Full Throttle

The MBNA 400 at Dover International Speedway turned into a waiting game. Everyone was waiting for the 1 mile concrete oval known as the “Monster Mile” to bite.

Of those chasing NASCAR’s [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/cup.jpg]NEXTEL Cup[/avatar] gold defending Champ Kurt Busch received the worst bite. After sewing up the bonus points for leading the most laps - and looking for all the world enroute redemption from last week - he pitted for a scheduled stop. Shortly thereafter the [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/caution.jpg]caution[/avatar] flew putting the #97 a lap down. While running down the “lucky dog” spot he ran over debris and cut a tire. That frustration led to the speeding police tagging Busch with a summons and a pass-thru penalty. He ended his day in 23^rd and that effectively ended his chances to repeat as Champ. Unless. Next week is Talladega, and if any track can catch a bunch of Chasers of in one crumpled mess, Talladega can.

Next up on Dover’s buffet line was Matt Kenseth. The #17 was stout all day but like teammate Busch was done in by deflated Goodyears. He started 11^th and ran well early, then fell a lap down after cutting a tire and pitting under green. He worked his way to the front regaining the lead lap, when he had a tire go down and finally hit the wall on Lap 367, ending his day in 35^th. Kenseth sits 124 points behnd new points leader Jimmie Johnson, not teminal, but he can’t afford another poor finish in the next eight.

Tony Stewart’s day is the primary cause - in addition to Johnson’s win - for the #48 taking over the Chase lead. In short Smoke was never in it. He logged an 18^thplace finish, he worst in over two months, and in truth that was better than he ran all day. Lesson learned? Don’t bring a new untested car to a Chase event. Tony dropped from first to fifth as part of a log jam that separates the top six by only 23 points.

New points leader and race winner Jimmie Johnson was all smiles and greatful for second place finisher Kyle Busch. First for racing clean the last few laps as he beat Busch, the younger, at the line by a car length. Then for a race setup discovered during a Busch test at Dover that Johnson rode to victory on. “They were up here testing two weeks ago and we used their information,” Johnson said.

The victory was the third this year for Johnson, who now leads Rusty Wallace by seven points after two of 10 races in the Chase. Johnson also won for the third time at Dover and 17^th in hs career.

Finishing third was Rusty Wallace in the #2 Dodge, followed by the Ford of Mark Martin and Ryan Newman’s Dodge. Martin looked to be the car to beat in the late stages but a late decision to change only two tires when Johnson took on four proved to be his undoing.

Next week brings the high banks of Talladega and another opportunity for a 30 car freight train to end up in a crumpled mass of smoking tires and bent sheetmetal.

NEXTEL Cup, NASCAR, Auto Racing, Sports

1. (5) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 404, $296,641, 115.054 mph.
2. (3) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 404, $164,275.
3. (6) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 404, $157,858.
4. (7) Mark Martin, Ford, 404, $126,550.
5. (1) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 404, $155,616.
6. (22) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 404, $129,541.
7. (12) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 404, $114,020.
8. (34) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 404, $100,808.
9. (32) Carl Edwards, Ford, 404, $93,850.
10. (23) Casey Mears, Dodge, 404, $105,858.
11. (36) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 404, $102,895.
12. (20) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 403, $101,764.
13. (18) Greg Biffle, Ford, 403, $87,875.
14. (26) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 403, $79,625.
15. (15) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 403, $105,583.
16. (2) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 403, $113,200.
17. (9) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 403, $91,783.
18. (31) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 402, $114,136.
19. (17) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 402, $112,561.
20. (24) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 402, $79,025.
21. (13) Travis Kvapil, Dodge, 402, $76,725.
22. (38) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 402, $68,475.
23. (10) Kurt Busch, Ford, 401, $133,500.
24. (29) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 401, $87,733.
25. (37) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 401, $68,200.
26. (27) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 401, $94,764.
27. (21) Jeff Green, Dodge, 401, $96,336.
28. (42) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 401, $66,750.
29. (19) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 400, $72,100.
30. (30) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 399, $64,450.
31. (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 397, $111,183.
32. (28) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 397, $98,175.
33. (8) Bobby Hamilton Jr., Chevrolet, 386, $73,947.
34. (43) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 381, $63,275.
35. (11) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 367, accident, $110,986.
36. (16) Scott Wimmer, Dodge, 293, accident, $70,900.
37. (25) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 291, accident, $111,511.
38. (39) Tony Raines, Dodge, 288, accident, $62,650.
39. (33) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 279, engine failure, $62,525.
40. (35) Kevin Lepage, Ford, 197, accident, $62,350.
41. (14) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 190, engine failure, $90,068.
42. (41) Carl Long, Chevrolet, 144, engine failure, $62,035.
43. (40) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 8, accident, $61,886.

Time of Race: 3 hours, 30 minutes, 41 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.080 seconds.
Caution Flags: 11 for 50 laps.
Lead Changes: 15 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: R.Newman 1-30; J.Johnson 31-70; G.Biffle 71-75; J.Johnson 76-108; K.Busch 109; M.Waltrip 110; K.Busch 111-177; G.Biffle 178-186; K.Busch 187-203; E.Sadler 204-229; K.Busch 230-319; M.Martin 320; K.Busch 321-337; J.Johnson 338-370; M.Martin 371-376; J.Johnson 377-404.
Top 10 in Points Standings:
1. J.Johnson 5,362.
2. R.Wallace 5,355.
3. R.Newman 5,350.
4. M.Martin 5,341.
5. T.Stewart 5,339. 5. G.Biffle 5,339. (Tie)
7. J.Mayfield 5,281.
8. C.Edwards 5,259.
9. M.Kenseth 5,238.
10. K.Busch 5,192.