Jeff Gordon started on the pole. It was Gordon's second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole of 2013. The race went green and Gordon was able to come around and lead the first lap of the race. Gordon held the lead well early until the first caution of the race waved on lap 25. J.J. Yeley made contact with the outside wall in turn 1. His car began to smoke a good bit and he made it to pit road with heavy damage. The damage was too much for Yeley to return to the race. Travis Kvapil received the lucky dog. A good bit of action occurred during the pit stops. Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others took two tires while Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, and others took four tires. But a little bit more would happen on the stops. Kyle Busch's team had made the decision to take only two tires, but the front tire changer did not know the move was made to take two. He changed the right front and went around to change the left. He drilled two or three lug nuts off as Busch left his pit stall. This forced Busch to come back in to avoid a penalty and get the lug nuts replaced, which cost him a lot of spots. Also, Paul Menard and Danica Patrick made contact due to the movement happening on pit road. It was a very action packed set of stops and the race was finally ready to restart.
The race went back green and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to take the lead from Kasey Kahne. Earnhardt did not hold the lead long before he encountered a slight problem. A piece of paper had landed on his grill and air could not get to the radiator, which would cause overheating after a long period. He drove around for a little while before his team made the call to let Kahne past him and get the trash off Earnhardt's grill. Junior fell in behind Kahne on lap 44 and they attempted to get the trash off. The two ran nose to tail for a few corners and couldn't get the trash off. This forced Kahne to move away since Martin Truex Jr. was starting to catch the two leaders. Now, Junior had lost the lead and still had debris on the grill. Junior fell all the way back to his other teammate, Jimmie Johnson, to see if they could get the trash off. This time the two were able to get it off and Junior would not have to make an early move to pit road. Kahne continued to hold the lead until Martin Truex Jr. made the move to pit road on lap 69. This instigated the first round of green flag pit stops of the race on lap 74. Kahne was able to cycle back around to the lead once again. The race went a short time after this before the second caution waved on lap 83. Mark Martin lost an engine entering turn 1. His car began to smoke and it left oil on the track. Martin made it to pit road, but his night was finished before it had really began. Jeff Burton received the lucky dog. A little bit of strategy occurred during the caution. Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others stayed on track while Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and others made the move to pit road. Keselowski's team made a huge error on the stop. They completed it quickly, but the jackman did not pull the jack out when the stop finished and Keselowski pulled it out of the box. This resulted in a penalty for Keselowski and he had to come back in and have the jack removed. Keselowski lost a lot of positions, but he had avoided damage. It would be interesting to see if he could come back and take the win.
The race went back green and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to take the lead from Kasey Kahne once again. Earnhardt held the lead well before Kahne was able to pass him on lap 96. Kahne drove away from the field and held the lead until the second round of green flag pit stops began on lap 127. The stops went smoothly and Kahne was able to cycle back around to the lead. Kahne continued to hold the lead and the laps started to click away. The race continued on for a good while before the third caution waved on lap 173. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 3. Kyle Larson received the lucky dog. Since green flag pit stops were about to begin, all the lead lap drivers came to pit road for four tires and fuel with Kasey Kahne coming out as the leader. The race went back green and Kahne once again lost the lead on the restart with Jimmie Johnson passing him. Johnson pulled away from Kahne and held the lead until the third round of green flag pit stops began on lap 225. The stops were clean and Johnson cycled back to the lead. Johnson continued to hold the lead, but the leaders would have to make at least one more pit stop.
Johnson continued to hold the lead as the fourth and final round of green flag pit stops began on lap 274. Kevin Harvick made the move on this lap, but the leaders tried to see if they could save as much fuel before their stop to see if they could make the rest of the race without stopping. Most of the leaders stayed out until lap 280 and looked to see if they could make the rest of the race from there. Jimmie Johnson once again cycled to the lead with Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch running behind him. It looked like Johnson was the only driver who had enough fuel to make the finish, but all that would not matter as the fourth and final caution waved on lap 306. Debris was spotted on the backstretch of the track. Carl Edwards received the lucky dog. Now, all the strategy was erased and the leaders could make their final pit stop of the race. All of them came down and the race winning strategy was made. Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon took two tires while the rest of the leaders took four tires. This put Kahne out in front and gave him a chance to win a race that he had dominated.
The race went green for the final time and Jimmie Johnson gave Kasey Kahne a push as they entered turn 1. Kahne used the push to run side by side with Jeff Gordon in turn 1 as Johnson got loose. Johnson fell back and Matt Kenseth moved up along with Brad Keselowski. Kasey Kahne was able to take the lead as Jeff Gordon also started to fall back. Gordon was passed by Kenseth and Keselowski in the matter of a few laps. Kahne still held the advantage over the field as Keselowski and Kenseth began to battle with nineteen laps to go. Kenseth and Keselowski battled for a few laps before Keselowski took second with about seventeen laps to go. Kahne had a nice advantage, but Keselowski was coming. He made it all the way up to Kahne with about thirteen laps to go and the two began to battle. At one point, Keselowski took the lead, but Kahne made a huge cross over move and took it back. Finally, Keselowski was able to clear Kahne on lap 325 for the lead. Keselowski ran away a little bit and Kahne tried to make it back up to challenge for a final time, but Keselowski's four tires propelled him to the white flag. He took the white flag and made it back around to the checkered flag for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win of the year. It was a much needed win for Keselowski and one that could just save him when the series starts up next year.
It has been a good little while since a defending champion struggled as much as Keselowski has. For a few years, the driver who finished second in the title battle struggled the next season, but Keselowski has changed that this year. This win could mean a whole lot for him to end the season and even for his future. When you struggle like they have this year, it is tough to gain the momentum needed to make it back to the top of the mountain in NASCAR's highest series. Kasey Kahne finally brought the terrible beginning in the Chase to a halt. He scored his first top 10 of the Chase after a struggling first few races. He is eighty one points out right now, but he still can't be canceled out of the battle for the championship. The championship battle stayed pretty even. Matt Kenseth finished one spot ahead of Jimmie Johnson and Johnson remained only a few points back. Kevin Harvick also remained third with Jeff Gordon only a few points out in fourth. The lead is good for Kenseth, but Talladega is only seven days away. Talladega is the ultimate wild card race in the Chase and one that could change the complete outlook of the Chase. With Kenseth hoping to stay out front, he needs to stay consistent next week. It should definitely interesting next week for the Chase drivers at the biggest track on the circuit and, possibly, one of the most challenging when it comes to avoiding wrecks. Will Matt Kenseth continue to hold his advantage on the field, will Jimmie Johnson and the drivers behind him move up, or will a driver deep in the standings make their way to the front? We will all be on the edge of our seats next Sunday waiting for the answers to these questions.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 25- J.J. Yeley made contact with the outside wall in turn 1.
2nd Caution: Lap 83- Mark Martin lost an engine in turn 1 and left some oil on the track.
3rd Caution: Lap 173- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 3.
4th Caution: Lap 306- Debris was spotted on the backstretch of the track.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Travis Kvapil
2nd Caution: Jeff Burton
3rd Caution: Kyle Larson
4th Caution: Carl Edwards
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Brad Keselowski
2nd: Kasey Kahne
3rd: Matt Kenseth
4th: Jimmie Johnson
5th: Kyle Busch
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Kevin Harvick
7th: Jeff Gordon
8th: Ryan Newman
10th: Carl Edwards
11th: Clint Bowyer
14th: Kurt Busch
15th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
16th: Greg Biffle
18th: Joey Logano
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
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
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Bank_of_America_500/W
-Image:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/Wires/Online/2013-10-13/AP/Images/NASCAR%20Charlotte%20Auto%20Racing.JPEG-0924a.jpg
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