Dale Earnhardt Jr. started on the pole. It was Junior's second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole of 2013. The race went green and he was able to come around and lead the first lap of the race. He held the lead well until he moved into lap traffic. On lap 26, Matt Kenseth was able to take the lead from Earnhardt, but Kenseth's lead would be short lived as Earnhardt passed him for the lead on lap 31. The lead did not change again before the first caution waved on lap 37. Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track. David Reutimann received the lucky dog. Strategy became an important part of the race during the caution. Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, and Clint Bowyer took two tires while Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the other lead lap drivers took four tires. It would be interesting to see which strategy worked in the end.
The race went back green and Kyle Busch was able to hold the lead he had grabbed under the caution. Busch would hold the lead for a while before Ryan Newman took it away on lap 71. Newman would not hold it long before Dale Earnhardt Jr. used his four tires to take it away on lap 76. Earnhardt held onto the lead until the first round of green flag pit stops began on lap 111. Earnhardt stayed on track until he decided to make his stop on lap 117. He slowed down in turn 3, but he made a huge mistake. He had not slowed down enough and could not get all four tires under the commitment line. This meant that he could not come down pit road or he would receive a penalty. He stayed on track, but he had lost a lot of time because he had slowed down. He was able to come back around and make his stop, but Jimmie Johnson took the lead after Earnhardt's mistake. It would be interesting to see if his mistake kept him from winning the race in the end.
Jimmie Johnson continued to hold the lead after the pit stops and the long green flag stretch continued. On lap 159, Kurt Busch interrupted the action by coming to pit road. It was an unscheduled stop for Busch because he had noticed a vibration. His team replaced all four tires and discovered that one of the wheels on the car was loose. Busch had avoided a lot of damage to his car by pitting, but he has lost a bunch of time to the leaders on track. Shortly after this, the second caution of the race waved on lap 165. Debris was spotted in turn 1 of the track. Jeff Burton received the lucky dog. Since the lead lap drivers had not pitted in a long time, all of them came down pit road for four tires with Matt Kenseth coming out as the leader. The race went back green and Kenseth was able to hold onto the lead. It looked like he was in position for a third straight victory, but Jimmie Johnson was able to pass him for the lead on lap 198. Johnson held the lead as the third caution waved on lap 227. Brad Keselowski went to the apron of the track because he was experiencing possible engine problems. He had not come down pit road in time as oil from his car went on the track. Keselowski did make it to the garage and his team diagnosed the problem as a broken rear seal. Keselowski returned to the race, but he was a good many laps down. Jeff Burton received the lucky dog. All the lead lap drivers came to pit road for four tires with Jimmie Johnson coming out as the leader. At this point, a few drivers began to think about the possibility of only making one more stop, but it would be interesting to see if they could save enough fuel to make it.
The race went back green and Jimmie Johnson held onto the lead. Not much happened for a while as Johnson continued to lead. Finally, the second and final round of green flag pit stops interrupted the race on lap 308. All the drivers came to pit road in the span of a few laps and it was crucial for the gas man to get the car full of as much fuel as possible. After all the stops concluded, Jimmie Johnson cycled around to the lead once again as Dale Earnhardt Jr. had entrance problems again. Still, Junior was in the race and one mistake could give him the lead or even the win. The race began to transition into fuel conservation mode. Many of the lead drivers had already been told they could not make it to the finish and started to pick up speed in hopes of getting far enough away that they could get a splash of fuel late and still win. Drivers like Clint Bowyer began to save as much as possible in hopes of grabbing an easy victory. All these talks would be destroyed as the fourth and final caution waved on lap 370. Debris was spotted in turn 3 of the track. Brian Vickers received the lucky dog. Now, all of the leaders would have a chance to stop and the winner would be the driver who had the best car.
The leaders made the move to pit road. The ESPN announcers were calling two tires and Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth decided to make this move. Unluckily for the them, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and all the other lead lap drivers decided to take four tires. Now, the top 3 did not have the fresh rubber that the drivers behind them had. The race went green for the final time and Jimmie Johnson was able to hold onto the lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a hard charge to the front and was in second in only a few laps. He was able to get right to Johnson's bumper, but he couldn't make the move. With twenty three laps to go, Carl Edwards, a Chase driver, reported to pit road. One of the hubs that holds the tires broke on his car. His team fixed it quick and he returned to the race, but his chances for a good finish were over. This did not affect Earnhardt and Johnson as they continued to race around the track. With fifteen laps to go, Johnson still held a nice advantage, but Junior was still there. The race moved on and before long, only two laps remained. Junior was there, but he wasn't able to get close enough as Johnson ran into some lap traffic taking the white flag. Junior made it extremely close because of the traffic, but Johnson held the lead and took his unprecedented eighth win at Dover. Johnson solidified that he was a threat once again for the title, but Kenseth still holds the advantage.
What a turn around it has been for Johnson since the start of the Chase. After having four terrible races before the start of the Chase, Johnson once again grabbed his Chase magic and is in the thick of the title hunt. It is not a surprise to the fans since Johnson is a five time champion in the sport. With Kenseth running as good as he has been, it good be an amazing battle for the title heading into the final races of the season. Kyle Busch also continued his contending ways as he held station in third place in the points. Busch has been just as consistent as the two championship leaders of late and could be the third piece in the title battle as the final race at Homestead comes ever closer. All this is not to say that the title battle is only between three drivers as Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon sit waiting for the championship leaders to make a mistake. With Talladega and Martinsville coming back to back, even Kasey Kahne could make his way back into the title hunt with a couple of wins. It will be interesting to see where the series sits in a few weeks. Before the madness begins at Talladega, Kansas Speedway will see if it can mess with the championship leaders next week. Will Matt Kenseth double down at Kansas on the year, will Kasey Kahne avenge his second place at Kansas earlier this year with a win, or will another Chase driver take advantage of the mile and a half track? We will have to wait until next Sunday to find this out and more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 37- Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track.
2nd Caution: Lap 165- Debris was spotted in turn 1 of the track.
3rd Caution: Lap 227- Brad Keselowski had a rear seal problem and left oil on the track.
4th Caution: Lap 370- Debris was spotted in turn 3 of the track.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: David Reutimann
2nd Caution: Jeff Burton
3rd Caution: Jeff Burton
4th Caution: Brian Vickers
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Jimmie Johnson
2nd: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3rd: Joey Logano
4th: Jeff Gordon
5th: Kyle Busch
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Kevin Harvick
7th: Matt Kenseth
8th: Ryan Newman
9th: Greg Biffle
10th: Clint Bowyer
13th: Kasey Kahne
21st: Kurt Busch
35th: Carl Edwards
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_AAA_400/W
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/live-standings.html?intid=livestandings_livestandingsleaderboard_08292013
-Image:
http://media.thenewstribune.com/smedia/2013/09/29/18/46/508-15KyvT.AuSt.138.jpeg
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