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Race Rewind | Looking back
at Sunday's race

Jeff Gordon down, Kahne up in California

DAVID POOLE / The Charlotte Observer

Tuesday, Sep. 04, 2007

• Slideshow | Sunday's race action
• Slideshow | Busch race, early Sunday action
• Race results | Unofficial scoring

ELEVATOR

CHASE DRAMA:

It's the same as it has been for weeks. Unless somebody completely falls apart, the 12 who are in will stay in. STALLED

JEFF GORDON:

Five finishes out of the top 10 all year, but three have been in the past three races. DOWN

KASEY KAHNE:

For a change, the No. 9 Dodge didn't fade after a good qualifying run on a track like this. Kahne finished a respectable 10th. UP

OBSERVATIONS | DAVID POOLE

• It's absolutely unfair to criticize race fans or California Speedway for the half-full grandstands Sunday night. The people who did show up, who were tailgating in a paved parking lot at 1 p.m. with the temperature at 107 degrees, who were standing at the exit of the garage snapping photos of cars as they came out to the grid and who were generally acting like Nextel Cup fans, need to be commended for weathering these elements. But you can't fairly blame anybody for choosing to stay home.

• After Jimmie Johnson finished 37th at Chicagoland and 39th at Indianapolis and slipped to ninth in the points standings, there were people asking with a straight face whether Johnson might fall out of the Chase. He has had four top-five finishes in the five races since then.

• On ESPN's prerace show, a correspondent reported that he'd "learned" on Sunday that Amp, an energy drink made by the folks at Pepsi, would be part of the sponsorship package for Dale Earnhardt Jr. For the record, he could have "learned" the same thing by reading the Charlotte Observer on July 12.

TURNING POINTS

LAP 10

Edwards pulls out of his pit stall and hits Juan Pablo Montoya, doing some damage to the No. 99 Ford. Edwards still finished second, but without the early incident who knows how things might have been different.

LAP 119

Just as the sun is going down, Johnson takes the lead for the second time. He led Lap 113, but this time he stays there for 18 laps. There was more of that to come, as Johnson leads 65 of the final 82 laps on the way to a win.

LAP 180

Gordon and Jeremy Mayfield bump to set off a six-car crash that could have been a disaster for Harvick. But Harvick makes it through the wreck and finishes 14th.

LAP 212

Johnson comes in for his final pit stop, under the green flag, and his crew nails a solid one. It takes until Lap 229 for the lead to cycle back to the No. 48, but Johnson was still firmly in control.

LAP 244

Johnson is trying not to drive any harder than needed, keeping his eye on Kyle Busch. But then Johnson realizes it's Edwards in second, so he adjusts his line to hold the No. 99 Ford at bay.

NOTES

Chase scenarios simplified greatly

Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. need only to start Saturday night's race at Richmond to join Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Kurt Busch is 141 points ahead of 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and needs only to finish 36th or better to clinch. Kevin Harvick is 128 points ahead of Earnhardt Jr. and needs only 32nd or better.

A different way to look at how slim Earnhardt Jr.'s hopes are is this: He has to finish at least fourth and lead a lap to have any shot of making the Chase. And that only works if Harvick finishes last.

Earnhardt Jr. gives all despite hot conditions

Earnhardt Jr. looked spent after climbing from his No. 8 Chevrolet after a fifth-place finish on a very, very hot night.

"It was fun, hot and sweaty and the car was tight, loose and never perfect," he said. "But we worked hard. I am so proud of my guys. They worked so hard and it was so hot this weekend.

"I would like to think they could run just as good without me. I would never be able to run this good without them."

Edwards finishes 2nd, but he can't complain

Edwards thought he was going to catch Johnson in the final laps and contend for the win, but he had to settle for second.

Still, one year ago he finished fourth in this race and was 226 points outside the top 10, eliminated from Chase competition. Now, he's locked in for this year's title competition.

Gordon still feels confident about team

Gordon made it from the start of the season in February all the way into August without having back-to-back finishes outside the top 10 this season. But after finishing 22nd Sunday, Gordon has had three of those in a row.

"None of these races really means a whole lot," Gordon said after having his night derailed in a multicar crash on Lap 180. "We'd like to be running better and be out there getting bonus points, but this team is going to come with a whole different focus and attitude when we get to New Hampshire."

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson won four of the season's first 10 races, and Gordon also won four times in a seven-race stretch ending at Pocono in June.

Gordon leads the points standings by 317 points over Tony Stewart, but Johnson's victory means Johnson has 50 bonus points to take with him into the Chase to 40 for Gordon, pending the final pre-Chase race at Richmond.

"He's definitely going to be one of the guys to beat in the championship," Gordon said of Johnson. "You don't want to give him one point."

Kahne makes it 2 straight in top 10

Kasey Kahne hadn't finished in the top 10 at an intermediate track all year until getting a 10th here.

"We will take it," said Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Dodge. Kahne's other top 10s this year came in the two races at Daytona and last week when he was second at Bristol on the short track in a car of tomorrow race.

"There was a point where I was really having a problem getting the car off the corner," Kahne said. "I just couldn't carry any momentum, and that's when we dropped back and eventually lost a lap."

Kahne got that lap back on a caution and team director Kenny Francis made some adjustments on the car, and Kahne rallied.

Rookies get taste of success in California

David Ragan brought out three cautions a week earlier at Bristol and AJ Allmendinger has had more than his share of trouble just making races, but both rookies had decent runs Sunday night.

Ragan finished 12th, his best finish at any track other than Daytona this year, in the No. 6 Ford despite getting a pit road speeding penalty.

Allmendinger finished 18th, 13 spots better than his previous best Cup finish in just the 10th race he's made.

Briefly

Ricky Rudd hurt his left shoulder in the Lap 180 crash. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. One report said his shoulder separated, but NASCAR officials would say only that the shoulder was injured. T.J. Ford, a crew member on the No. 15 team for Paul Menard at Dale Earnhardt Inc., also was taken to the hospital after being hit during a pit stop. ... The No. 21 Wood Brothers team moved back into the top 35 in points after Dave Blaney'sengine failure dropped him to a 38th-place finish.

Next Race

CHEVY 400

WHERE: Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va.

WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday

TV: Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN

RADIO: Motor Racing Network

LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Kevin Harvick

OFFICIAL RESULTS, STANDINGS

Fin	St	Driver	Car	Laps	*	Earnings	Pts
1	2	Jimmie Johnson	Chevy	250		$289,411	190
2	19	Carl Edwards	Ford	250		185,450	170
3	5	Kyle Busch	Chevy	250		163,225	175
4	15	Jeff Burton	Chevy	250		163,491	165
5	7	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevy	250		180,433	160
6	8	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevy	250		135,345	155
7	36	Matt Kenseth	Ford	250		158,941	146
8	17	Brian Vickers	Toyota	250		102,975	147
9	1	Kurt Busch	Dodge	250		146,308	143
10	3	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	250		148,216	134
11	11	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	250		138,361	135
12	33	David Ragan	Ford	250		137,475	127
13	22	Tony Stewart	Chevy	250		143,286	129
14	12	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	250		141,836	121
15	13	Casey Mears	Chevy	250		111,525	123
16	38	Jamie McMurray	Ford	250		104,275	115
17	10	Greg Biffle	Ford	250		109,325	112
18	18	A.J. Allmendinger	Toyota	249		90,275	109
19	9	Denny Hamlin	Chevy	249		108,600	106
20	24	Clint Bowyer	Chevy	249		103,900	103
21	31	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	249		119,083	100
22	16	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	249		135,011	97
23	32	Jeff Green	Chevy	249		115,533	94
24	20	Paul Menard	Chevy	249		91,850	91
25	14	David Gilliland	Ford	249		114,689	88
26	26	Bill Elliott	Ford	248		109,689	90
27	34	Tony Raines	Chevy	248		97,925	82
28	39	Kyle Petty	Dodge	248		103,858	84
29	23	J.J. Yeley	Chevy	248		117,408	76
30	41	Johnny Sauter	Chevy	248		89,850	78
31	40	Aric Almirola	Chevy	248		97,200	70
32	28	David Reutimann	Toyota	247		100,808	72
33	42	J.P. Montoya	Dodge	247		124,125	64
34	21	David Stremme	Dodge	245		86,050	61
35	6	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	245		104,345	58
36	27	Jeremy Mayfield	Toyota	229	{+1}	85,950	55
37	43	John Andretti	Dodge	203	{+1}	95,447	57
38	30	Dave Blaney	Toyota	201	{+2}	93,850	49
39	4	Ryan Newman	Dodge	194	{+2}	117,875	51
40	37	Ricky Rudd	Ford	179	{+1}	116,783	43
41	35	Robby Gordon	Ford	159		85,705	40
42	25	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	38	{+1}	85,640	37
43	29	Joe Nemechek	Chevy	9	{+1}	85,008	34

TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 48 minutes, 8 seconds. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.868 seconds. CAUTION FLAGS: 11 for 33 laps. LEAD CHANGES: 30 among 16 drivers. LAP LEADERS: Ku.Busch 1-10; Andretti 11-12; Ku.Busch 13-23; Ky.Busch 24-40; Earnhardt Jr. 41; Petty 42; Elliott 43; Sauter 44-45; Ky.Busch 46-72; Earnhardt Jr. 73; Truex Jr. 74-77; Earnhardt Jr. 78; Ky.Busch 79-80; Earnhardt Jr. 81-90; Newman 91; Earnhardt Jr. 92; Ky.Busch 93-112; Johnson 113; Ky.Busch 114-118; Johnson 119-136; Ky.Busch 137-153; J.Burton 154; Reutimann 155; Ky.Busch 156-164; Earnhardt Jr. 165; Vickers 166-168; Johnson 169-211; Labonte 212-215; Stewart 216-227; Mears 228; Johnson 229-250. *REASON OUT: 1. Wreck; 2. Engine.

Pos	Driver	Pts
1.	Jeff Gordon	3679
2.	Tony Stewart	3362
3.	Denny Hamlin	3335
4.	Carl Edwards	3330
5.	Matt Kenseth	3309
6.	J. Johnson	3249
7.	Jeff Burton	3219
8.	Kyle Busch	3199
9.	Clint Bowyer	3047
10.	M. Truex Jr.	3042
11.	Kurt Busch	3022
12.	Kevin Harvick	3009
13.	D. Ernhrdt Jr.	2881
14.	R. Newman	2755
15.	Greg Biffle	2674
16.	Casey Mears	2581
17.	B. Labonte	2541
18.	J. McMurray	2486
19.	J.P. Montoya	2439
20.	J.J. Yeley	2372
21.	Kasey Kahne	2278
22.	David Ragan	2266
23.	D. Stremme	2236
24.	Mark Martin	2220
25.	R. Sorenson	2220
26.	Elliott Sadler	2197
27.	Robby Gordon	2156
28.	D. Gilliland	2109
29.	Jeff Green	2105
30.	Ricky Rudd	2017
31.	Tony Raines	1939
32.	Johnny Sauter	1901
33.	Dave Blaney	1808
34.	S. Marlin	1600
35.	J. Nemechek	1593
36.	Paul Menard	1581
37.	Scott Riggs	1470
38.	Kyle Petty	1418
39.	Brian Vickers	1409
40.	Bill Elliott	1080
41.	D. Reutimann	1078
42.	Dale Jarrett	1009
43.	Ward Burton	816
44.	K. Wallace	789
45.	J. Mayfield	737
46.	Ken Schrader	632
47.	AJ Allmndngr	631
48.	John Andretti	520
49.	M. Waltrip	487
50.	Boris Said	467
51.	Regan Smith	461
52.	Mike Bliss	325
53.	Ron Fellows	283
54.	P.J. Jones	267

Line at Chase for the Championship cutoff.

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