Race 31: Bank of America 500 at Lowe's

THE STARTING GRID:

THE WINNER:
In a race in which the leader often ran away from the field until cautions and pit stops mixed-up the field, #31-Jeff Burton, 2nd in the Nationwide race the night before, was the surprise winner, twitching momentarily as he reached the finish line. After running in the top 5 all day and taking three fuel-only stops late in the race, he moved past #16-Greg Biffle with 58 laps to go, held off #48-Jimmie Johnson in a thrilling side-by-side race with 33 to go, and beat a hard-charging #9-Kasey Kahne to pick up his 2nd win of the season, his first since Bristol in March. Burton’s crew chief was particularly relieved after the race as he was concerned the #31 didn’t have enough fuel to make it if there was a green-white-checkered finish. The win moved him up from 4th to 2nd in points, just 69 points behind leader #48-Johnson. Led 58 laps.


RESULTS:
1) #31-Jeff Burton** THE WINNER!
2) #9-Kasey Kahne Started his 175th Sprint Cup race, determined to become the first driver in Sprint Cup history to win the All-Star Race and both points races at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. His car was not quite competitive enough to contend for the lead early in the race and he even lost a lap before getting the Lucky Dog under the sixth caution when debris was spotted in turn three on lap 187. He then came alive in the final part of the race. He passed #2-Ku. Busch for 3rd with 22 to go, passed #48-Johnson for 2nd with 14 to go, and was the fastest car on the track. He closed within less than a second of #31-J. Burton, but ran out of time. Still, the race was his best finish since Michigan in June.
3) #2-Kurt Busch Had his best run since the July Daytona event with a strong race in the final laps, following #9-Kahne up to 2nd and 3rd in the final stages even after he banged doors with #42-Montoya going into turn one with around 39 laps to go.
4) #18-Kyle Busch** Looked to get back in the swing of things after picking up the victory in the Nationwide race the night before, his 20th NASCAR-sanctioned win of the season. He inched towards the leaders and nearly beat teammate #20-Stewart off pit road under the fourth caution of the race on lap 104. This put him in position to take the lead from #20-Stewart on lap 110 before the fifth caution on lap 121. He, like #20-Stewart, was too fast entering pit road with 77 to go and smoked his brakes, but pulled off an inspiring rally in the late stages to pick up by far his best finish of the Chase. Led 14 laps.
5) #26-Jamie McMurray Had an excellent night and picked up his first top-five finish of the season. His crew had worried about damage to the nose of his Ford during green-flag stops on lap 176, but fortunately, none was to be found. He was up to 4th with 41 to go when he feared he had a tire going down, but was saved when the tenth and final caution came out three laps later. The caution saved his race and he was even able to pass #48-Johnson in the final few laps.
6) #48-Jimmie Johnson** Celebrated a special homecoming at “his house,” starting his 250th Sprint Cup race from the rained-out pole as the point leader and 2-time defending Sprint Cup champion in the race where he made his Sprint Cup debut in 2001. He looked to be keeping up the momentum as he was fastest in Happy Hour and led the opening 32 laps. He retook the lead off pit road under the fifth caution on lap 121, then lost it to #83-Vickers on lap 136. In the final stages, he raced #31-J. Burton for the lead very hard on the inside, but couldn’t get off the corner fast enough. His tires got too worn as his car got very loose off the corners and he fell back in the pack during the final few laps. Still holds the point lead by 69 points over race-winner #31-J. Burton. Led a race-high 67 laps.
7) #16-Greg Biffle** Was in the top 5 for just about the entire race and, running speeds faster than #83-Vickers, moved up to a distant 2nd to the #83 on lap 175. He averted a near-disaster under the seventh caution on lap 196 when he and #18-Ky. Busch almost made contact and overcame problems with chattering brakes with 98 to go. He was leading after the ninth caution with 70 to go and tried to fight off #31-J. Burton for several laps before #31-J. Burton made the winning pass. Led 16 laps.
8) #24-Jeff Gordon** On the opening lap, he scuffed the outside wall coming off turn two, then hit the wall off turn four even harder on lap 5, forcing him to pit under green on lap 10. He lost a lap as a result, but got it back as the Lucky Dog when #00-Allmendinger brought out the second caution on lap 54. From there, he marched back up through the field to 17th on lap 96, still on the lead lap, 13th on lap 145, and, improbably, to the lead on lap 204, where he stayed for several laps. He pitted under the ninth caution with 70 to go and fell to 7th as most of the leaders stayed out, but still finished in the top 10. Led 47 laps.
9) #8-Mark Martin Looking to help secure sponsorship for the #8 in the wake of #12-Newman’s Stewart-HAAS announcement, he raced as high as 2nd to #24-J. Gordon on the lap 212 restart following the eighth caution of the race. He made a bid for the lead, but got loose off turn four due to his splitter dragging on the ground.
10) #6-David Ragan Was a fixture in the top 5 in the middle stages of the race, running 4th on lap 159. He was caught speeding onto pit road around lap 176 and proceeded to make up lost ground. He and #7-R. Gordon were on the tail end of the lead lap when the eighth caution fell on lap 206, putting them both back on the lead lap. Led 1 lap.
11) #20-Tony Stewart** Was picked by many in the garage area to be the car to beat. Raced up to 3rd on lap 20 as the fastest car on the track, then leap-frogged #48-Johnson for the lead as they fought heavy traffic. He lost the lead to #48-Johnson on pit road under the first caution when his crew had trouble getting the lugnuts off his right-front wheel. He regained the lead from #48-Johnson on lap 76, just five laps after the restart following the third caution of the race, and held it through pit stops under the fourth caution by edging #18-Ky. Busch off pit road. After wobbling up the track on lap 112, his car got very loose, slipping him back. He wound up trapped in around the 9th position for the rest of the night. An overheating problem from debris on his grille troubled him on lap 167, but he got that repaired during the green-flag stops which preceded the sixth caution on lap 187. He fell back in the running order with teammate #18-Ky. Busch when both sped onto pit road and locked their brakes with 77 to go. Led 42 laps.
12) #07-Clint Bowyer** Scraped the wall hard in practice, but the crew was successfully able to make repairs and he did not have to go to a backup car. This was certainly good news as his car was in the top 5 for much of the day despite making contact with #11-Hamlin on lap 233.
13) #29-Kevin Harvick** Picked up another solid finish despite a dust-up with #99-Edwards in the garage area earlier in the weekend.
14) #1-Martin Truex, Jr. Used pit strategy to lead briefly after the seventh caution of the race on lap 196, then lost it to the resurgent #24-J. Gordon. Led 4 laps.
15) #41-Reed Sorenson Lost a lap early, then received the Lucky Dog when #84-Skinner and #96-Schrader’s crash brought out the third caution on lap 64. He also received the Lucky Dog when #43-B. Labonte and #55-Waltrip’s spin brought out the eighth caution on alp 206. He was the surprise leader when #7-R. Gordon brought out the ninth caution with 70 to go as he had stayed out during that round of green-flag stops. He pitted along with #24-J. Gordon and still scored one of his best finishes of the season. Led 6 laps.
16) #11-Denny Hamlin Still smarting from his hard wreck at Talladega, he sat out the Nationwide race and still ran the full distance on Saturday night. His car suffered damage on lap 233 when he crossed the nose of #07-Bowyer and clipped the outside wall in turn one with the right-rear of his car. The incident did not bring out a caution and he kept going afterwards.
17) #43-Bobby Labonte Was involved in the eighth caution of the race on lap 206 when #55-Waltrip wobbled into him coming off turn four, spinning the two of them through the grass.
18) #83-Brian Vickers After moving his way into the top 10, his car really came alive after the fifth caution of the race, moving up to 3rd on lap 131, 2nd on lap 134, and to the lead on lap 136. His car built up one of the most incredible leads of the night after that, leading by 7.6 seconds on lap 164 and 9 seconds on lap 175. The run was particularly remarkable since his team hadn’t qualified for the race the year before. He fell back after the seventh caution on lap 196 shook up the running order and was struggling in traffic when he bounced off the wall in turns one and two with 81 to go. He slowed on the backstretch and came down pit road with a flat right-front tire. Led 64 laps.
19) #66-Scott Riggs Picked up another solid finish and moved up to 32nd in owner’s points, now a full 102 points ahead of the 35th place #84 team.
20) #19-Elliott Sadler Lost a lap, then received the Lucky Dog under the seventh caution when #70-Raines, #28-Kvapil, #45-McCumbee, and #17-Kenseth’s wreck came on lap 196.
21) #12-Ryan Newman Officially announced that his team would be sponsored by the U.S. Army for 22 races in 2009. He took the lead for the first time by staying out under the fifth caution on lap 121 and actually led a few laps before falling back to 7th by lap 159. He pitted under green on lap 162, then got on the same sequence as the leaders during the sixth and seventh cautions on laps 187 and 196. Led 10 laps.
22) #77-Sam Hornish, Jr. (R) Made the race after his Talladega DNQ as rain washed out four first-time qualifiers from the field, but he was forced to go to a backup car after hitting the wall hard in turn two during practice. This car, too, scuffed the wall on lap 2, then again a few car lengths behind #78-Nemechek, who brought out the first caution on lap 43 when he hit the turn four wall. His car almost hit the outside wall a third time on lap 162 when he wobbled up the track. Just finished ahead of #01-Smith to be the top-finishing rookie for the series-leading ninth time this season, again tying himself with #01-Smith’s nine races ahead of #10-Carpentier with seven and #00-McDowell with six.
23) #01-Regan Smith (R) Got a piece of the second caution on lap 54 when he was racing to the high side of the ill-fated #00-Allmendinger going into turn three. His car twitched left and clipped the right-front of the #00, ultimately turning the #00 into the outside wall. He was also caught speeding coming onto pit road around lap 176 along with #6-Ragan.
24) #55-Michael Waltrip Accidentally sparked the third caution of the race when, while racing low in a three-wide battle through the tri-oval, he clipped the infield grass and bumped into #84-Skinner to his outside, who bumped into #96-Schrader above him. Not long after the restart following the seventh caution of the race, he was involved in the eighth caution on lap 206 when he broke loose off turn four and clipped #43-B. Labonte, the two spinning through the then heavily-traveled grass. Led 1 lap.
25) #38-David Gilliland Lost a lap, then got the Lucky Dog when #78-Nemechek brought out the first caution on lap 43. He also got the Lucky Dog under the fifth caution when #10-M. Wallace spun in turn one on lap 121.
26) #15-Paul Menard May have suffered damage to the nose of his car in the seventh caution of the race on lap 196 when, after banging doors with #21-Elliott through the quad-oval, the #21 hooked #70-Raines into his path en route to the outside wall. Under the eighth caution of the race on lap 206, his crew was seen looking under the hood of his car. He was also black-flagged with 82 to go for the rear panel hanging off the back of his car and pitted the next lap when NASCAR threatened to stop scoring him.
27) #22-Dave Blaney NO NOTES
28) #21-Bill Elliott Was involved in the seventh caution of the race on lap 196 when, while racing in the middle of a tight three-wide battle through the quad-oval, he clipped the rear of #70-Raines, turning the #70 into the outside wall.
29) #5-Casey Mears Was forced to take evasive maneuvers during the eighth caution of the race on lap 206 and cut through the grass, but fortunately did not lose his splitter as #45-McCumbee had earlier.
30) #7-Robby Gordon Went a lap down, then got the Lucky Dog when #88-Earnhardt, Jr.’s accident brought out the fourth caution on lap 104. He was on the tail end of the lead lap with #6-Ragan when the eighth caution fell on lap 206 and got his lap back along with the #6 as a result. His good luck didn’t last, unfortunately, as a broken air gun gave him a slow 26.8 second stop under green with 72 to go. Despite the fact he smoked his brakes coming onto pit road, his crew sent him out with a two-tire stop to make up lost ground. On the backstretch, however, the left-front tire blew, tearing his fender, scattering debris, and bringing out the ninth caution of the race with 70 to go. Led 1 lap.
31) #10-Mike Wallace Took over driving duties in the #10 after Patrick Carpentier was released earlier in the week. He brought out the fifth caution of the race on lap 121 when he suddenly broke loose in turn one and bumped the outside wall with the right-rear corner of his car, causing minor damage.
32) #44-David Reutimann Despite a patch of tape on the right-rear corner of his car from an earlier encounter with the wall, he was up to 11th on lap 145, hoping to back up his first top 10 he scored in May’s 600-mile race. The good run was sadly derailed when he spun on the entrance of pit road during green-flag stops with 76 to go and stalled. The spin must have damaged his engine as, during the ninth caution with 70 to go, he was on pit road with his hood up. Led 1 lap.
33) #99-Carl Edwards** Though he had made amends with his Roush-Fenway teammates after he accidentally sparked the second big wreck at Talladega the previous week, the weekend began inauspiciously with a dust-up in the garage with #29-Harvick. NASCAR intervened, but the weekend for Edwards didn’t improve. After starting outside-pole, he was edging closer to #48-Johnson for the lead on lap 50 when he picked up a vibration. He made an unscheduled green-flag stop on lap 53 and changed two tires, but when #00-Allmendinger brought out the second caution as he left pit road, he lost the Lucky Dog to #38-Gilliland, angering his crew chief. Under the yellow, he pitted again and lost more time when he had to back up after leaving his stall because a crewman had begun changing his left-front tire. Then, during the third caution on lap 67, his car coasted on the apron from a complete ignition failure, causing the restart to be called-off for four more laps. Though he tried frantically to flip several switches in the car, he had to be pushed to the pits. His crew could not get the motor to turn over when changing the spark plugs, and the team was forced to make lengthy repairs in replacing his ignition boxes. He returned to the track on lap 86 a full 16 laps down to the field.
34) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya Brought out the tenth and final caution of the race with 38 to go when, after banging doors with #2-Ku. Busch a couple laps prior, he smacked the outside wall, ending his race.
35) #45-Chad McCumbee (R) Suffered the most unusual misfortunes of the race when he first was forced to cut through the wet grass during the seventh caution on lap 196, the splitter hooking into the grass and ripping off. The splitter remained in one piece and was jammed vertically like a knife into the grass. Not only did his car’s handling suffer as a result, but, during the eighth caution on lap 206, his hood suddenly flapped up on the backstretch, forcing his spotter to guide him onto pit road.
36) #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.** Was again running his extreme-high line around the track and had much success in the early going, racing up to 3rd on lap 33. He was still running respectably on lap 104, preparing to pit the following lap, when a piece of debris punctured his right-front tire, thus grinding his car against the outside wall. Fortunately, he was still running near the wall anyway, so the damage to his car was not too severe and he returned to the track on lap 149.
37) #78-Joe Nemechek Brought out the first caution on lap 43 when he blew a right-front tire in turn four and hit the outside wall, #77-Hornish hitting the wall as well in a separate incident a few car lengths behind. He returned to the race many laps down.
38) #96-Ken Schrader Was squeezed into the wall by #84-Skinner during the third caution of the race on lap 64. He was trying a move to the high side coming out of the quad-oval when #55-Waltrip and #84-Skinner made contact beneath him, ultimately causing the #84 to cross his nose in turn one and put him in the wall. He returned to the race many laps down. His team slid from 38th to 39th in owner’s points.
39) #84-Mike Skinner Suffered damage to the right-front of his car in the third caution of the race when he was in the middle of a three-wide battle in the quad-oval on lap 64. When #55-Waltrip on his inside clipped the grass and bumped into him, he was forced into #96-Schrader on his outside, putting both into the turn one wall with his car crossing the nose of the #96. He returned to the race many laps down. The wreck proved costly as it slipped the #84 team back to 35th in owner’s points, 15 behind #7-R. Gordon and 63 ahead of #00-Allmendinger. Still, new driver Scott Speed will be able to make his Sprint Cup debut with the team at Martinsville.
40) #70-Tony Raines Was damaged in the seventh caution of the race on lap 196 when, while racing on the bottom of a three-wide battle through the quad-oval, he was turned into the outside wall by #21-Elliott, slamming him backwards into the outside wall. He returned to the race several laps down, his car limping around on the apron late in the event.
41) #17-Matt Kenseth He stayed out to lead a lap under the fourth caution of the race on lap 104, but was struggling for much of the event, mired back around 28th place. Because of this, he had nowhere to go in the seventh caution on lap 196 and was knocked into a spin by #28-Kvapil, turning his car 180 degrees before it backed into the outside wall and ground backwards against the fence. Led 1 lap.
42) #28-Travis Kvapil Suffered severe damage in the seventh caution of the race on lap 196 when, while checking-up as #70-Raines spun a few cars in front of him, he knocked #17-Kenseth into a spin. The contact damaged the right-front of his car, sending him into the outside wall at around the same time as #17. His car ricocheted off the fence and drove through the infield grass, hitting the inside wall before coming to a stop. A small fire burned beneath the car, but he got out okay.
43) #00-A.J. Allmendinger Took over the #00 in a one-race deal before driving the #10 for the remainder of 2009, but had terrible luck. On lap 54, while racing three-wide into turn three with #45-McCumbee on his inside and #01-Smith on his outside, the #01 twitched into his right-front, turning him head-on into the outside wall. His car showered sparks as it spun in the higher groove before sliding down on the apron. He was okay, but very disappointed. The team still sits 36th in owner’s points, now 63 behind 35th place #84-Skinner. Led 1 lap.


DID NOT QUALIFY:
#25-Brad Keselowski (R)
#40-Bryan Clauson (R)
#75-Derrike Cope
#82-Scott Speed (R)