NASCAR NATION – 9-29

After a surprising win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Clint Bowyer had catapulted himself right into the championship hunt.
But his hopes were shattered last week after NASCAR announced that Bowyer’s car had failed inspection at NASCAR’s research and development center and that his team had been fine 150 points as well as having their crew chief suspended for six races.
As the series arrived at Dover International Speedway last week, all the focus was on Bowyer and the penalty. The subject dominated the pre-race interview sessions, as reporters asked nearly each and every driver their thoughts on the penalty and the subsequent outfall from it.
But as Bowyer’s penalty drew the spotlight, Jimmie Johnson’s poor New Hampshire showing seemed to be forgotten. And that might have been just what Johnson needed, as he captured the pole Friday afternoon and sailed to victory Sunday in the AAA 400, reminding drivers and fans alike why he has won the last four championships in the Sprint Cup Series.
Johnson led a race-high 191 of 400 laps en route to his sixth victory of 2010, and jumped to second in the points standings with eighth chase races remaining.
“There is this huge weight off my shoulders that we were able to come and win a Chase race,” Johnson said. “We are in this thing.”
Johnson was one of a handful of Chase drivers that had strong runs at Dover, coupled with several Chasers who struggled throughout the day.
Jeff Burton had one of his strongest races of the season, charging to the front of the field to tie a season-best second place finish. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano was the highest finishing Toyota in third, followed by the Dodge of Kurt Busch in fourth. Carl Edwards was the highest finishing Ford in fifth.
Kyle Busch was sixth after his strong car faded off late, while points leader Denny Hamlin took home a ninth place finish. Jeff Gordon ran in the top 10 much of the day, and finished11th.
Kevin Harvick was 15th, followed by Matt Kenseth in 18th and teammate Greg Biffle in 19th, disappointing for the Roush Fenway Racing pair at a track they considers one of their strongest.
Tony Stewart struggled for the second straight week, finishing 21st. And Clint Bowyer failed to rebound after his penalty, struggling for much of the day to finish twenty-fifth. His team will appeal the 150-point penalty in a session Wednesday this week.
In addition to the struggle of Chasers, drivers who ran strong in the early part of the race fell victim to bad luck as well.
AJ Allmendinger started second and led three times for 143 laps, but was forced to pit early on lap 172 when debris caused a tire leak.
He was able to rebound and finish 10th. Martin Truex Jr., who started third, was running strong in the top five for much of the race until a broken axel midway through the event forced the No. 56 Toyota to the garage for repairs. Truex returned to finish 34th, 17 laps off the pace.
Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings (After 2 of 10 races): 1. Denny Hamlin (5368 points); 2. Jimmie Johnson (-35); 3. Kyle Busch (-45); 4. Kurt Busch (-59); 5. Kevin Harvick (-65); 6. Carl Edwards (-73); 7. Jeff Burton (-80); 8. Jeff Gordon (-83); 9. Greg Biffle (-140); 10. Tony Stewart (-162); 11. Matt Kenseth (-165); 12. Clint Bowyer (-235).
Nationwide Series: Kyle Busch has had one of the best seasons in Nationwide Series history, entering Saturday’s race at Dover tied with the great Sam Ard for the most wins in a Nationwide Series season with 10. Busch set out Saturday to break the record. Leading 192 of 200 laps is a good way to ensure you do that.
Joey Logano started on the pole in the Dover 200, but was quickly overtaken by teammate Busch on lap four. Busch seemingly set his No. 18 sails to the wind, leading by up to 12 seconds at several points during the race.
Busch was able to open up to a large lead several times due to the relatively low number of cautions for a race at the Monster Mile, with the yellow flag flying only four times during the 200-lap event.
The most frightening incident of the day took place on lap 134, when the No. 88 Chevrolet of Elliot Sadler hit the outside wall in turn four and slid down to a stop on the racetrack.
As the caution flag flew, the No. 27 of Drew Herring was unable to avoid Sadler, slamming hard into the side of the No. 88 car and sending it spinning several times before coming to a rest at the bottom of the racetrack. The wreck caused a 10-minute red flag period, but both drivers were uninjured.
Logano was second, followed by Carl Edwards in fourth, Reed Sorenson in fourth, and Kevin Harvick in fifth.
K&N Pro Series East:
ey native Ryan Truex, the younger brother up Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. needed only to start the Sunoco 150 season finale of the K&N Pro Series East at Dover International Speedway to clinch his second straight championship.
After taking the green flag to secure his repeat, Truex set out to take the checkered flag as well. It was Joe Gibbs Racing driver Max Gresham that started the race on the pole, but the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota of Cole Whitt that took the lead early.
But Whitt was one of the several leaders to run into trouble during the event when he blew a tire and slammed hard into the outside wall, bringing out the first of nine cautions.
The No. 18 of Gresham inherited the lead and was towards the front of the pack for much of the race, swapping the lead between himself, Corey LaJoie, and Canadian driver Andrew Ranger.
Gresham resumed the lead on lap 108 of 150, and was holding off teammate Brett Moffitt despite visible smoke from the rear of the No. 18 Toyota. But when the No. 54 of Steve Park slammed hard into the wall in turn two, it set up a late race shootout for the victory.
Gresham was passed by teammate Moffitt on the restart, and was then involved in an incident with the No. 3 car of Ty Dillon to bring out the final caution of the day. Moffitt held off the late charges of LaJoie and Truex to win his second straight race at Dover. LaJoie was second, followed by champion Truex in third, Eddie MacDonald in fourth, and Dale Quarterly in fifth.
Danica Patrick, making her first career East Series start in an effort to get more experience at the Monster Mile, finished sixth.
Coming Up: The Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series head to the Kansas Speedway for a weekend of racing in the Midwest.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
.