Question:
Fin St Car Driver Make Sponsor Pts/Bonus Laps Status
1 5 #9 Bill Elliott Dodge Dodge Dealers 185/10 393 Running
2 18 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 175/5 393 Running
3 3 #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers 170/5 393 Running
4 23 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford Smirnoff Ice/DeWalt 160/0 393 Running
5 1 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 160/5 393 Running
6 4 #74 Tony Raines * Chevrolet Staff America 150/0 393 Running
7 9 #99 Jeff Burton Ford CITGO 146/0 393 Running
8 14 #18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 142/0 393 Running
9 29 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Home Depot 138/0 393 Running
10 31 #40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 134/0 393 Running
11 10 #16 Greg Biffle * Ford Grainger 130/0 392 Running
12 20 #5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg's/got milk? 127/0 392 Running
13 26 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 124/0 391 Running
14 8 #7 Jimmy Spencer Dodge Sirius Satellite Radio 121/0 391 Running
15 34 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service 118/0 391 Running
16 27 #154 Todd Bodine Ford National Guard 115/0 391 Running
17 19 #97 Kurt Busch Ford Rubbermaid 112/0 391 Running
18 13 #0 Ward Burton Pontiac NetZero HiSpeed 114/5 390 Running
19 41 #43 Jeff Green Dodge Pop Secret 106/0 390 Running
20 17 #31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 103/0 390 Running
21 15 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's 100/0 390 Running
22 16 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 97/0 390 Running
23 7 #2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 94/0 390 Running
24 2 #25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet UAW/Delphi 91/0 390 Running
25 6 #01 Joe Nemechek Pontiac U.S. Army 88/0 390 Running
26 37 #22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Caterpillar 85/0 389 Running
27 22 #77 Dave Blaney Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions 82/0 389 Running
28 42 #14 Larry Foyt * Dodge Harrah's 79/0 389 Running
29 25 #10 Johnny Benson Pontiac Valvoline 76/0 388 Running
30 36 #1 John Andretti Chevrolet Pennzoil 73/0 388 Running
31 35 #23 Kenny Wallace Dodge Stacker 2 70/0 387 Running
32 33 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia Pacific/Brawny/Victory Junction 67/0 387 Running
33 39 #41 Casey Mears * Dodge Target House 64/0 386 Running
34 38 #30 Steve Park Chevrolet America Online 61/0 386 Running
35 21 #42 Jamie McMurray * Dodge Havoline 58/0 375 Running
36 28 #49 Ken Schrader Dodge BAM Racing 55/0 374 Out of Race
37 11 #15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 52/0 343 Out of Race
38 32 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 49/0 339 Running
39 30 #32 Ricky Craven Pontiac Tide 46/0 325 Out of Race
40 24 #21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts 43/0 325 Out of Race
41 12 #6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 40/0 239 Out of Race
42 40 #4 Kevin Lepage Pontiac Kodak Perfect Touch 37/0 130 Out of Race
43 43 #37 Derrike Cope Chevrolet PHM/Friendly Ice Cream 34/0 127 Out of Race
I think everyone is in agreement about Matt Kenseth's chances for being crowned the champion as the only thing that can keep him from the title is a severe catastrophy. If he finishes this race seventh or better, he will clinch the title today.
There are many other drivers who are looking to either protect thier positions and/or improve them so there is a lot of reason for competition on the track both this weekend and next.
Rusty Wallace was knocked out of the top ten last week in an accident that he takes full responsibility for. He wants to go to NY but can only do so by being real good in the last two races.
Dale Jr is the man in second, but there are several who would love to take the spot away from him. He has never finished this race further back than 15th.
But, for the eleventh time this year, everyone will be chasing Ryan Newman around the track, at least at the beggining. He will have some tough competition out there. We have some very hungry rookies who are looking to make a mark for themselves finishing out the year. Brian Vickers is one of them. He will be starting second as Newman had barely edged him out for the top starting position. Vickers had wanted to ask Newman to allow him the pole but never had the chance. He acknowledged that Newman would not have done so anyway, but noted that thanks to Newman's 11 poles, "There will only be like five drivers in the Bud Pole Shootout!" (In truth, there are 14 currant drivers who have qualified for the shootout with one qualifying session left to go.)
So, 43 drivers sit in 43 cars, all wanting to cross the line first at the end. The invocation has been prayed, the call has been made, the engines are warmed and the pace laps begin. Let's go racing!
The green flag drops and Newman jumps out into the lead with Brian Vickers second and Jeremy Mayfield third.
Mayfield makes the move to take second on lap 6.
By lap 10, Matt Kenseth had gained a couple spots from his starting position in 23rd, but has since slipped back to 24th. They had set up the car for long runs but the car is showing little sign it is going to come around.
For at least five laps, Jeremy Mayfield has been trying to get around Newman for the lead. By lap 20, he still has not been able to accomplish the task. Matt Kenseth has slipped back to 28th.
Vickers is complaining about loose conditions and by lap 25 has fallen to fifth while Dale Jr has come from his 21st starting position to 14th.
As Newman gets into lap traffic on lap 40, Mayfield makes another charge on Newman for the lead, hoping to block him in behind Harvick to grab the position. However, it may be Ward Burton that Newman has to worry about as he is real fast as he takes over the third spot and makes his presence know to the two frontrunners.
Burton grabs second from Mayfield on lap 47 and quickly sets his sights on the lead, taking it on ap 48. Mayfield takes second from Newman on lap 49 but Burton is pulling away.
By lap 60 several drivers have decided to short pit including Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers and Johnny Benson, all taking the gamble the race will go green through a complete cycle of pit stops.
Their luck runs out on lap 77 when we get a caution as Derric Cope breaks loose and spins around. About 14 drivers had pitted before the caution. All the leaders now pit. Tony Raines missed his pit box and has to go around again. Mayfield has a great stop and leads everyone out of the pits.
The restart on lap 82 has Mayfield in the lead, Ward Burton second, Jamie McMurray third, Jeff Gordon fourth and Ryan Newman fifth.
Caution again on lap 84 for Ryan Newman when he spins around towards the bottom of the track. This results in a black flag penalty for Jeff Gordon. Gordon had come low to pass Newman, but Jamie McMurray cuts off Newman and he bounces off the wall into Gordon's side. Gordon squeezes Newman back up into the wall and Newman comes back into Gordon's side with a tap to let him know he did npot appreciate the move. Gordon then deliberalty, (and admittingly so,) spun Newman around, earning him the penalty.
As the cars check up for the spin, Tony Stewart is not quick enough as he hits Kenseth's rear bumper, almost causing Kenseth to spin but he manages to hang on. Stewart later sends a crewman to Kenseth's pit to offer an apology.
Caution once again lap 92 as Dale Jarrett slides up into Casey Mears who then slides up into Kurt Bush, pushing Bush into the wall.
Brian Vickers gets his lap back.
Restarting on lap 99 and we have Mayfield, McMurray and Ward Burton in the top three spots.
But caution comes quickly on lap 100 as Jeff Burton spins around allowing Jeff Gordon to get his lap back.
Restart again on lap 106 with Mayfield still leading, Ward Burton second, M Waltrip third and Bobby Labonte in fourth.
Thats right, we have another caution on lap 107 when Gregg Biffle breaks loose and spins around. He does not hit anything but then he spots Jamie McMurray sliding sideways towards him. McMurray had been clipped from behind as he checked up, got spun and collides with Biffle at the same time he hits the wall just hard enough to break his radiator, forcing him to go behind the wall for repairs. Elliot Sadler becomes the lucky dog as he gets his lap back, but then the decision is made that because Kevin Harvick had actually passed Sadler just as the caution showed, Harvick is the recipient of the free pass.
We restart this time on lap 118. Jeremy Mayfield is still the leader followed by Burton, Waltrip, Labonte and Elliot. Matt Kenseth is in 18th, Newman in 20th and Jeff Gordon in 25th.
Lap 131 and kevin LePage blows an engine. As he pulls off the track and behind the wall, all the teams send a representative to LePage's crew chief to negotiate for his tires, offering over twice the price of a set to obtain them.
Jimmy Johnson takes second from Ward Burton on lap 145. Johnson had taken fresh tires on the last caution, even though he had only six laps on them. He restarted in 13th.
Kyle Petty goes around on lap 155. Elliot Sadler finally gets his lap back. As expected, all the leaders pit.
Restart on lap 161. We still have Mayfield leading but Jimmy Johnson is in second followed by Elliot, Burton and Waltrip. Dale Jr, Sterling Marlin and Ricky Craven have all made it to the top ten.
Jr takes over fifth on lap 168. He takes fourth from his teammate on lap 170 as Jimmy Johnson takes the lead. Mayfield immediatly takes the lead back as it becomes apparant that a deal was scar with Mayfield and Johnson to allow Johnson to obtain five extra points for leading a lap.
Johnson takes the lead for real on lap 175 as Elliot takes takes third. Elliot, who had started last due to an engine change, takes second on lap 177.
Bill Elliot challenges and takes the lead on lap 186. Mayfield takes second away from Johnson on lap 190. By lap 200, Newman has climbed to ninth and appears to be coming as Kenseth takes thirteenth.
Harvick drops in for a green flag pit stop on lap 218. Maybe the luck will hold up this time and we will stay green through the entire cycle.
By lap 230. Bill Elliot has built up a lead on 4 6/10's seconds! Ryan Newman is up to seventh as Mayfield takes second again.
Mark Martin comes in for a green flag pit stop but slides through his pit stall and has to back up losing a lot of time. Several drivers are now coming in.
OH NO!!! Caution again as Mark Martin blows an engine! Matt Kenseth had just started to enter the pits as the caution comes out and he quickly swerves back onto the track, taking a penalty for doing so as he had crossed the commitment line, but his actions have kept him on the lead lap. Kenny Schrader is the "lucky dog" recipient of the free pass. All the cars who had pitted previous to this are now a lap down.
Kyle Petty takes a penalty for leaving pit row with a wrench in his rear window.
Bill Elliot, Jimmy Johnson and Jeremy Mayfield are the front three on the restart on lap 254. 9 cars are left on the lead lap with six of those starting at the rear end of the longest line for various reasons.
Jimmy Johnson takes the lead on lap 256 then quickly puts Jr down a lap as Ryan Newman takes third.
Matt Kenseth takes fifth on lap 275 with Kenny Schrader right behind. It may be a bit before Kenseth has a chance to gain another position as Mayfield is over four seconds in front of him.
Johnson's three second lead has shrunk as Bill Elliot has closed in on him.
Elliot Sadler and Kenny Wallace start the round of green flag pit stops on lap 308. Can we get the cycle complete before the caution flies again?
Kenseth has caught Mayfield on lap 310 and starts the challenge for the position. He completes the pass on lap 312. Awsome Bill looks real awsome as on lap 320, with the aid of the slide job he passes Johnson for the lead.
And here comes the caution! Brian Vickers gets into Ricky Rudd, sending Rudd into Ricky Craven and spinning him. Both Craven and Rudd leave the track with substantial damage, all the while complaining about Vickers who had tangled with Craven just last week. Caution #8 came just in time to screw all those who had managed to pit once again. All the leaders pit, like this is any surprise! Bobby Labonte is the free pass winner.
Restart on lap 337 and we have Elliot leading with Johnson, Newman, Kenseth, Mayfield, Schrader, Marlin and Tony Raines coming up behind, the only cars on the lead lap.
M Waltrip gets the black flag as his car suddenly starts to smoke and his engine goes. There is no caution as M got off the track without spilling fluids all over the place.
49 to go, Mayfield passes Kenseth for fourth.
37 to go, Mayfield has caught Newman and takes a peak under but Newman manages to hold off Mayfield's repeated attempts to pass.
Larry Foyt slides up in front of the much faster Tony Stewart to bring out caution #9! Stewart clips Foyt in the rear as he cannot avoid him and they both go around.
Bill Elliot, Jimmy Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Jeremy Mayfield and Sterling Marlin are the top five for the restart on lap 374. Newman is starting at the end of the lead lap as his crew failed to get all the lug nuts on and he had to repit.
19 to go and Kenny Schrader is into the wall! Caution #10 comes as...RYAN NEWMAN?...pushes Kenny out of his way so he can get around Jimmy Spencer. (OK, I like Newman, and I did feel sorry for him when Gordon spun him earlier, but to deliberatly push Kenny out of his way to advance his position was completely uncalled for, even if he was upset over the lugnut thing! In this writer's opinion, Newman should have recieved a penalty for his actions, just as Gordon did earlier.)
Tony Stewart gets his lap back.
Change 'em if you got 'em! However, Newman is the only one of the leaders who decides to pit, but then he has nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing so.
Restart on lap 383 and Elliot, Johnson, Kenseth, mayfield, Raines, Labonte, Newman, Burton and Marlin are all set for the shootout to the end.
7 to go and Mayfield goes around Kenseth for third as Newman takes sixth. Kenseth is in no real position to be getting into a challenge and he simply gets out of the slightly quicker Mayfield's way when he tried to pass.
3 to go and Elliot's lead is almost one and a half seconds.
Elliot takes the white flag...then the checkered to win his first race of the year!
Awsome Bill's win is a bit overshadowed though as Matt Kenseth has clinched the Winston Cup Championship and giving Jack Roush his first Winston Cup championship in the process.
Told you it was going to be an exciting race! However, just because Kenseth has accomplished what everyone had assumed would be the championship does not mean we will have a boring race next weekend at the newly designed and never raced on Homestead track! The position race is not yet complete as nine racers all want the top spots and there are a few who would like them for themselves! There are only 177 points seperating the second through sixth place, and Terry Labonte is only 55 points from a top ten finish!
«"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."»

Answer:

Whoo hooooo Matt wins championship now if musgrave can get the job done in the car and david green gets the job done in busch i will be happy ))
Thanks for recap Ramman another job well done
"When everything seems to be going against you,
remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."
Henry Ford.
"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there."
-Indira Gandhi