Pop artist Bon Jovi has a single called “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and it speaks about how no matter where you are, there is only one real place called home.
For NASCAR, that place is Charlotte, North Carolina. Over 75 percent of the teams are based in the Charlotte area, so most can stay at their own homes, and teams don’t have to travel far for equipment. The difference is that this time, NASCAR can race at what is considered to be the home of NASCAR.
Under clear skies, and with the bright lights of the Charlotte Motor Speedway lit up for the only night race of the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Over 100,000 fans turned out to see who would take the win in the Bank of America 500.
Pole-sitter Jeff Gordon brought the field to green and was ready to go after his first win of the season. But, he didn’t enjoy the lead for long, not because he lost it, but because the yellow flag quickly came out. Entering turn 3, Ryan Newman got loose at the top of the track, and met the outside wall, flattening the right side of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet.
No one at the front elected to come to pit road, but on the restart there was a huge battle for the lead. Gordon suddenly became the meat in the sandwich as Carl Edwards was down low and Kyle Busch was up high out of the second turn. At the line, Edwards had the point, but the momentum of the high line gave Busch the lead just one lap later.
He would hold onto that lead until older brother, Kurt, spun out in the fourth turn, and then giving the pit crews a chance to show their stuff.
Gordon’s team got the No. 24 out in front of Busch, but would start second as Michael McDowell stayed out on the track. But, on the green, Gordon got the jump, got the lead into turn 1, but lost it in turn 2 as Busch powered his way to the outside. Five laps later, the caution flew again as Jimmie Johnson, the points leader coming into the night, spun out on the backstretch. He avoided hitting anything, but he brought the home crowd to cheers as he put on a smoke show trying to recover.
At the same time, out front it was all Kyle Busch as he led on the restart, and held the top spot through the first round of green-flag stops. The caution flew again on lap 110 for debris, but the biggest wreck happened a few laps later.
Out of the fourth turn, Kasey Kahne got loose and caught the outside wall. But, Sam Hornish was a sitting duck and got caught up in Kahne’s spin. Kahne and Hornish went to the garage, but as the night went on during the repairs, Kahne began feeling sick, actually leaving the track to head to the hospital for treatment. J.J. Yeley took over the No. 9 Ford and gave Kahne’s team a 38th-place finish.
Meanwhile, out front, Busch lost his lead to Mark Martin on the ensuing round of pit stops. At the same time, a new contender emerged in Jamie McMurray. He would take the lead from Martin on lap 136, and held on for over 30 laps until the next round of pit stops began.
Following all the stops, McMurray would go back to the front, but felt yet another challenge, this time from someone who was familiar with being out front at Charlotte.
After an early spin, the No. 48 of Johnson found it’s way to the top of the charts. Something many fans didn’t want to see. But, they didn’t have to wait long for that to change as the caution on lap 204 for the spinning Marcos Ambrose meant teams needed service on pit road. Coming out with the lead was Busch.
He would hold the top spot through the race’s seventh and eighth cautions, and kept his lead following a round of pit stops. However, his lead began shrinking. Second-place McMurray was on a tear and began shrinking Busch’s lead. First it was two seconds, then 1.5, and then under a second. The No. 1 car was looking for the No. 1 position on the track.
Finally, after the lap 314 restart following the final caution of the race, McMurray made the pass on Busch and from that point never looked back. When it comes to the big races, the No. 1 team always seems to come to play, and on this night the car number matched the finishing position. He may not be in the Chase, but everyone was chasing him as McMurray came of the final corner, taking the checkered flag and winning the Bank of America 500.
It was his third win of the season, and gives him victories at three of NASCAR’s “crowned-jewel” tracks this season. It certainly isn’t a dream, because McMurray has earned every step of it. Great run by the Bass Pro Shops team.
Next Sunday, it’s all about short-track racing as NASCAR heads to Virginia to take on the 0.526-mile oval in Martinsville. It’s the last short track rack of the season, and competition will be close.
The Tums Fast Relief 500 will go green at 1 p.m. on ESPN on Sunday, October 24.
RESULTS: 1-McMurray 2-Kyle Busch 3-Johnson 4-Hamlin 5-Biffle 6-Kenseth 7-Logano 8-Harvick 9-Reutimann 10-Ragan
NOTABLE FINISHES: 12-Edwards 17-Bowyer 20-Burton 21-Stewart 23-Gordon 29-Earnhardt Jr. 30-Kurt Busch 38-Kahne
CAUTIONS: 9 for 39 laps. Lap 3-7 (No. 39 accident-T3), 25-28 (No. 2 spin-T4), 35-37 (No. 48 spin-FS), 110-114 (Debris), 125-131 (No. 9, 77 accident-FS), 204-207 (No. 47 spin-T4), 240-243 (No. 7 spin-FS), 248-250 (No. 31 spin-T2), 310-313 (Debris).
LEAD CHANGES: 27 among 19 drivers. Gordon 1-7, Edward 8, Kyle Busch 9-25, Gilliland 26, McDowell 27-28, Kyle Busch 29-76, Martin 77, Burton 78, Montoya 79-80, Kenseth 81, Bowyer 82, Carpentier 83, Kyle Busch 84-127, Martin 128-135, McMurray 136-169, Kyle Busch 170-173, Hamlin 174, Logano 175, Harvick 176, Biffle 177, Edwards 178, McMurray 179-188, Johnson 189-203, Kyle Busch 204-292, Sorenson 293, Allmendinger 294-298, Kyle Busch 299-313, McMurray 314-334.
TIME OF RACE: 3 Hrs, 34 Mins, 7 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 140.391 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.866 Seconds
Chase for the Sprint Cup: 1. Johnson, 5843 points; 2. Hamlin, -41; 3. Harvick, -77; 4. Gordon, -156; 5. Kyle Busch, -177; 6. Stewart, -177; 7. Edwards, -200; 8. Biffle, -225; 9. Kurt Busch, -237; 10. Burton, -239; 11. Kenseth, -256; 12. Burton, -300