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Million dollar Jimmie Johnson up to the challenge Despite several problems during Saturday night's Nextel All-Star Challenge, Jimmie Johnson prevailed at the finish line for the second year. Johnson overcame a pit road speeding penalty, avoided several accidents, and came out on the losing end of the inversion, which reversed the field after the first segment. Only the top-10 were inverted, and Johnson was 11th. "I had some adversity I had to overcome," said Johnson. "But as soon as I realized that I was still on the lead lap after the speeding penalty, then I knew I still had a chance." Johnson crossed the finish line 1.729 seconds ahead of runner up Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon after Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth banged together just two laps into the final 20-lap segment. Stewart and Kenseth were eliminated as were a host of other favorites in this non-points race that padded the winner's pocketbook with one million bucks. "Our main goal was to finish," said Kevin Harvick. "We were able to avoid the wrecks, but the 48 had us covered. I thought even after everybody wrecked we were still only the second-best car out there." Trailing the three front-running Chevrolets were Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Johnson's record at Lowe's Motor Speedway now stands at seven, including three straight Coca-Cola 600s and the 2003 All-Star race. Stewart, who had got caught up in an earlier wreck, appeared to ram Kenseth's No. 17 Roush Ford, sending both of them into the wall. "He put me into the wall, head-on," said Kenseth. "Then he flipped me the bird." Stewart didn't see it the same way. "I think he screwed up on this one," said Stewart. "If he thinks I did that and it's my fault, he's screwed up in the head." There were just nine cars that completed the final 17 laps. Scott Riggs raced his way into the All-Star Challenge by winning the 30-lap Nextel Open earlier in the night. Kyle Petty was voted into the 20th and final spot of the All-Star Challenge by fans. Nextel allowed fans to vote in their favorite driver. Regular points racing continues May 26-27 at Lowe's with the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the season. Top-10 Nextel Cup Chase Contenders: 1. Johnson-1686, 2. Stewart-1593, 3. Kenseth-1592, 4. Martin-1487, 5. Earnhardt-1460, 6. J. Gordon-1391, 7. Kyle Busch-1388, 8. Kahne-1379, 9. Harvick-1365, 10. Burton-1295 Top-10 Craftsman Truck leaders: 1. T. Bodine-1017, 2. Musgrave-1000, 3. Reutimann-896, 4. Martin-844, 5. Cook-808, 6. Benson-788, 7. Starr-783, 8. Setzer-776, 9. Sprague-765, 10. Crafton-760 Add a comment |
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