Gordon wins back to back Chase Races.

In what has been synonymous with exciting races and fantastic finishes, Saturday nights Bank of America 500 from Lowe’s Motor Speedway didn’t disappoint. Jeff Gordon followed up his last lap win at Talladega a week ago, held off just about everybody, and picked up the win in Charlotte. He didn’t have the fastest car, all night, he didn’t have the fastest car during the final laps, shoot, he barely had enough fuel to finish, but Jeff Gordon continued to prove why he has been the man to beat all season long. Gordon seemingly had the race won with a sizeable lead with 30 laps to go. A late caution bunched the field up, and Gordon had to restart with teammate Kyle Busch right behind him. Busch who is leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the year, had the faster car, and was in position to move his teammate out of the way for the win. Busch has expressed his displeasure at times this season, as he has been the odd man out when it comes to strategy during races earlier this season. With the restart with 5 laps to go, many including myself thought Busch had a great opportunity to show his soon to be former teammate exactly what he thought of him.

On the restart, it wasn’t Busch who made the move for the lead. Ryan Newman came flying around Clint Boyer, Busch, and Gordon from fourth place on the first turn and rocketed to the lead. That lead would be short lived, as Newman cut a tire with just 3 laps to go, brought out the caution, and sent the race into NASCAR’s overtime format know as a green-white-checkered. Gordon who was already concerned about his fuel level, wasn’t sure if he had enough to finish the regular scheduled distance of laps, let alone the extra laps scheduled by NASCAR. On the restart, Gordon’s number 24 seemed to sputter just a bit, but after that, he set sail and was not caught in the final laps. Clint Bowyer who is trying to keep pace with Gordon in the championship standings finished second, and Busch ended up third. Chasers Jeff Burton, and Carl Edwards rounded out the top 5, and Dave Blaney coming off of a surprising 3rd place finish at Talladega backed that up with a 6th place finish Saturday night.

CHASE STANDINGS AFTER CHARLOTTE

1. Jeff Gordon leader
2. Jimmie Johnson -68
3. Clint Bowyer -78
4. Tony Stewart -198
5. Carl Edwards -240
6. Kyle Busch -280
7. Kurt Busch -315
8. Kevin Harvick -328
9. Denny Hamlin -349
10. Jeff Burton -366
11. Martin Truex Jr. -378
12. Matt Kenseth -442

CHASE BREAKDOWN
With just 5 races left in the Chase, very few drivers are satisfied with where they are in the standings, and how points they are behind the leader. Here’s a look at who’s sitting pretty, who has work to do, and who should start focusing on next season.

SITTING PRETTY:

1st Jeff Gordon : Has won the last two races, and has been strong all year long. This team has no weakness, and there are no tracks known to man the Jeff struggles at. Gordon is the favorite, and deservedly so.
2nd Jimmie Johnson : Had the best car at Charlotte Saturday night, but hurt the car with a late race spin. Even after crash, Johnson and the Lowe’s number 48 team bounced back with a top 15. He’s the still the defending NEXTEL cup champ, and should give Gordon problems down the stretch.
3rd Clint Bowyer : Perhaps the surprise of the Chase so far. Gordon may have picked up the win Saturday night, but he didn’t extend his lead over Bowyer by much. The big question with Clint is whether he can keep the great performances coming. If he does, he has a great chance of being the upset winner of the Chase.

WORK TO DO:
4th Tony Stewart : Smoke may be 198 points behind, but no driver responds to pressure better than Indiana's own, Stewart. He has proven in the past few years, that his team is capable of putting together great stretches of 2 or 3 wins in a row, and if anyone is going to get hot in the final 5 races, it's Stewart. The only thing holding him back is the big deficit, and the fact that Gordon, and Johnson have looked untouchable

5th Carl Edwards : Carl may have picked up a win in the second race of the Chase at Dover, but the 37th place finish at Kansas is the reason he is 240 points back instead of perhaps just 140. Carl has been the best non-Chevrolet driver all year, and should be back flipping over the Busch Series championship this year, just not the NEXTEL cup.

HEY THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR (just like the Cubs)
6th Kyle Busch : New team at Joe Gibbs Racing, new manufacture with Toyota, and recently announced new sponsor for next year in M&M’s. Next year could be much sweeter for Rowdy than 07.

7th Kurt Busch : There may have not been a hotter driver in the last couple of months leading up to the beginning of the Chase, but Kurt Busch and the blue deuce have been too inconsistant in the Chase.

8th Kevin Harvick : Happy Harvick doesn’t have a finish outside of the top 20 so far in the Chase, however, he doesn’t have a top 5 either, and the DEI RCR engine miscues has held him back all year.

9th Denny Hamlin : Hamlin was the most consistent driver all year until the Chase started. The switch to Toyota could be good, or could be bad. Either way, Denny we be hungry next year especially after how dissapointing the Chase has been for him.

10th Jeff Burton : A few years ago, when his career had seemed to stall out, just making the Chase would have been a great accomplishment. Needless to say a 366 point deficit is not what he and his RCR team had hoped for.

11th Martin Truex Jr. : Way too many engine problems for his team, but knowing he will be the main man at DEI next year should is a positive.

12th Matt Kenseth : One of the few drivers who has never missed the Chase, but seems to struggle every year. He is still one of the best, and will be a threat when O8 rolls around.

My Pick: Martinsville
This one is just too easy. The previous race at Martinsville saw the Hendrick teammates of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon battling it out over the win, with Johnson prevailing. Gordon comes in the points leader, and Johnson trails by just 9 points. Just like in April, Johnson takes the win holding off Gordon.