Stewart was running second when Jeff Burton ran out of fuel with four laps to go in the 334 lap race.  Stewart led on seven different occasions for a race-high of 173 laps.  He finished just one spot ahead of points leader Edwards, cutting his lead down to three points.

Teams Have Good Days

Roush Fenway Racing had a strong day with Greg Biffle and David Ragan qualifying on the front row, along with the rest of RFR starting in the Top 10.  Biffle led 23 laps early on and Matt Kenseth led 87 total.  Although Edwards only led 14 laps, he was the top finishing RFR driver by virtue of a second place finish.  Kenseth and Biffle finished the day out in fourth and fifth position, respectively.  Ragan, who raced in the Top 5 for most of the race, finished in 12th position.

After finishing the race in 13th position, Kevin Harvick remains third in points standings.  However, he is now 33 points behind the leader.  Kenseth, who finished the race in fourth position, gained one spot in standings and is now 38 points back in, fourth place.  Suffering from handling issues and troubles on pit road during the race, Brad Keselowski finished in 24th position, which drops him to fifth place in standings, now 49 points behind Edwards.

Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr finished in sixth and seventh, respectively, both gaining two spots in standings.  Earnhardt nows sit seventh in points, 79 points behind the leader. Gordon sits in eighth, 89 out of the lead.

Their HMS teammate, Jimmie Johnson, had a day that was indicative of his Chase thus far this season. Johnson started strong, running in the Top 10 for most of the race before sliding through the grass on lap 240, effectively ending his chance to win the race. This is just one example of a lackluster Chase performance this season that has plagued the No. 48 team.

Kyle Busch Parked For Race, Fined And Put On Probation

Kyle Busch did not participate in the Cup race after being parked by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution in the truck series race on Friday night.  By missing the race, Busch dropped four spots in standings and is now 100 points behind the leader.  Busch has been fined $50,000 and placed him on probation until Dec. 31 for his actions.

When issuing the penalty on Monday, NASCAR said that “if during the remaining NASCAR events in 2011 there is another action by the competitor that is deemed by NASCAR officials as detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR, or is disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event, the competitor will be suspended indefinitely from NASCAR.”

Chase Is A Two-Man Race

With just two races left in the season, it looks like the Chase battle has come down to a two man battle.  The championship may just come down to the final lap at Homestead between Edwards and Stewart.  Next week we head to Phoenix International Raceway to see how the battle plays out!

Results: 1. Tony Stewart, 2. Carl Edwards, 3. Kasey Kahne, 4. Matt Kenseth, 5. Greg Biffle, 6. Jeff Gordon, 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 8. Martin Truex Jr., 9. Clint Bowyer, 10. AJ Allmendinger

On Monday evening, the couple was on a Gulfstream 150 registered to Jimmie Johnson Racing II Incorporated that ran off the runway at Key West International Airport. It ran off 100 feet beyond a 600-foot safety area that was completed earlier this year.

The Hendricks were taken to the hospital and had minor injuries. The pilots were also taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Upon hearing the news, HMS driver Dale Earnhardt Jr said:

It was a real big scare. Very frightening to hear. ’I'm very glad that he and everybody appears to be OK.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp issued a statement saying:

We became aware of this piece of audio this morning and certainly want to get all the facts before making an opinion and reaching any conclusions. We’ll visit with the parties and pull all the facts together best we can. While Talladega is done and the No. 48 was not the winning or random car, we certainly have an interest in getting the facts straight on behalf of the balance of the competitors.

Johnson and  No. 48 Lowe’s team’s dynasty of five straight championships is about to come to an abrupt halt after a disappointing 26th place finish at Talladega. The finish leaves them sitting seventh in position in the championship standings, 50 points behind Carl Edwards with just four race remaining in the 2011 season.

Before the green flagged waved, Knaus leaned in the cockpit and told the five time champion that if they won, he should intentionally damage the back of the racecar during post race celebration. Kanus admitted to giving Johnson instructions to “cover their bases” in case bump drafting knocked the car out of NASCAR’S rules. Officials more than likely would have accepted the damaged as the reason for the car failing to meet NASCAR’s tolerances.

Johnson’s in-car camera was live on NASCAR.com’s Race Buddy, which meant the audio was broadcast to anyone listening on NASCAR’S website.

Knaus was heard saying ”If we win this race, you have to crack the back of the car. Got it?” Johnson sounded surprised, asking, “Really?” Knaus replied saying “Yes. Got it? You don’t have to have to hit it hard, you don’t have to destroy it. But you’ve gotta do a donut and you’ve gotta hit the back end, or somebody’s gotta hit you in the ass-end or something. OK?” Johnson either remained silent, or the audio didn’t pick up his response. “You’ll be alright. Can’t take any chances,” Knaus added.

After admitting to the allegations, Knaus said, “Here’s the deal, racing at Talladega is tough, and I think everybody understands that. You run 500 miles at 200 miles per hour, and you’re bump-drafting and you’re beating on one another, and it’s real easy for these cars to get outside of tolerance. It’s a tight tolerance that we’re held in. It doesn’t take much to be a few thousands [of an inch] off and have NASCAR raise an eyebrow.”

NASCAR will more than likely meet  with crew chief Chad Knaus and driver Jimmie Johnson this weekend before any on track activities at Martinsville Speedway. Because the No. 48 team didn’t win the race and damage the rear-end of their racecar, I believe we won’t see a penalty handed down. NASCAR will more than likely tell they warn the team and tell them that they will watch them for the rest of the season.

Dega Wreaks Havoc on Chasers

On Lap 174, Michaeal Waltrip was pushing Bobby Labonte when Labonte lost control of his race car and spun in the middle of the turn.  Kurt Busch had no where to go and drove straight into the side panel of Labonte.  This destroyed the hood of Busch’s race car and ended his day.  The elder Busch brother finished the race in 36th position, 15 laps down.  This did not help his chances for the championship, knocking him down one spot in standings to eighth place, 52 points behind the leader.

Luckily for Kurt Busch, he isn’t the only Chase driver that struggled at Talladega.  Hendrick Motorsports’ Chasers did not finish as expected on Sunday, coming home with 25th (Dale Earnhardt Jr), 26th (Jimmie Johnson), and 27th (Jeff Gordon) place finishes.  All three drivers rode out the race in the back of the pack and just didn’t seem to have the momentum to race towards the front at the end.

Earnhardt remains in ninth position in standings, 74 points behind the leader.  Thanks to others’ misfortune, Johnson moved up one position to seventh place, but is now 50 points behind the leader.  Jeff Gordon also moved up one position; however, he is now 82 points behind the leader.   I would say this is the end of Hendrick Motorsports’ chances to win the title.  Johnson would be the only driver with a chance, but he would need the drivers ahead of him in the Chase to have substantial bad luck to overtake them.

Kevin Harvick came to Talladega only five points behind leader Carl Edwards.  Leaving Talladega, he is in fifth position, now 26 points behind the leader.  Early on in the race, Harvick had a fast car; he even led the race on six different occasions.  But, he fell victim to a large pile-up on Lap 104 when AJ Allmendinger spun on the front-stretch. Harvick finished the race in 32nd position, nine laps down.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano worked well together early in the race.  On Lap 67, as the duo was attempting to make green flag pit stops, Trevor Bayne cut in front of them, abruptly separating the pair.  This caused Logano to spin his race car and forced Busch to drive down pit road to avoid an accident.  Logano then blew a left-front tire on the backstretch, bringing out the caution. Busch was then sent to the rear of the field for failure to reduce speed while driving down pit road.

Busch was able to recover, leading the race on Lap 90 with help of his teammate, Denny Hamlin.  After the pile-up on Lap 104, however, Busch was unable to race his way to the front and finished the race in 33rd position.  Logano on the other hand, was able to push Tony Stewart to the lead of the race on Lap 136, despite the damage to his race car. Logano finished the race in 24th position.  Busch is now sixth in standings, 40 points behind the leader.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

Carl Edwards remains the points leader after finishing in 11th position at Talladega.  Fellow Roush driver Matt Kenseth sits second, 14 points behind Edwards.  Brad Keselowski gained three spots in the standings, moving to third, just 18 points back.  Tony Stewart moved up to fourth position after finishing the race in seventh place and is now 19 points behind Edwards.

Both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch dropped positions because of their misfortune and are now in fifth and sixth position.  Rivals Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson are now right beside each other in standings, sitting in eighth and ninth position.  Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon round out the top-10 in ninth and tenth positions, respectively.  Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman reside in 11th and 12th place, respectively.

Best Efforts of the Race

The Red Bull Racing team of Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne have to be recognized for their effort on Sunday.  Kahne started 26th, Vickers 30th, and the two pushed their way into the top-five within 10 laps.  They had troubles with the two-car tandem on Lap 159, causing Kahne to spin across the nose of Vickers to bring out a caution.  But with 50 laps to go, the pair had already hooked back up and were headed to the front.  Unfortunately they just couldn’t catch the RCR tandem, but still came home with fifth (Vickers) and sixth (Kahne) place finishes.

Dave Blaney’s third place finish at Talladega represented Tommy Baldwin’s Racing’s best finish yet at the Cup level.  Blaney was in the battle at the front in both the Daytona 500 and the spring race at Talladega this year, but couldn’t get the finishes he deserved.  This is a big step for a small organization with a short history in the sport.  Team owner Tommy Baldwin hopes the Talladega finish is a step in the right direction for a more competitive season in 2012.

Landon Cassill and Casey Mears deserve a shout-out for their strong effort at Talladega.  Before the race had even one lap in the books, Mear’s No. 13 GEICO Camry had moved from its 42nd starting position into 26th.  On Lap 3, Mears paired up with Cassill to head to the front.  They spent most of the race in the Top 5 and Top 10 until lap 174 when Mears lost his drafting partner.  Cassill was collected in a turn two crash involving Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch, forcing Mears to find another dancing partner.  Although their finishes of 16th and 17th do not represent their hard effort, the fact that they survived Talladega tells the story by itself!

There were more differences than I expected. But then I thought back to Red Bull, and how much different that was from the prior year [at Richard Petty Motorsports], and how the cars are. It’s all little things, but they keep adding up and it kind of takes time to kind of figure out that feel.

Unlike most NASCAR silly season deals, Kahne was signed by HMS a full season before he would actually make his first start for the team. This led to constant speculation of what Martin would do. He said he plans to drive in 2012.

Rumors ranged from joining Red Bull Racing to starting his own team or purchasing a team. He denied that rumor. Ultimately, Kahne ended up signing a one-year deal with RBR. Martin still has yet to announce his 2012 plans, but he is confident he will have a ride. Many speculate that he will drive for Stewart Haas Racing, sharing a ride with Danica Patrick.

Johnson is now eighth on the all-time wins list with this victory, tying Rusty Wallace’s 55 wins.  Chevrolet has now claimed the manufacturers championship for the season, their 35th championship overall.  Johnson led the race from lap 24 and dominated the field the entire race.  He had to beat his future teammate Kasey Kahne, who finished the race in second place.  Critics who doubted the No. 48 team are now retracing their statements and tucking their tail between their legs.

You can never count out five-time champion Jimmie Johnson.  Before the race at Kansas, the No. 48 team was in the midst of 21 race winless streak.  Many drivers go over 100 races without a win, yet the media was concerned with 21 for Johnson?  The battle for this championship gets more intense every week and you definitely can’t count out Johnson for this championship title.

Keselowski Stays Consistent

Brad Keselowski keeps up his consistent finishes after finishing second at Kansas Speedway.  He moved up to the fourth position in the standings, just 11 points behind the leader.  Keselowski has finished in the top-5 three out of the past four races.  Although he finished in 20th position last weekend at Dover, he overcame power steering issues to finish strong.

Like I’ve said before, Keselowski is one of the biggest contenders for this championship.   He never gives up and has consistent finishes every week.  He came into the Chase as the underdog and will leave it as the champion, or as the driver who gave the champion a run for his money.

Carl Edwards Takes Over Points Lead

Leaving Dover last week Carl Edwards was tied with Kevin Harvick for the points lead, in second position.  He is now leading the standings, one point ahead of Harvick.  Edwards salvaged a fifth place finish at Kansas after falling a lap down during the race.  In post-race interviews Edwards said that he felt like he won the race.  Managing to finish in the top-5 after overcoming such obstacles is a big accomplishment for the No. 99 team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Just Wants to Win a Race

After the race at Kansas, Dale Earnhardt Jr is leaving with a different mind-set.  ”I just want to win a race,” he said. “That’s a goal of mine right now, is to just go out there and win. Man, if we could do that, no matter what happened in the Chase I think we’d be real happy with our season”.

Earnhardt seemed to have a fast car throughout the race, but wasn’t happy with his tires.  He said during the race that the various sets of Goodyear tires were inconsistent, and he couldn’t figure out why.  Earnhardt finished the race in 14th position.  He gained one spot in points, moving to ninth position.

Gordon’s Chase Hopes Take A Big Hit

Although Gordon ran in the top-10 for most of the race, he was never happy with how his car was handling.  With 23 laps to go, Gordon noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood.  The team knew it was a matter of time before their day was over.  With two laps to go, the engine expired, leaving Gordon with a 34th place finish.  His finish dropped him down to 10th position in the points.

Being 47 points behind the leader, are Gordon’s championship hopes over?  With just six races left in the season, Gordon would need a miracle to win the championship.  However, if the drivers ahead of him in points were to finish poorly in the last few races and Gordon was to finish top-5 every week, he may still have a chance.  With the points battle being so close this season, he still has a small chance.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

As we head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the fifth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Carl Edwards is now your points leader.  Kevin Harvick lost the points lead, but only by one point, leaving him in second place.  Johnson gained two positions and is now in third place,  just four points behind Edwards.  Keselowski and Matt Kenseth both gained two positions, now sitting in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart both dropped positions in standings and now are sixth and seventh place, respectively.  Kyle Busch remains in eighth position and is now 20 points behind the leader.  Earnhardt gained one position, moving him to ninth position with his teammate Gordon in 10th.  Newman and Hamlin’s chase hopes are no longer viable, sitting in 11th and 12th position, more than 50 points behind the leader.

With 48 laps to go, Clint Bowyer took the lead with Stewart a close second.  The race came down to who could conserve fuel the best.  In the end Bowyer ran out of fuel with two laps to go, handing the win to Tony Stewart.  This puts Stewart in the points lead, with seven points over Kevin Harvick.  Bowyer finished the race in 26th position.

Stewart made it clear to the media before the Chase started that he wouldn’t be one of the drivers battling for the Championship.  I think everyone has come to realize now that Stewart likes to play mind games.  I believe he told the media that he wouldn’t be a contender so nobody considered him a threat.  Now, two races into the Chase he is one of the biggest threats.

Tough Day for Chase Contenders

Dale Earnhardt Jr started the race off well, qualifying in 12th position.  He was running consistently, rounding out the Top-10 for most of the race.  With 72 to go, Earnhardt had a flat right front tire and was forced to make a pit stop.  This threw off his pit strategy, sending him to the back of the field.  To make a bad day even worse, Dale Jr coasted across the finish line after blowing another right front tire on the last lap.  He finished the race in 17th position and dropped to eighth in standings. The silver lining is that he is in a three-way tie with Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth in the points.

Teammate Jimmie Johnson also had issues throughout the day, battling an ill-handling race car.  On Lap 279, Johnson and Kyle Busch were battling hard for 13th position.  They made slight contact, sending Johnson back to 17th position.  After a rough day, Johnson finished the race in 18th position, dropping to 10th in standings.

Cracking the Top-10 with 50 laps to go, it looked as if Denny Hamlin was going to have the day he needed.  He raced his way up to fifth position with five laps to go, while trying to conserve fuel mileage.  Unfortunately with 3-laps to go, Hamlin ran out of fuel and finished the race in 29th position.  He now sits 12th in points, 66 points behind the leader and virtually out of contention.

Roush Racing Finishes Strong

Roush Racing had a good day, having all four drivers finish in the Top-10.  On Lap 174, Carl Edwards got into the back of his teammate Matt Kenseth, spinning him to bring out the caution.  Edwards was very apologetic over the radio, saying it wasn’t intentional.  Both drivers managed to overcome the incident, finishing in sixth(Kenseth) and eighth(Edwards) position.  Edwards is now fourth position in points, Kenseth in seventh.  Greg Biffle was the top Roush driver of the race, finishing in third position.

Fresh Faces in the Top 10 

I have to give the spotlight to a few drivers who we don’t normally see finish in the Top-10.  Brian Vickers qualified his Red Bull Racing car in third position and ran in the Top-10 almost all day.  His pit crew gave him fast pit stops, helping him run well the entire race.  Vickers finished the race in fifth position.  Despite Red Bull exiting his team at the end of the season, it’s nice to see him racing hard and running to his full potential.

With all the drama of fuel mileage towards the end of the race, not many people noticed that David Ragan and Regan Smith finished the race in seventh and 10th position, respectively.  Conserving fuel and racing consistently throughout the race contributed to their Top-10 finishes.  With all the hype surrounding the Chase contenders, it’s nice to see fresh faces in the Top-10.

We head to Dover next weekend with just eight races left in the season.  The point’s battle is close and tension is high between the Chase drivers.  Who do you think will be in victory lane at The Monster Mile?

PepsiCo has one year remaining on its contract with HMS and Earnhardt Jr, and company executives feel that Diet Mountain Dew will benefit more than Amp. A paint scheme for the 2012 Daytona 500 is expected to be unveiled next week.

Amp will still appear as an associate sponsor on the car.

Image from Diet Mountain Dew Facebook Page:

We may never witness another driver accomplish this goal in our lifetime. To put this in perspective, Kyle Busch, at 26 years old, would need to win about five races per season for the next 14 seasons to reach Gordon’s goal by the time he is 40, Gordon’s current age.

Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch are realistically the only drivers who could potentially reach that goal. Johnson has 54 career wins while Busch has 23. The advantage for Busch is that he is 26 years old.

Gordon is already a legend with four championships and he could very well win his fifth championship this season.

Gordon passed Johnson with 50 laps to go in the  race.  Johnson battled hard the last three laps, pushing his car to the edge, trying to gain on Gordon.  However, his effort wasn’t enough to pass the four-time champion.  Gordon will head to Richmond International Raceway sitting comfortably in fifth position in the points standings.  Johnson currently holds the points lead.

Chase Hopes Slipping Away

Clint Bowyer didn’t have the finish he was looking for Tuesday,  just one race before the cut off for the Sprint Cup Chase.  Bowyer started on the front row, and ran quietly in the top 15 for most of the race. But, after an on-track incident involving Juan Pablo Montoya, Bowyer finished in 36th position and dropped two positions in points.  With 83 laps to-go, Bowyer went high coming off of Turn-4, cutting off Montoya and hitting the wall.  Bowyer acted as though Montoya purposely wrecked him.  However, after watching replays, it seems that Bowyer didn’t realize he was there. Fueling the speculation that it was indeed intentional was video showing Bowyer and Montoya getting together two laps before the incident.

However you look at it, both drivers were not happy after the race.  “You can’t race around the jackass,” Bowyer said of Montoya. “You never can. Anybody in this sport knows what you’re up against when the No. 42 comes up.”  Montoya had a different view of the incident.  “I was there,” Montoya said. “I think he thought I wasn’t there. I don’t know. Two laps before, the same thing – I got inside of him and he turned like I wasn’t there and we touched.”

To make the Chase, Bowyer now has to win at Richmond and have Denny Hamlin finish eighth or worse.  Fortunately for Bowyer, he has good statistics at Richmond, with one win and six top-fives.

Dale Jr’s Chase Outlook

When Dale Earnhardt Jr is asked about making the chase, he doesn’t seemed too concerned.  However, after a 19th place finish at Atlanta, he knows he needs to run better if he’s going to contend for a championship.

“I don’t have room to worry about it, as bad as we have been running. We need to get our crap together and get to running good, or it doesn’t matter where we are in the Chase and doesn’t matter if we are in or not.”  Although Earnhardt didn’t have the day he was hoping for, he still holds ninth position in points.  For Earnhardt Jr to make the chase, he has to finish 20th or better at Richmond.

One thing Earnhardt doesn’t have to worry about is where he’ll be racing for the next  six years.  Hendrick Motorsports signed Junior to a five-year contract extension, not waiting until the end of his contract in 2012 to seal the deal.  He will be in the No. 88 car until the end of the 2017 season.

Heading into Richmond on Saturday, nine drivers are locked into the Chase: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski.  Tony Stewart, finishing third at Atlanta, must finish 18th or better at Richmond to clinch a spot.  Brad Keselowski is locked in from his wild-card.  Other drivers in the top-20 such as,  AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr could take the wild-card from Hamlin, if they were to win the race and have Hamlin finish poorly.

Hendrick and Earnhardt Jr have been working on this extension for quite some time, and the news is not too suprising.

Team owner Rick Hendrick said:

We’re excited to have everything formalized and announced. Junior and I had a handshake agreement months ago, and we let other people work out the finer points from there. It was as simple and smooth as it gets.

Earnhardt Jr added:

It’s great to have it all wrapped up so quickly and far in advance. Rick and I were on the same page from the first time we talked about it, so there wasn’t any sense in waiting. There were never any questions or hesitations from either of us. It was just, “Yeah, let’s do it.”  I’m really happy at Hendrick Motorsports and enjoy working with everyone here. The team’s been very competitive this season, and we’re all excited about the direction of things. I want to make sure we’re giving our fans something to cheer about for a long time.

The new is sure to upset a small contingent of  Earnhardt Jr’s fans because they believe that Hendrick is not interested in seeing Earnhardt Jr succeed on the track. They contend that Hendrick is only interested in Jr because of the sponsorship money he brings in.

Still, this outcome is probably the most logical because of the lack of competitive Chevy rides out there, and the fact that Earnhardt is not interested in bringing his JR Motorsports Nationwide Series team to Sprint Cup.