Jimmie Johnson Wins Third Race in the Chase at Charlotte

Jimmie Johnson can pretty much etch his name in the history books of NASCAR right now.  The three-time defending Sprint Cup Champion won his third race in the Chase on Saturday night at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  Thanks to this win, Johnson has now extended his lead in the points standings to 90 points over second place driver Mark Martin.  Johnson did a great job holding off three hard charging competitors in Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, and teammate Jeff Gordon on late caution laps to capture the checkered flag.

Although he is 90 points ahead of his competition, Johnson is not yet ready to claim the Cup series championship, as he told NASCAR.com “We’re only halfway through this thing,” he said. “So much can happen. Somebody at Martinsville [next week] can lose their brakes and clean you out. With the double-file restarts, there’s going to be a lot of bumping and banging. Somebody can get into you and knock a valve stem out or cut a tire. “It’s a nice points lead; there’s no need for anybody to get too excited yet. We’ve got good tracks ahead for us, so from a team standpoint, we’re excited and optimistic. But at the same time, there’s a lot of danger out there, and we’ve just got to be smart.”If we don’t have a problem, I feel we have a very good chance to win this championship — racing for it.”

Mark Martin had a tough night on Saturday, as he was looking to gain some ground on his teammate. Thanks to an ill-handling car, Martin finished 17th and slipped further and further back from the points lead.

Matt Kensethwas very pleased with his performance Saturday night. The 2003 Sprint Cup Champion finished second at the Bank of America 500, his best finish since taking the checkered flag in February at the Auto Club Speedway. “We got the best we could out of this car”, Kenseth said “it feels good for us and it’s a real confidence booster”. As you know, Kenseth is out of the Chase for the first time in his career, but still looks to make noise and make the Chase drivers recognize that he isn’t going anywhere.

Chase drivers Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon ran third and fourth respectfully, while other Chase drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Denny Hamlin experienced engine and handling problems.  Hamlin, who dominated the early part of the race, blew an engine, and Montoya was fighting his car all night. Carl Edwards also experienced engine problems as finished with a DNF despite a great handling race car.

Here’s how they finished Saturday night at the Bank of America 500

Other notable finishes: Ryan Newman (11), Tony Stewart (13), Greg Biffle (16), Mark Martin (17), Kevin Harvick (18), Brian Vickers (34), Dale Earnhardt Jr (38), Carl Edwards (39), Denny Hamlin (42) 

It doesn’t get any easier for the drivers, as they come to the toughest part of the Chase schedule. Their first stop is at dreaded Martinsville Motorspeedway, where Jimmie Johnson is the defending race winner. We leave you, as always,  with your updated Chase for the Sprint Cup standings.