Race 31 - Bank of America 500We're here in NASCAR's backyard on a Saturday night under the lights. It's the 5th race of the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and we're looking forward to a fast, intense race. There are a few drivers fighting for their Chase lives, but by no means are any drivers eliminated from title contention just yet. All 12 know that they need to score as many points as possible and cannot have a mistake from here on out. With just 6 races to go, the margin for error doesn't exist. It's about time to see who tests that margin and who puts the pedal to the metal and drives away from it. Let's go racing at Charlotte boys!
Green flag: Casey Mears leads the field to the green flag.
Lap 17: Clint Bowyer moves into the race lead.
Lap 33: Bobby Hamilton Jr. onto pit road for the first scheduled stop of the day.
Lap 35: Kyle Busch takes the lead as Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, David Stremme, and Jamie McMurray pit.
Lap 36: Carl Edwards is the new leader as a huge group pits. Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Travis Kvapil, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers, J.J. Yeley, Jeremy Mayfield, Johnny Sauter, Elliott Sadler, Mike Bliss, Jeff Green, Kyle Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Scott Riggs, Kasey Kahne, Dave Blaney, Robby Gordon, Michael Waltrip, Aric Almirola, and Derrike Cope all pit.
Lap 37: Edwards, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Mears, Matt Kenseth, Jon Wood, Todd Kluever, Greg Biffle, Joe Nemechek, Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Jason Leffler, and Reed Sorenson finish out pit stops.
Lap 38: Jimmie Johnson is the new race leader.
Lap 38: CAUTION FLAG #1-Debris out for a piece of metal on the backstretch.
Lap 43: Green flag back out with Bowyer, Johnson, Labonte, Jeff Gordon, and Newman leading the way.
Lap 44: Johnson back in the lead.
Lap 47: CAUTION FLAG #2-Hamilton Jr. gets squeezed by McMurray and Earnhardt Jr. exiting and turn and goes spinning into the fronstretch wall.
Lap 52: Green flag with Johnson, Newman, Labonte, Harvick, and Wood comprising the top 5.
Lap 54: Newman to the lead.
Lap 60: Kenseth's nightmare season continues as he is off the pace and coasting towards pit road with electrical issues.
Lap 81: McMurray begins the next cycle of stops.
Lap 82: Waltrip pits.
Lap 83: Earnhardt Jr., Leffler, Cope, and Hamilton Jr. pit.
Lap 84: Johnson, Bowyer, Burton, Sadler, Mears, Petty, Nemechek, Biffle, Menard, Almirola, Blaney, Robby Gordon, Sorenson, Stremme.
Lap 85: Kyle Busch to the lead as Newman, Kurt, Yeley, Kvapil, Harvick, Bowyer, Labonte, Edwards, Mayfield, Kluever, Vickers, Sauter, Kahne, Bliss, Truex Jr., and Riggs all pit.
Lap 86: Remainder of cars pit with Kyle, Green, Gordon, Stewart, Menard.
Lap 87: Johnson to the lead.
Lap 89: Move Newman to the top slot.
Lap 97: Kenseth to pit road for what it is a now scheduled pit stop as Menard makes an unscheduled extended stop.
Lap 101: Here's a Chase update since the first fell during a caution flag.
Ryan Newman-1st
Jimmie Johnson-2nd
Jeff Burton-3rd
Clint Bowyer-4th
Kyle Busch-6th
Casey Mears-8th
Kevin Harvick-9th
Jeff Gordon-11th
Tony Stewart-12th
Carl Edwards-19th
Brian Vickers-21st
Travis Kvapil-25th
Lap 116: McMurray pits.
Lap 117: Waltrip pits.
Lap 118: Johnson, Hamilton Jr., Cope, and Petty pit.
Lap 119: Kyle Busch back in the lead with Newman, Leffler, Burton, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Mears, Sadler, Sorenson, Nemechek, Mayfield, Truex Jr., Kahne, Almirola, Blaney, and Robby Gordon on pit road.
Lap 120: The Busch brothers lead the way onto pit road, followed by Harvick, Stremme, Vickers, Kluever, Biffle, Kvapil, Hamlin, and Sauter.
Lap 120: CAUTION FLAG #3-Car upside down! Jon Wood takes a tumble after hitting the turn 3 wall and sliding down the banking into Bobby Labonte's path. Paul Menard sent the 21 into a spin and Wood slid down until he was halfway on the apron and halfway up the banking, allowing the nose of Labonte's car to easily flip over the Wood Brothers Racing machine. This will seriously alter the complexion of this race, as most of the field will likely be trapped a lap down.
Lap 125: Green flag-The only lead lap cars are Jeff Gordon, Stewart, Yeley, Green, Edwards, and Bliss.
Lap 128: Points leader Stewart into the race lead. Not what all the other Chasers want to see.
Lap 133: CAUTION FLAG #4-Trouble on the fronstretch! Multiple cars go spinning, with Kenseth and Waltrip getting heavy damage. Earnahrdt Jr. got squeezed into the wall by Sadler and Kluever, and Almirola, Menard, Waltrip, and Robby Gordon getting tangled up in the aftermath.
Lap 138: Green flag out. Stewart, Gordon, Yeley, Bliss, Edwards, and Green the top 6.
Lap 139: CAUTION FLAG #5-Earnhardt Jr. around again! This time it was Biffle who clipped the #8 exiting turn 4, and Petty, Hamlin, Cope, and Hamilton Jr. get damage in the aftermath.
Lap 139: Oh no! More trouble! After crossing the stripe, 4 cars have wrecked. And 2 of them are Chasers! It looks like Blaney clipped Harvick, who CREAMED the outside wall and went spinning back into traffic where he sent Stremme and Kyle Busch spinning. Busch has right side damage, but it looks like he might be alright. Harvick is done for the day, and his Chase chances will take a major blow tonight.
Lap 144: Green flag. Stewart, Edwards, Gorodn, Yeley, Green, and Bliss are the top 6.
Lap 151: Chase Update #2.
Tony Stewart-1st
Carl Edwards-2nd
Jeff Gordon-4th
Brian Vickers-7th, -1 lap
Casey Mears-8th, -1 lap
Jeff Burton-9th, -1 lap
Ryan Newman-10th, -1 lap
Clint Bowyer-11th, - 1 lap
Jimmie Johnson-12th, -1 lap
Kyle Busch-15th, -1 lap
Travis Kvapil-16th, -1 lap
Kevin Harvick-33rd, OUT
Lap 154: Vickers has gotten a lap back. Meanwhile, Hamlin appears to be going on and off pit road every other lap. Lots of work being done over and over again on the #09. (OOC: He just kept going on pit road every time he left. Weird glitch thing happening.)
Lap 155: Mears back on the lead lap.
Lap 162: Mears has been re-lapped.
Lap 167: Vickers back down a lap.
Lap 170: Yeley overtakes Stewart for lead, but not before Vickers regains a lap.
Lap 171: Biffle to pit road.
Lap 173: Hamilton Jr. makes a pit stop.
Lap 174: Burton, Cope, Kvapil, Blaney, Kahne, and Leffler make scheduled green flag stops.
Lap 175: Mears, Newman, Green, Truex Jr., Riggs, Stremme, McMurray, and Vickers are the pitters this time by.
Lap 176: Jeff Gordon takes the lead as Yeley, Edwards, Stewart, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Bliss, Kyle Busch, Sauter, Menard, Sorenson, and Johnson all pit.
Lap 177: Gordon, Nemechek, Mayfield, and Almirola complete the pit stop cycle.
Lap 178: Yeley back to the lead after stops. Burton and Newman have gotten in front of the #11 and are now on the lead lap while Vickers is just a few tenths behind the FedEx car.
Lap 182: Vickers gets around Yeley to regain a lap.
Lap 182: CAUTION FLAG #6-Debris has us under another yellow flag. Possibly a huge break for Burton, Newman, and Vickers.
Lap 187: Green flag-Journeyman Jeff Green is having an astonishing run tonight and is the current leader. Stewart, Yeley, Gordon, Edwards, Bliss, Burton, and Newman are the lead lap cars. On the tail end are Mears, Bowyer, both Busch brothers, and Johnson. Vickers's team took a gamble to try and quickly make a pit stop before the pace car re-lapped him but unfortunately the #25 team was too slow and he lost his lap. Burton and Newman, however, pulled it off, but feared running over a piece of debris and re-pitted anyway.
Lap 193: Kyle Busch back down a lap to Green. What a fantastic day for the #50 team.
Lap 195: Stewart gets around Green for the race lead.
Lap 197: Mears down a lap.
Lap 200: Menard with an unplanned trip to pit road. Lengthy stop for the #1 team, as they've got the hood up.
Lap 201: Chase Update 3.
Tony Stewart-1st
Jeff Gordon-2nd
Jeff Burton-6th
Ryan Newman-7th
Carl Edwards-8th
Jimmie Johnson-10th
Clint Bowyer-11th
Casey Mears-12th, -1 lap
Kyle Busch-14th, -1 lap
Brian Vickers-16th, -1 lap
Travis Kvapil-17th, -1 lap
Lap 203: Johnson loses a lap.
Lap 215: Bowyer finally succumbs to the leader Stewart as Sauter makes a pit stop.
Lap 217: Kurt Busch gets lapped as Newman, Burton, Stremme, McMurray, and Cope pit.
Lap 217: Kasey Kahne has blown an engine on the #9 Dodge.
Lap 218: Yeley retakes the lead as Stewart, Johnson, Bliss, Kyle Busch, Hamilton Jr., Biffle, Riggs, Blaney, and Almirola all come down pit road for service.
Lap 219: The 24, 07, 2, 88, 01, 25, 77, 99, 50, 15, 19, and 33 teams pit.
Lap 220: Yeley and Sorenson complete 4 tire stops.
Lap 221: Stewart cycles into the lead.
Lap 228: Jeff Gordon to the lead as Johnson gets a lap back. Coincidence? Or I think yes.
Lap 230: Stewart back in front.
Lap 231: Great battle for the lead. Gordon is now in front.
Lap 235: 100 to go, here's our first FFR of the night:
Lead Lap-24, 20, 31, 12, 11, 0, 50, 99, 48
-1 lap: 07, 33, 88, 5, 2, 01, 77, 25, 15, 91, and 78.
Lap 236: Menard back on pit road. Rough day for the 1 team.
Lap 242: Stewart has re-taken the top spot.
Lap 249: Sauter to pit road.
Lap 250: Cope pits.
Lap 251: Burton and McMurray down pit road.
Lap 252: Gordon takes the lead as Johnson, Stewart, Kyle Busch, Bliss, Stremme, Edwards, Blaney, Hamilton Jr., Biffle, and Riggs.
Lap 253: Almirola, Bowyer, Mayfield, Kvapil, Vickers, and some Truex Jr.
Lap 254: Gordon, Leffler, Kurt Busch, Nemechek, and Green all pit. Yeley is back in front.
Lap 255: Yeley, Mears, and Sorenson complete the cycle.
Lap 256: Stewart cycles to the lead.
Lap 260: Johnson gets lapped.
Lap 265: Blaney's engine has blown.
Lap 271: Menard makes a stop.
Lap 279: Johnson back on the lead lap.
Lap 282: Sauter pits.
Lap 283: Cope pits.
Lap 284: Burton and McMurray pit.
Lap 285: Yeley to the lead as Stewart, Gordon, Johnson, Bliss, Stremme, Green, Edwards, Blaney, Hamilton Jr., Biffle, and Riggs make stops.
Lap 286: Almirola, Bowyer, Mayfield, Kvapil, Vickers, and a Truex Jr. stop take place this time by.
Lap 287: Yeley, Leffler, Kurt Busch, Sorenson, and Nemechek finish the cycle.
Lap 288: Stewart cycles back to the front.
Lap 306: Menard makes his final stop of the day.
Lap 317: Sauter and Cope on pit road.
Lap 319: Burton and McMurray pit.
Lap 320: Stewart gives up the lead to Gordon as he and Yeley pit with Johnson, Bliss, Stremme, Edwards, Blaney, Hamilton Jr., Biffle, Riggs, and Leffler.
Lap 320: Trouble on pit road! Oh no! Stewart is up in smoke! He slowed up abruptly and was rear-ended hard by Riggs, and Stewart then was shoved into the rear end of his temamate Yeley, giving him heavy damage on both ends. He is done for the day, after dominating the race. Huge loss for the points leader.
Lap 321: Green, Kurt Busch, Almirola, Bowyer, Mayfield, Kvapil, Vickers, and Truex Jr. pit.
Lap 322: Gordon, Sorenson, and Nemechek finish up pit stops for the day.
Lap 323: Gordon cycles to the front as Yeley is back on pit road to work on damage. A top 5 run all day will go for naught.
Lap 325: 10 to go, Newman rapidly closing the gap on Gordon. 7 tenths right now, but after pit stops it was 1.5. Rocket Man has turned it on.
Lap 329: 6 to go and Newman is on Gordon's bumper.
Lap 330: 5 to go, and Newman has gotten past Gordon for the race lead.
Lap 333: 2 to go, Newman holding pat in first.
Lap 334: White flag. Gordon within striking distance but he must be perfect and Newman has to make a mistake.
Checkered flag: It doesn't happen! Ryan Newman wins the Bank of America 500! More importantly, however, we have a new points leader. Jeff Burton, despite being the only Chaser without a win, will leave the halfway point of the Chase with a small lead on Newman.
Results:
Driver Standings:
Owner Standings:
