th spot in points until #07-Bowyer passed a few more cars in the final laps.
11) #16-Greg Biffle Despite his Bristol prowess and 14th-place starting spot, he was about a 15th-place car early on, then edged near the top 10 late.
12) #26-Jamie McMurray After starting way back in 41st, he came seemingly out of nowhere after the tremendous third caution on lap 216 to climb into the 9th position on lap 262.
13) #8-Aric Almirola Despite starting 23rd, he was just as strong as he had been in the spring Bristol race and, quietly up to 13th on lap 154, looked determined to back up that 8th-place finish. In fact, he was running 8th again on lap 262 with only a narrow tiremark along the right side of his Chevrolet. Still 8th with 50 laps to go, he got tight running up high and grazed the wall in turns three and four, but was saved by the seventh caution for debris that fell two laps later.
14) #01-Regan Smith (R) Was the top-finishing rookie for the seventh time this season, the first time since Loudon in July, and is again closing on #77-Hornish, Jr. with a series-leading eight times. Tied his best-career qualifying run from Pocono in June with a 4th place starting spot and, like #44-Reutimann, managed to stay near the front, running 3rd on lap 37, 5th on lap 55, and 4th on lap 70. He slipped back around the halfway mark and sustained minor damage in the fourth caution on lap 281 when #28-Kvapil crossed his hood on the frontstretch, making him slap the outside wall and wobble into #22-Blaney, who wrecked into the inside pit wall. Somewhere along the way, he lost at least two laps, getting them back as the Lucky Dog under the fifth caution on lap 344 and the seventh caution with 48 to go, also for debris.
15) #2-Kurt Busch Strangely absent from contention at a track where he has five wins, he lost a lap in the early going and got the Lucky Dog under the second caution on lap 195. He lost ground again under the second caution of the night when he was forced to the tail end of the longest line for being too fast entering pit road. The penalty wound up costing him a lap and, after a plastic patch covering a hole in his front bumper came off with 39 to go, the eighth and final caution came out and gave him his lap back.
16) #15-Paul Menard Went down at least a lap in the first half of the race and got a lap back as the Lucky Dog under the fourth caution on lap 281. He nearly got taken out in that very caution when, after being bumped by #83-Vickers going into turn 1, he dove down to the turn one apron in a race to avoid the wrecked car of #22-Blaney sliding down the banking. After he narrowly missed slamming into the right-front of #22-Blaney, the right-rear of his car grazed the front of the wrecked #22-Blaney, which did little more than loosen his rear bumper cover. He got his other lap back as the Lucky Dog under the sixth caution on lap 365 (for debris).
17) #70-Tony Raines Another of the many surprises in qualifying with a 20th place starting spot, the right side of his car was utterly covered in black donuts by lap 324 when he bounced off #44-Reutimann in a very physical battle down the frontstretch, #43-B. Labonte running down low to make it a three-wide battle.
18) #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He struggled mightily in qualifying and started 40th, but the task of making up ground became even tougher when he jumped the start of the race and passed about four cars on the outside before he got to the start/finish line. He was black-flagged on lap 7 for a pass-through penalty and was trapped a lap down to the field. Furious, he raced very hard through the field and damaged the left-front fender of his car after making contact with the right-rear of #07-Bowyer on lap 111, following that up with shoving #07-Bowyer up the track in the next corner. Handling was again an issue as when he had problems with his right-rear tire chattering on lap 149, preventing him “from putting the power down” on the straightaways. He finally moved up to being the first car one lap down on the lap 370 restart following the sixth caution (for debris), but could not get his lap back before the end of the race. Finally, he ran over the plastic patch that came off #2-Ku. Busch and brought out the eighth and final caution of the race with 39 to go, but fortunately did not wreck.
19) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya After sponsor Texaco/Havoline announced it would not return to sponsor his or any Sprint Cup team in 2009, he made clear in the early laps that he refused to go a lap down. In fact, once #99-Edwards caught him around lap 46, his car ran so well on the outside that the leaders couldn’t pass, #99-Edwards’ half-second lead over the field evaporating almost immediately. His rolling road block enabled #24-J. Gordon to edge ahead and lead lap 49, and an angry #99-Edwards bumped him on lap 53 to no avail. Two laps later, the closing #18-Ky. Busch, then in 2nd, got around both he and #99-Edwards.
20) #83-Brian Vickers NO NOTES
21) #96-Ken Schrader Qualified an excellent 7th spot, matching his season-best qualifying run at Martinsville in the spring, his most recent Sprint Cup start.
22) #38-David Gilliland Locked his brakes while running on the apron of turns three and four to avoid contact with the disabled #1-Truex, Jr. car during the first caution on lap 97. There may have been some contact at that moment, for by lap 182, he had tire marks scrubbed onto the right-rear quarter-panel of his car.
23) #43-Bobby Labonte NO NOTES
24) #28-Travis Kvapil Lost a lap early and got the Lucky Dog under the first caution on lap 97, then was involved in the opening stages of the fourth caution when he barely crossed the nose of #01-Smith on the frontstretch, causing #01-Smith to break loose and slam doors with #22-Blaney, who was turned hard left and into the inside pit wall.
25) #44-David Reutimann Picked up the best qualifying run of his career with a strong outside-pole starting position for the race and, though #24-J. Gordon shoved #99-Edwards past him on the start, he held on in the top 5 along with #01-Smith, running 4th on lap 37 and 5th on lap 70. He fell out of contention along with #21-Elliott when he tried to escape the big third caution wreck on lap 216 by following #21-Elliott on the apron between turns one and two, but sustained enough damage to the right side of his car to knock him loose and loosen his rear bumper cover. The rear bumper cover began to flap some time later and was further compromised when he bounced off #70-Raines on the frontstretch on lap 324 in a tight battle for position. His rear bumper cover finally came off and landed on the safer barrier off turn four on lap 344, bringing out the fifth caution of the race. His car then ran very high around the track on the lap 350 restart as the race’s intensity continued to build.
26) #21-Bill Elliott Qualified an outstanding 5th at the very track where he had scored his only short track victory and the Wood Brothers had claimed their most recent Sprint Cup victory with #19-E. Sadler in 2001. His car was just as racy when the green flag fell, and on lap 15 was racing hard with young #84-Allmendinger for the 7th spot. He fell out of contention, however, when he tried to escape the big third caution wreck on lap 216 by moving to the apron of turns one and two, the right side of his car grazing the stopped #7-R. Gordon.
27) #66-Scott Riggs NO NOTES
28) #00-Mike Skinner NO NOTES
29) #78-Joe Nemechek Was involved in the second caution of the night on lap 195 when he couldn’t get slowed down fast enough and rear-ended the slowing #31-J. Burton, turning #31-J. Burton into the outside wall.
30) #55-Michael Waltrip Sustained significant damage to the back of his car in the tremendous third caution and first red flag of the race on lap 216 when #5-Mears accidentally crossed his nose and slammed the wall in front of him coming into turn one, #5-Mears bouncing off #07-Bowyer and into the side of his car just as he got drilled in the rear by #9-Kahne, who had been rear-ended by #7-R. Gordon, who had been hit in the left-rear by #41-Sorenson. The pileup spun his car backwards and rear-first into the outside wall.
31) #45-Kyle Petty NO NOTES
32) #19-Elliott Sadler Having recovered from a case of the flu earlier in the week, he qualified a solid 10th, but lost a ton of spots during pit stops under the first caution on lap 97 when he parked in his pit stall at a very sharp angle, forcing him to back up. He then fell out of contention when he was forced to pit under green on lap 117 to fix his loose seatbelt.
33) #48-Jimmie Johnson Bad luck from the wreck in his Craftsman Truck Series debut for owner Randy Moss and an extremely loose car in qualifying carried over to the Sprint Cup event itself. Racing off turn four on lap 27, he again got very loose off the corner and hooked himself off the nose of #09-Marlin at the start/finish line, smacking the wall with his right-front and right-rear. The field swallowed him up as he dropped through the pack with a flat right-rear tire, but the caution wasn’t thrown. He pitted at least twice in the immediate aftermath, the latter stop coming after his splitter started to drag on the track.
34) #84-A.J. Allmendinger Qualified 8th and waged a spirited side-by-side battle with #21-Elliott for the 7th spot on lap 15. Unfortunately, bad luck bit him a few laps later on lap 97 when #1-Truex, Jr. cut a right-front tire while racing beneath him in turns three and four, slamming his car into the wall as well and bringing out the first caution of the race. The right side of his car was flattened and he had visible fender damage.
35) #1-Martin Truex, Jr. Despite being the second-fastest car to #9-Kahne in practice and qualifying 12th, his race did not go as well. On lap 97, he brought out the first caution of the night when he cut a right-front tire between turns three and four and turned hard right, pinning an unfortunate #84-Allmendinger in the wall and severely damaging the front of his own car. He then slid down the banking and #38-Gilliland had to lock his brakes to avoid contact. After his crew made repairs, he returned to the track on lap 213 several laps down.
36) #41-Reed Sorenson Was involved in the third caution and only red flag of the race on lap 216 when he pushed #7-R. Gordon by the left-rear into the back of #9-Kahne, who in turn hit the slowing #55-Waltrip just after #5-Mears made his initial contact with #55-Waltrip. His car only seemed to suffer damage to the top of his right-front fender, but it was nevertheless enough to take him out of contention. He returned to the track several laps later with a piece of sheetmetal missing above his right-front tire.
37) #77-Sam Hornish, Jr. (R) Sparked the second caution of the night on lap 195 when he crossed the nose of the damaged #09-Marlin coming down the frontstretch, peeling the rear bumper cover off his car as #09-Marlin checked-up and was spun by #20-Stewart. His car was destroyed in the big third caution of the race on lap 216 when he was trapped in the outside groove after #55-Waltrip spun and wound up plowing into the rear of #5-Mears. He came back into the race several laps down with the sheetmetal on the front of his car missing sometime in the last 150 laps and limped round the inside of the track by lap 384. As both he and #84-Allmendinger had a hard night, he’s still hanging onto the 35th position in owner’s points by 14 over #84-Allmendinger.
38) #22-Dave Blaney Was having perhaps his best race of the year, running a solid 12th when the second caution came out on lap 195. Unfortunately, he was taken out in the fourth caution of the night on lap 281 when #28-Kvapil barely hooked himself across the front of #01-Smith, who wobbled and slammed doors with him. Upon contact, he immediately turned hard left and slammed head-on into the inside wall (in the same spot where #6-Ragan wrecked in qualifying) and slid up the banking in turn one. When his disabled car slid down the track, #15-Menard just barely got by, the right-rear of #15-Menard grazing the front of his car just hard enough to loosen the rear bumper cover of #15-Menard. His wreck happened just in front of #18-Ky. Busch, who followed #15-Menard at a slower pace and greater distance from the wreck.
39) #7-Robby Gordon Was taken out in the tremendous wreck that was the third caution and only red flag of the race when he followed the slowing #9-Kahne and was pushed in the left-rear by #41-Sorenson into the rear of #9-Kahne who, in turn, spun #55-Waltrip. His car then slipped down the banking, where the duo of #21-Elliott and #44-Reutimann made contact with his wreck with the right side of their cars while trying to slip by on the inside. He returned to the race several laps down and was limping around the bottom of the track by lap 391.
40) #9-Kasey Kahne Fastest in practice on Friday and 13th on the grid, he was up to 6th on lap 154, but had absolutely nowhere to go in the huge wreck on lap 216 that brought out the third caution and first red flag when he was shunted by #7-R. Gordon and #41-Sorenson into the back of #55-Waltrip so hard that the rear of his car lifted off the ground and his front end was utterly destroyed. He still managed to make a few more laps before parking his car with 91 laps to go.
41) #5-Casey Mears Surprising announcement came early in the weekend that he would be the new driver of Richard Childress’ #07 in 2009, moving #07-Bowyer to Childress’ new #33 team. Misfortune persisted, however, in the race when he inadvertently sparked a tremendous wreck on lap 216 that brought out the third caution and the red flag. When his spotter incorrectly said he was clear of #55-Waltrip on the frontstretch, he moved up and wound up hooking himself off the front of #55-Waltrip and into the outside wall. His car then hung a hard left down the banking in turn one and made contact with the right-front tire of #07-Bowyer, sending both he and #07-Bowyer up the track. While #07-Bowyer avoided the wall, he wound up clipping #55-Waltrip into a spin and getting slammed by #77-Hornish, Jr., who was trapped in the high groove.
42) #31-Jeff Burton The spring Bristol winner looked to be having another solid night, running 8th on lap 154, and was still around that spot when he got wrapped up in the second caution of the night on lap 195. At the moment #09-Marlin spun some distance in front of him, he slowed down, but was rear-ended going into the turn by #78-Nemechek, turning his car hard right into the outside wall. After bouncing off #09-Marlin, he slid down the track and left a long trail of fluids from beneath the engine.
43) #09-Sterling Marlin Solidly made the field in the 24th spot, but was the victim of early misfortune when the loose car of #48-Johnson crossed his nose and smacked him into outside the wall at the start/finish line, the incident failing to bring out a caution. After making some stops, his car proceeded to run very high around the track for much of the night. His car was finished off in the second caution of the night on lap 195 when #77-Hornish, Jr. tried to merge on top of him on the fronstretch, making him check up with the nose of his car peeling the rear bumper cover off #77-Hornish, Jr. At that moment, #20-Stewart clipped his left-rear and sent him spinning to the inside and up the banking in turn one where he was hit on the right side by the disabled car of #31-J. Burton.

DID NOT QUALIFY:
#10-Patrick Carpentier (R)
#34-Jeff Green
#08-Johnny Sauter

WITHDREW:
#50-Stanton Barrett

Race 23: 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo at Michigan

THE STARTING GRID:






THE WINNER:
On a day where a slick race track on a sunny afternoon wreaked havoc with several Chase contenders, #99-Carl Edwards claimed his fifth victory of the season in convincing style. Edwards had qualified back in 27th, but vaulted up 22 spots in the first 34 spots to get into the top 5, swerving to toss a water bottle out of his car on the backstretch on lap 60, and racing into the lead on lap 74, where he barely avoided involvement in the second caution on lap 85 when #22-Dave Blaney wrecked just a few carlengths in front of him. From there, Edwards’ pit crew consistently got him off pit road fast while Edwards himself saved his car from spinning in turn two on lap 154, reeled in #18-Ky. Busch, who was concerned about his right-front tire, and made the winning pass on teammate #6-David Ragan with 18 to go after the fifth caution was thrown for debris. Though two more cautions fell in the final 13 laps, the latter setting up a two-lap shootout with point leader #18-Ky. Busch, Edwards still pulled an excellent restart and cruised to the checkers. With the victory and the Nationwide Series win the day before, Edwards became the first driver since Mark Martin in 1993 to sweep both events in the same weekend. Edwards led a race-high 84 laps.













RESULTS:
1) #99-Carl Edwards THE WINNER!
2) #18-Kyle Busch Running the same extremely-low line he used in the June race, he flew up to 3rd on lap 29 and hardly ever left the top 5 after that. For most of the day, he was chasing #99-Edwards, #88-Earnhardt, Jr., and #83-Vickers, but ultimately found #99-Edwards to be his most difficult combatant as the two started their fight for the lead on lap 93. At that point, the aggressive driver ironically complained his own car was way too loose, but was fortunately able to make adjustments when the third caution fell just four laps later. He remained 2nd behind #99-Edwards and was 4 seconds behind the leader on lap 131, then right on the rear bumper of #99-Edwards on lap 142 after the second round of green-flag stops was completed. He had gained a lot of that ground by smoking his brakes after speeding up to the commitment cone on pit road, then taking two tires. It was on lap 142 that he also took the lead for the first time in the race by passing #99-Edwards and rocketing out to a 7 second lead by the time the fourth caution came out on lap 165. The 7 second lead vanished along with the lead itself when #83-Vickers beat him off pit road and, though he promptly retook the lead on the restart with 31 to go, he then became concerned with 24 to go that his right-front tire had lost grip much earlier than expected. News of this concern soon reached #99-Edwards, who closed in even faster before the fifth caution came out for debris with 21 to go. Though everyone but #6-Ragan and #88-Earnhardt, Jr. followed him onto pit road, he lost the lead to #99-Edwards in the pits and could not climb through the pack fast enough on the restart with 18 to go. He also had trouble disposing of #6-Ragan during the following restart with 10 to go which came after the race’s sixth caution and, though the seventh and final caution gave him two more laps to try again, he could not catch #99-Edwards. Led 34 laps.
3) #6-David Ragan Qualifying 16th, he hovered near the top 10 in the first half of the race, running 13th on lap 53, then up to 5th on lap 102. He successfully defended his top 5 run with a combination of a fast 11.9 second pit stop under the fourth caution on lap 165, a late decision to stay out with #88-Earnhardt, Jr. and inherit the lead under the fifth caution with 21 to go, and an uncanny ability to hold off and race an aggressive #18-Ky. Busch for the second spot with 10 to go before, at last, hanging on to finish 3rd. The finish tied him with #07-Bowyer for 13th in points, both of them just 26 points away from #11-Hamlin for 12th. Led 3 laps.
4) #16-Greg Biffle Running near the front after starting 9th, he moved into the lead past teammate #99-Edwards on lap 92 and held it briefly before #99-Edwards, then hunted by #18-Ky. Busch, retook it the very next lap. Led 1 lap.
5) #17-Matt Kenseth Was plagued with the same terrible loose condition that affected much of the field and had to make several adjustments to his car as early as the first caution on lap 19. Still, he was competitive, running up to 11th on lap 40. A late two-tire stop put him up to the top 10, where he raced former teammate #8-Martin so hard for the fifth spot that he bounced off the outside wall coming off the final turn, but kept his foot in it.
6) #8-Mark Martin Silently moved into the top 10 late with a well-timed 4-tire stop and raced hard on the inside of former teammate #17-Kenseth as the two battled off the final corner to the finish line.
7) #83-Brian Vickers Running a "first-generation COT" from 2007 while at least #18-Ky. Busch and the Michael Waltrip cars ran newer models, he scored the fifth pole of his Sprint Cup career and the first for Team Red Bull in outstanding fashion, outpacing the field by more than 0.3 sec. after being fastest in the day’s practice session. He was quickly passed at the start by #48-Johnson and #88-Earnhardt, Jr., but remained in the top 5 for much of the race. He was the fastest car on the track on lap 44 as he caught the slowing #88-Earnhardt, Jr. and took the lead from #88-Earnhardt, Jr. on lap 49. He held on to the top 5 for several laps, but fell to 6th on lap 153, fearing that his car was losing power when, in fact, it was just getting very loose. A 2-tire stop got him back in the lead again after the fourth caution of the race on lap 165, which he held very briefly until #18-Ky. Busch retook the lead from him on the restart with 31 to go. Led 21 laps.
8) #29-Kevin Harvick Was another driver who rocketed up toward the lead in the early going, rallying from the 38th starting spot to 14th in the first 40 laps in a car that was 2nd-fastest in Happy Hour to #99-Edwards. He inched up to 11th by 24 to go and seemed to benefit from the final three cautions that allowed him to move into the top ten.
9) #19-Elliott Sadler Scored another solid run in the same car he used to finish 4th with at Indianapolis, qualifying third before picking up another top ten.
10) #26-Jamie McMurray Quietly matched his finish in the June race.
11) #31-Jeff Burton Led 1 lap.
12) #20-Tony Stewart Fighting an extremely loose race car which, like #17-Kenseth’s, seemed unresponsive to his crew’s changes, he struggled to make up positions from the 21st starting spot, but made up most of that ground in the final laps. His was the car that accidentally set off the chain-reaction that took #48-Johnson and #24-J. Gordon out of competition on lap 91 when, while running up high in a four-wide battle off turn three with the Hendrick duo and #41-Sorenson, he twitched left and bumped #48-Johnson into #24-J. Gordon.
13) #28-Travis Kvapil His excellent finish put him on the inside of #77-Hornish’s excellent save in turn two on lap 108 and the outside of #48-Johnson’s final corner spin, avoiding damage in both incidents.
14) #44-David Reutimann Even after UPS announced it would not return to his team in 2009, he had another solid weekend in his 50th Sprint Cup start, qualifying 4th and remaining just outside the top 10 for much of the day.
15) #66-Scott Riggs A season-best finish vaulted him from 37th to 35th in owner’s points, bouncing out #84-Allmendinger. Led 1 lap.
16) #1-Martin Truex, Jr. Received the Lucky Dog under the fourth caution on lap 165.
17) #48-Jimmie Johnson Was pushed to the lead from his outside-pole starting spot going into turn one on the first lap by teammate #88-Earnhardt, Jr. and held the spot until #88-Earnhardt, Jr. passed him down the backstretch on lap 8. He then regained the lead off pit road under the first caution, then lost it again to teammate #88-Earnhardt, Jr. on lap 29. On lap 91, he was outside the top 10 in a four-wide battle off turn three with #20-Stewart to his outside and #24-J. Gordon to his inside with #41-Sorenson on the bottom when #20-Stewart twitched left, causing his left-front fender to crunch against the right-front tire of #24-J. Gordon. The contact caused the fender to crush on his tire, sending up a plume of smoke, and he pitted under green on the following lap, dropping him down a lap to the leaders. After narrowly losing the Lucky Dog to #84-Allmendinger under the third caution on lap 97, he finally got it under the sixth caution with 13 to go. He was running 13th on the inside of #28-Kvapil off the final corner when his car suddenly broke loose and spun through the grass, dropping him a few positions. Led 12 laps.
18) #5-Casey Mears NO NOTES
19) #55-Michael Waltrip A well-timed top 20 finish after NAPA announced it would return to sponsor his team in 2009.
20) #07-Clint Bowyer NO NOTES
21) #12-Ryan Newman His announced move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 as driver of the #4 (later changed to #39) was unfortunately followed by engine troubles in the practice session before qualifying which forced him to start at the back of the pack after qualifying 20th. Fighting handling problems, he was the first car to make a green-flag stop on lap 63, but was still too loose and wound up bringing out the second caution of the race on lap 85 when he broke loose on the outside of turn two, merged on top of #15-Menard, and clipped the right-rear of #22-Blaney, sending #22-Blaney hard into the outside wall. He then dove to the inside directly in front of leader #99-Edwards, who himself barely avoided contact.
22) #77-Sam Hornish, Jr. (R) Became the highest-finishing rookie for a series-leading eighth time this season, doing so for the first time since the last Michigan race back in June. The highest-finishing rookie for the series-leading eighth time this season and first time since the June event at the same Michigan track, he scraped the outside wall while running the high line in turn two on lap 2, then did an excellent job hanging on to a very loose race car on lap 108 when #28-Kvapil raced up to his rear bumper in turn two.
23) #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The June winner pushed teammate #48-Johnson to the lead going into turn one on the first lap, then passed #48-Johnson going down the backstretch on lap 8. He lost the lead to #48-Johnson on pit road under the first caution, then got it back three laps after the lap 26 restart. All the while, concerns arose about his water temperature climbing to 260 degrees due to several bits of debris clogging the already-small hole on his grille. After his grille was cleared under the first caution, it was re-clogged under green, leaving him alone out front with no means to clear it. He throttled back and let #83-Vickers take the lead from him on lap 49, at which point the debris flew off and his water temperature fell to normal. He regained the lead after the first round of green-flag stops cycled through on lap 68, but was extremely loose and lost the lead to #99-Edwards on lap 74. Under the second caution on lap 85, he had an excellent pit stop despite a track bar adjustment and remained near the leaders. As the race then shifted toward #99-Edwards and #18-Ky. Busch, he remained nearby and then made a strategy call on the fifth caution to stay out with #6-Ragan as the rest of the field pitted. While #6-Ragan thrived on the ensuing restart with 18 to go, he struggled, breaking loose and smacking the turn two wall where the soft wall met the concrete barrier, thus ripping a hole in the passenger side of his car. The debris brought out the sixth caution of the race with 13 to go, at which time he had already pitted for repairs to get him to the finish. Led 43 laps.
24) #15-Paul Menard Was involved in the race’s second caution on lap 85 when #12-Newman broke loose to his right in turn two and merged on top of him, #12-Newman hooking himself off his nose and into #22-Blaney. He did avoid any significant damage in the incident.
25) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya NO NOTES
26) #38-David Gilliland NO NOTES
27) #43-Bobby Labonte NO NOTES
28) #84-A.J. Allmendinger Though his crew was able to make repairs to his car after he scraped the wall in Happy Hour, he found himself having to make an extended stop under the first caution on lap 19 when apparent contact with another car on pit road made his crew put a patch of tape on the upper part of his right-front fender. He lost a lap during one of the long green-flag runs in the race, then got the Lucky Dog under the third caution of the race on lap 97. The race was the first in which he had a guaranteed starting spot, but unfortunately, when #66-Riggs picked up a top 20, he was bumped back out again, 13 points behind #66-Riggs for 35th.
29) #01-Regan Smith (R) Scored an impressive eighth-place starting spot.
30) #10-Patrick Carpentier (R) His qualifying prowess scoring him an outstanding sixth-place starting spot, he moved past teammate #19-E. Sadler for 5th and was still running there when the first caution fell on lap 19. On the ensuing restart, he missed a shift and slipped back to the 7th spot. From there, he dropped back in the running order, losing a lap to leader #99-Edwards on lap 137 after getting very loose in front of #99-Edwards, but saving it.
31) #70-Tony Raines Sustained damage to the right-front fender of his car with 31 to go when, while jammed in a five-wide battle off turn two, he wobbled into the left-rear tire of #2-Ku. Busch and nearly spun.
32) #45-Terry Labonte Scored a surprising 17th-place starting spot.
33) #41-Reed Sorenson After being involved in the lap 67 pit road incident with #22-Blaney, he was also the car to #24-J. Gordon’s inside during the ill-fated four-wide battle on lap 91 that damaged both #24-J. Gordon and #48-Johnson. Crew chief Donnie Wingo was later fined as the car was found to have an improperly-attached weight.
34) #78-Joe Nemechek NO NOTES
35) #00-Mike Skinner Began his fill-in for #00-McDowell to evaluate the team much as he had for #84-Allmendinger to great success in the spring.
36) #2-Kurt Busch His quiet run got a rude awakening in the final laps when, on the restart with 31 laps to go which followed the fourth caution of the race when he was jammed in the middle of a five-wide battle for position off turn two as he raced back in the pack. There, he and #70-Raines made contact when #70-Raines wobbled and ground the #70's right-front fender against his left-rear tire. The next lap, as he entered turn three, he slowed abruptly as the left-rear tire cut down, making him drift along the edge of the infield grass before he regained control. No caution was thrown as a result, however, dropping him further back in the running order.
37) #7-Robby Gordon NO NOTES
38) #96-Brad Coleman (R) Made his Sprint Cup debut as the new driver of the #96 car, squeezing past #08-Sauter on Friday to take the final spot in the field, and ran a quiet race, staying out of trouble.
39) #11-Denny Hamlin Angered by his team’s constant struggles in qualifying, Sunday proved to be just as much of a challenge when he was gaining spots in the first couple runs, climbing from the 37th starting spot to 22nd by lap 40, but was still a full second off the leader’s pace. Despite this, he still rallied into the top 10 by around lap 140 and looked to be turning his luck around. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as his engine blew with just 6 laps to go, bringing out the seventh and final caution of the race. The poor finish dropped him to 12th in points, just 26 points ahead of both #07-Bowyer and #6-Ragan in 13th and 14th.
40) #9-Kasey Kahne Though running the same car he had so much success with at both the June Michigan race and at Indianapolis, he never contended for a top 10 finish and was very loose, running 23rd on lap 108 after starting 32nd. By around lap 134, his engine started to go flat and smoke in the car forced him to pit on lap 136, then promptly go behind the wall with a dropped cylinder. He returned to run a few laps before dropping out of the event.
41) #22-Dave Blaney Made contact with #41-Sorenson on pit road during the first round of green flag stops on lap 67, but did not sustain much more than minor damage to his right-front fender. He then received much more significant damage in the second caution of the race on lap 85 when, while racing off turn two, #12-Newman broke loose to his far right and turned off the nose of #15-Menard and into his right-rear, sending him spinning 180 degrees into the backstretch wall. Though he slammed the wall hard enough to hit the back of the roof of his car as he lifted on two wheels, he was not only uninjured, but returned to the race several laps down.
42) #24-Jeff Gordon Frustrating weekend seemed to come out of nowhere after his car proved to be very fast, fast enough to give him the fifth starting spot. On race day, his car proved to be way too tight and his pit crew was way too slow. His first pit stop under the first caution on lap 19 angered him as it took him out of the top 5. Another slow stop under green on lap 67 took 15.7 seconds and dropped him back once again, the right side of his car by then scuffed up from scraping the wall in an earlier incident. Then, under the second caution on lap 85, he had yet another terrible stop when a tire changer dropped some lugnuts, a costly stop that dropped him from 5th to 15th. Things didn’t get any better on the restart when, while racing in the middle of a four-wide battle off turn four on lap 91, #20-Stewart shunted teammate #48-Johnson down against him, damaging both his right-front tire and the left-front fender of #48-Johnson. He continued on the track after the contact until the right-front tire blew on lap 97, sending him hard into the turn two wall and bringing out the third caution of the race. He returned to competition many laps down, dropping debris which brought out the fourth caution on lap 165, before parking his car with 26 to go.
43) #21-Marcos Ambrose (R) Was unfortunately unable to defend his strong run at Watkins Glen when, after qualifying for his fourth race of the season, he brought out the first caution of the day on lap 19 when his engine blew on the backstretch. The large puddle of oil left under his car on pit road forced the caution to be out a while longer before cars were allowed to make their first pit stops.

DID NOT QUALIFY:
#08-Tony Raines