NASCAR NATION – 10-20

While Jamie McMurray continued to show Chip Ganassi he made the right choice in giving the 34-year-old driver a second chance, Jimmie Johnson continued to show the NASCAR world why he and his No. 48 team are four-time defending champions.
McMurray sailed past Kyle Busch on the final restart with 21 laps to go in the Bank of America 500 for his third win of 2010.
“After coming so close in the Coke 600 earlier in the season, I really felt like anything less than winning this weekend would have been disappointing,” McMurray said. “We had such a great car this spring, it just wasn’t good enough on the short run.
Tonight was very similar to that. And as I was catching Kyle towards the end of the race, I’m thinking in my head, ‘As long as a caution doesn’t come out, we’re going to be able to win this thing’ because I was catching him pretty fast…it was just our night. Our car was unbelievable.”
The win came as a rather emotional one for McMurray, who has had career-season with three wins at NASCAR’s most famed tracks: Daytona International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch, meanwhile, seemingly dominated the race, leading a race-high 217 of 334 laps, but fell just short of the victory. He was visibly frustrated, and was apologetic to his crew and fans following the race’s conclusion.
“It’s very tough and it’s very, very frustrating and disappointing,” Busch said. “I gave it all I had but [Jamie] McMurray was just better than me, and I’m sorry to all my guys. I didn’t give up any, but we just didn’t have the right changes. All the guys back in the shop work so hard to give us a chance to win every week, and it’s my job to come out here and drive it to victory lane. Apparently I didn’t communicate enough right or something.”
Points leader Jimmie Johnson began the day with disaster, spinning on lap 36 and barely escaping contact with the wall. He found himself back as low as 37th, but was able to rebound throughout the day, eventually leading 15 laps and settling behind Busch for a third-place finish. Denny Hamlin finished immediately behind Johnson in fourth, allowing Johnson to add five points to his lead in the standings. At the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s halfway point, Johnson now holds a 41-point advantage over the No. 11 of Hamlin.
Roush Fenway Racing teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth rebounded from rough finishes last week to finish fifth and sixth, respectively. Other chasers included Kevin Harvick in eighth, Carl Edwards in 12th, Clint Bowyer in 17th, Jeff Burton in 20th, Tony Stewart in 21st, Jeff Gordon in 23rd, and Kurt Busch in 30th.
Mayetta, New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr. was 15th.
Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings (After five of 10 races): 1. Jimmie Johnson (5843 points); 2. Denny Hamlin (-41); 3. Kevin Harvick (-77); 4. Jeff Gordon (-156); 5. Kyle Busch (-177); 6. Tony Stewart (-177); 7. Carl Edwards (-200); 8. Kurt Busch (-225); 9. Jeff Burton (-237); 10. Greg Biffle (-239); 11. Matt Kenseth (-256); 12. Clint Bowyer (-300).
Nationwide Series:
Brad Keselowski passed Martin Truex Jr. on the final restart to win the Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Friday. The win was Keselowski’s fifth of 2010, and he now leads second-place Carl Edwards by 450 points with just four races remaining.
Justin Allgaier finished third, followed by Joey Logano in fourth, and Clint Bowyer in fifth. Danica Patrick posted a career-best 21st-place finish.
Coming Up: The Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series head to the Martinsville Speedway, while the Nationwide Series heads to Madison, Illinois for a weekend of racing at Gateway International Raceway.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com