Dale Earnhardt Junior Still 128 Points Out of the 2007 Chase
Jimmie Johnson improved his 2007 Chase seeding by scoring the victory in California. His win gives him ten additional bonus points when the Chase begins in two weeks.
In the battle for twelfth only Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains with a shot at cracking the top twelve. Kurt Busch moved up one spot to eleventh leaving Kevin Harvick on the hotseat next week in Richmond.
Qualifying
Qualifying saw three Dodge drivers in the top five and a pair of Hendrick Chevrolets.
Kurt Busch was the fastest qualifier in his Penske Dodge. Along side him Jimmie Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet started on the outside of row number one. A pair of Dodges made up row number two with Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman starting third and fourth. Kyle Busch rounded out the top five in his Hendrick Chevy.
Drop Of The Green
Kurt Busch lead lap one to claim five additional bonus points in his effort to strengthen his hold on the twelfth and final Chase qualifying spot. Jimmie Johnson settled into second as those two were able to put a gap on the rest of the field.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman came into the race thirteenth and fourteenth in points. The longer Kurt Busch ran out front the smaller their hopes of making the Chase became.
Storylines
The focus of the 2007 Sharp AQUOS 500 was the battle for twelfth in points. More specifically Dale Earnhardt Junior's progress versus twelfth place Kurt Busch. Busch held down twelfth coming into the race and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was thirteenth.
Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stayed near the front all day. Both drivers lead the race at times. If either driver faltered the other was in position to take full advantage of any opening.
Ryan Newman saw his 2007 Chase chances go up in smoke when his Penske Dodge blew the engine with 56 laps to go in the race. This left only Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a chance to crack the top twelve.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a flat tire just a few laps later. This unscheduled stop came with 40 laps to go wasn't fatal, it simply forced everyone else's hand and all of the leaders made their final pit stops around the same time.
Chasing The Checkers
The leaders made their final pit stops under the green flag with about 40 laps to go. When pit stops cycled through Jimmie Johnson was in the lead, Kyle Busch was running second and Carl Edwards was coming on strong in third.
Edwards was able to make the pass for second place and tried to run down Johnson for the lead. Johnson just had too large of a gap on Edwards and he was able to hang on for the win.
Top Ten
Jimmie Johnson
Carl Edwards
Kyle Busch
Jeff Burton
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Martin Truex Jr.
Matt Kenseth
Brian Vickers
Kurt Busch
Kasey Kahne
The Points
Eight drivers have now clinched a spot in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 128 points behind Kevin Harvick. Kurt Busch moved up one spot in the standings to eleventh. The four drivers that are not yet locked in include Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only driver that is not yet locked out.
The top twelve are now:
Jeff Gordon -0
Tony Stewart -317
Denny Hamlin -344
Carl Edwards -349
Matt Kenseth -370
Jimmie Johnson -430
Jeff Burton -460
Kyle Busch -480
Clint Bowyer -632
Martin Truex Jr. -637
Kurt Busch -657
Kevin Harvick -670
Next Week
Next Saturday night the NEXTEL Cup drivers will roll into the 3/4 mile short track at Richmond International Raceway. All eyes are on NASCAR's most popular driver. Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. pull off a miracle? Junior will need to make up a 128 point deficit to crack the top twelve. It's a tall order but far from impossible.
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