Kasey wins #6 in 2006 - SCI October 16th Issue

Mark Martin Stumbles at Charlotte

The Bank of America 500 was going perfect for Mark Martin much of the night. At certain times during the race, Martin had actually taken over the points lead. That all came to a screeching halt with 91 laps remaining, however.

As rookie J.J. Yeeley tried to enter pit road, he crossed Mark Martin sending the #6 AAA Ford crashing into the turn 4 wall. The crash did more than end Mark's night, it most likely ended his chances at winning the Championship in what will be Mark's last full season of racing on the Nextel Cup circuit.

Overall, it was a sad and disappointing night for one of NASCAR's most beloved drivers. Martin, always the optimist, crawled out of his car and reacted in the same way that has earned the support of fans over his entire career. "The championship is not really something that's meant to be for me ever," Martin said. "It's not gonna beat me down. I'm having a good time. I'm having a blast." 

Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway Recap

The Bank of America 500 was not much different than the many other races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The same familiar face; Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch; were running up in the front for most of the race. The race itself was clean and drama-free until lap 243 when Mark Martin suffered from a race-ending wreck.

To the dismay of other drivers, that event created a domino effect that impacted others like Jeff Gordon who with 33 laps to go suffered an engine failure. The other championship drivers faired as follows:

1. (Leader) Jeff Burton, or "Ice Man" as Earnhardt Jr refers to him, finished 3rd and posted yet another top 5 finish in this year's Chase for the Championship. In 5 races, Burton has 1 win, 2 top 5's, and 2 top 10's.

2. (-45 points) Matt Kenseth finished 14th and captured five bonus points for leading the race. Kenseth will need to finish much higher in the remaining 5 races if he hopes to catch Burton

3. (-89 points) Kevin Harvick was busted for speeding on pit road late in the race. The penalty proved too costly for him to overcome and he finished in 18th place.

4. (-102 points) Mark Martin had a car that could win, and it showed early. At different points during the race, Martin had actually climbed high enough to take over the points lead. That came to end when on lap 243 when he wrecked with J.J. Yeeley. Martin was listed in 30th place when the checkered flag waved.

5. (-106 points) Dale Earnhardt Jr was strong for much of the night. He finished the race in 4th place, and collected 5 bonus points for leading the race.

6. (-137 points) Denny Hamlin's "Golden Boy" status was lost in Saturday night's Bank of America 500. The rookie wrecked on the first lap of the race, and never fully recovered from it. He finished 28th.

7. (-146 points) Jimmie Johnson finished 2nd and gained 10 points on leader Jeff Burton. Jimmie's chances of winning the championship are now improved, but he'll have to gain more than 10 points every week to catch Burton.

8. (-160 points) Kasey Kahne has posted back-to-back strong finishes by winning the Bank of America 500, and by finishing 2nd last week at Talladega. Let's see if NASCAR's most eligible bachelor can string together 5 more strong finishes to finish the season strong.

9. (-195 points) Kyle Busch is no longer pulling up the rear. Kid Vegas finished in 6th place and moved in front of Jeff Gordon in the points.

10. (-147 points) Jeff Gordon must be under a hex. The last three races must have been torturous for the 4 time NASCAR champion. In each race, Jeff ran strong only to have a disastrous finish at the end. Saturday night, Gordon lost an engine with 33 laps to go and finished 24th.