Johnson Cashes In Big In NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe's While Other Drivers Bouce Bigtime

Well the only Saturday night race in the Chase was rather uneventful as far as night races at Charlotte go. The night, no the weekend, was dominated by the Lowe's team of Jimmie Johnson, which is no surprise given his career numbers at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. He has won countless races, a few poles and seldom finishes outside the top ten at the track that bears his sponsors name. This weekend was no different. Johnson was fastest in all three practice sessions, he won the pole in qualifying and was hardly ever outside the top five all night. The only action that happened, aside from the usual Sam Hornish spin, was really Juan Pablo Montoya's mid race spin. Montoya had already received damage from being bunched up on a restart and rear ended by Mark Martin, and later in the race, he got loose and lost his #42 Chevy off of Turn 4. After repairs to the Lysol machine, the forty deuce returned to the racetrack, but Montoya never returned to contention.

But other than that, nothing else really happened to spice up the night. Greg Biffle was spun late in the race by David Stremme, who will not be racing a Sprint Cup Series car next season, sending "The Biff's" #16 Ford through the infield grass. On the subsequent restart, Jeff Gordon was overtaken by his teammate Johnson and it was all over but the crying. The fat lady had sang and started warming up for next week. Johnson has won at Martinsville Speedway just about as much as Lowe's. He's been untouchable at the half-mile Virginia Paper Clip. Ironically, despite all the victories and celebrations, the track has also become a very somber place for Hendrick Motorsports. In 2004 a Hendrick plane crashed into the mountains outside the track killing ten Hendrick employees, including Ricky Hendrick, the son of team owner Rick Hendrick. That is the place where the Sprint Cup tour returns this weekend and there is no doubt that the #48 machine of Jimmie Johnson will be right up front, with teammate, and fellow Martinsville ace, Jeff Gordon in close pursuit.

So three tough questions will be answered this weekend. They are: "Who will win the race?", "Who will be eliminated from Chase contention?" and "Who can eat the most Martinsville Hot Dogs?" The last short track race of the year promises to be a keeper. Lots of beatin' and bangin', rootin', and gougin' should make this a great, great race! Enjoy!