[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]Real racing resumed this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway after the crash fest last week at Talladega. Clint Bowyer saved enough fuel over the final 56 laps to win Saturday nights NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500.
Bowyer led three times for 29 laps of 334 in route to his third win of the season and the first in the chase.
“Just very proud of these guys, very proud of everybody. We’ve had cars all year long capable of winning and to be able to win three times for me and everybody’s led laps and we’ve just had a great year. Thank you to Michael (Waltrip, co-owner) and Rob Kauffman (co-owner) for taking a chance on me. Man, I love these guys.” Bowyer said.
Bowyer moves up one position to fourth in the standings, 28 points out.
“Realistically, we’re still in the thing. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.” Bowyer said.
Denny Hamlin finished second and remains third in the standings, 15 points out.
“It’s finally good to have a fuel mileage race somewhat go our way. We’ve been struggling with these things in the past, so it teaches you you’ve got to be prepared for these because they seem happy more often than not.” Hamlin said.
Jimmie Johnson finished third and is now just 7 points out of the lead, cutting the lead in half.
“We’re still not the best car out there at it, but we’re making it work week-in and week-out. It’s part of the game right now for whatever reason. Happy to have this MyLowes car third, and glad to gain some on the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) car. We’ll go to the next one. This thing is still wide open for anybody.” Johnson said.
Greg Biffle finished fourth and moves up three positions in the standings to sixth, 43 points out.
“The 3M Ford Fusion, a top-five finish, we finished fourth here in the spring in the 600, but I just want to win one of these races. We had the fastest car at the end, but couldn’t make it on fuel.” Biffle said.
Kasey Kahne finished 8th and Martin Truex Jr. finished 10th.
Points leader Brad Keselowski, who ran out of fuel before his final pit stop, finished 11th and now holds a 7 point advantage over Johnson.
“Yeah, it’s like playing blackjack. Sometimes you’re going to get a good deal but you’re not going to win ‘em all. You know that. You hope that you’re sitting there with 13 and not have a lot of chips in the pile. We didn’t. We didn’t lose too much. We got 11th out of the day where everything kind of fell against us from cautions at the beginning to lack of ‘em at the end. We still put out a respectable effort.” Keselowski said.
Tony Stewart finished 13th, Matt Kenseth 14th, Kevin Harvick 16th, Jeff Gordon 18th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. DNS.
Official Chase Standings/Stats
After race 5 of 10
Bank of America 500, Charlotte
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/chase.php
| Pos. | Driver | (+/-) | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 | Bon. | Avg St | Ave Fin | Laps | Ttl Laps | Points | Bnd |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 5.2 | 1489 | 1490 | 2214 | 0 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 10.8 | 5.6 | 1490 | 1490 | 2207 | -7 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14.6 | 8.2 | 1489 | 1490 | 2199 | -15 |
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 9.4 | 1488 | 1490 | 2186 | -28 |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | -1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 1486 | 1490 | 2179 | -35 |
| 6 | Greg Biffle | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9.4 | 11.4 | 1487 | 1490 | 2171 | -43 |
| 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 1489 | 1490 | 2165 | -49 |
| 8 | Tony Stewart | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 18.4 | 13.6 | 1485 | 1490 | 2164 | -50 |
| 9 | Jeff Gordon | -3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9.2 | 12 | 1411 | 1490 | 2164 | -50 |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.2 | 12.6 | 1486 | 1490 | 2158 | -56 |
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12.4 | 16.4 | 1459 | 1490 | 2147 | -67 |
| 12 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19.8 | 19.2 | 1154 | 1490 | 2128 | -86 |
*Note: These stats consist of only the final 10 chase races.
(http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/chase.php)
Biggest loser(s) after race 5: Jeff Gordon. The 18th place finish drops him another 8 points behind to 50 points out, any hope of getting the 2012 title is over.
Biggest gainer after race 5: Clint Bowyer. Bowyer came into Charlotte 40 points out of the lead and comes out just 28 points out of the lead, adding a possible 4th man eligible for the title.
Biggest movers after race 5 (+/-): Clint Bowyer
