Jimmie Johnson, the race
leader and the most dominant car, had to stop with five laps to go – just after a spin on pit road by Kasey Kahne, who
was out of fuel. Kahne’s entrance to pit road held Johnson up and forced him to wait an extra lap to pit. When
Johnson did stop, he was busted for speeding, and his chance to win evaporated. He finished 14th.
Casey Mears, also using
fuel strategy, was second. Mark Martin was third and moved to third in the championship standings. Dale Jarrett
came home with a fourth place finish. Jeff Burton, the championship leader, pitted late and raced his way back to fifth. He
now leads the Chase by 69 points over Denny Hamlin, who finished 18th after spinning earlier in the race.
Carl Edwards finished
sixth. Kyle Busch, who, like Johnson, was also caught speeding on pit road, finished seventh. His teammate Brian
Vickers was eighth. Clint Bowyer had a strong car until he wrecked running second, but was able to salvage a ninth place
result. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 10th.
Jeff Gordon came into the race
with a slim six points separating him from point’s leader Burton. But with less than 30 laps to go, he lost fuel pressure and finished
a disappointing 39th. The finish dropped him four spots in the standings. He is now 120 points out of the lead with
seven races remaining.
Questions, Comments;
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The
views and opinions in this article are that of the writer and not necessarily that of SCR
2006 StockCar Review.
