Brad Keselowski Wins Charlotte Nationwide Race, Danica 21st

CONCORD, N.C. -- With trash on his radiator grille and four worn tires, Brad Keselowski ran away from the field in the final laps of the Dollar General 300 Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Nationwide Series points leader padded his lead as he took his fifth victory of the year and his 11th career win. It was his first checkered flag at the 1.5-mile Charlotte track.

Keselowski now leads Carl Edwards in the Nationwide championship points race by an almost-insurmountable 450 points with four races remaining. Edwards finished 13th.

Keselowski led 46 laps, including the final 35 laps, and won by about 10 car lengths, or 1.137 seconds, over Martin Truex Jr. Finishing third was Justin Allgaier, followed by Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer.

"I'm so mentally exhausted after this race," Keselowski said. "I thought that was the best race I've ever seen in my life. That was awesome."

Danica Patrick stayed out of trouble but struggled with an ill-handling car and finished 21st, two laps down.

"We tried to work with it," Patrick told ESPN afterwards. "A couple of changes were good, but nothing overcame that feeling of not being gripped up out there.

"But we did our best. We'll take the high points and we'll take a non-crashed car home and move on. The good news is next year these tracks won't be new tracks for me. Hopefully we can have the improvement we had last weekend at Fontana. It's a bummer that we couldn't have had a better night in the GoDaddy car, but it's okay. We got a few more."

Keselowski ran the final 56 laps on the same set of tires after staying out while others pitted during a yellow flag with 44 laps to go. But his crew chief, Paul Wolfe, made an adjustment on the team's final stop -- a green flag stop on lap 144 -- that Keselowski said made the difference. So despite the old tires and the debris on the radiator, Keselowski ran the fastest lap of the race with just seven circuits remaining.

We weren't very good the first half of the race, but that guy (Wolfe) is amazing," Keselowski said. "He gave me the car I needed to win at the end of the race. Our last adjustment on pit road was really phenomenal and got our car going and where it needed to be to beat those guys."

Keselowski and Truex battled side-by-side for the lead after the final two restarts, but Keselowski was able to shoot ahead coming off turn two with seven laps to go and he pulled away after that.

Wolfe said team members burned the midnight oil Thursday night to make some final adjustments that helped the car to victory lane. "We were off a good bit on Wednesday," Wolfe said. "We worked real hard and looked at all data trying to figure out where we could make some gains. We came back Thursday and had a good practice."

Kyle Busch led the most laps -- 84 -- but slipped back with handling problems late in the race and finished sixth.

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Danica Patrick Confirms Partial NASCAR Schedule for 2011

CONCORD, N.C. -- Danica Patrick made it official Friday afternoon here at Charlotte Motor Speedway that she will again run a partial NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule along with her full-time job competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

While all the specifics have yet to be worked out, she could run up to 14 Nationwide Series races that wouldn't conflict with the IndyCar schedule or other contractual obligations.

Her JR Motorsports team did confirm she will compete in first four races of the 2011 season -- at Daytona, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Bristol, Tenn., where she will compete for the first time on the challenging half-mile track.

Until the IndyCar Series confirms its final race of the season, JR Motorsports team isn't ready to release her exact stock car schedule in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

"It's a very similar framework to this year based on my contract and what's available (on the schedule),'' Patrick said before heading out to the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval to qualify for Friday night's Nationwide race.

"I'm really excited.''

JR Motorsports co-owner and Patrick's crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said he thought the first four race portion of Patrick's schedule would be a good education for her in its variety and legacy.

The Bristol race will be good for her, Eury said. "because it's what NASCAR is all about.''

As far as preparing for Bristol, "I'll probably look to Tony for that," Patrick said. "I'll do whatever he thinks I should do to prepare. But I'm definitely used to the G forces (because of IndyCar racing) so obviously there will be some familiarity with that situation."

Both Eury and Patrick said she is hampered somewhat by NASCAR's rule prohibiting testing on the tracks she'll be running on.

"I feel like everybody has been pretty understanding and everybody has been really patient to know that we don't get testing and get to run on these tracks ," Patrick said. "I'm really, really a rookie on these tracks. The first 10 laps of practice, I feel lost. There's a lot to deal with in a first practice session at a new track."

Patrick's sponsor, GoDaddy.com, is returning to sponsor the car and "I don't see any issues with sponsorship at this point," said Kelley Earnhardt, JR Motorsports general manager. The team is owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt, Eury and Rick Hendrick.

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Danica Patrick Warns NASCAR Drivers She's No Pushover

CONCORD, N.C. -- A week ago, Danica Patrick was wrecked while in the midst of what would have been her best NASCAR finish -- an unnecessary victim of bullying as far as she was concerned.

So this week, Patrick warned the guilty party, fellow rookie James Buescher, that he better not push the issue in Friday night's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"I think it's pretty safe to say I'm not going to make it my mission to take him out because I don't want to do anything to take away from my race,'' said Patrick, who will be making her ninth start in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

"But if he, in any way, starts to act up out there, yeah, I'm going to do something about it.''

"I hope that he thinks about what he did last weekend. If he plays well with others then you know we'll be able to carry on. But if he doesn't, there's going to be a need for something to happen because you can't get pushed around out there. You can't.''

Patrick was referring to an accident with nine laps remaining in last Saturday's race in Fontana, Calif., when she was on pace for her first top-15 finish. While running 14th in a tight pack of cars she was hit from behind by Buescher, ending her day while he went on and finished 17th.

As of Friday afternoon's practice session, the two had not spoken.

"He had the opportunity if he wanted to say something,'' said Patrick when asked if Buescher had apologized. "He had an opportunity at the rookie meeting today and we're pitted next to each other.''

Patrick had strong words for anyone who thinks she is an easy target because of her inexperience, profile ... or gender.

She told reporters a story Friday afternoon about advice she had given her NASCAR team owner Kelley Earnhardt Elledge's 10-year old daughter, who has started racing.
"In this series, you've got fenders all the way around and if someone makes you mad enough, for sure, you can just take them out."
-- Danica Patrick
"She's racing and talking about running into people and I'm like, 'Hey, if you can't get by someone, hit 'em into the corner and get 'em out of the way,' " Patrick said smiling. "Things I used to do when i was racing go-karts and trying to get by them, I'd just hit em' into the corner and get by. I don't want you to think I was a really rough driver, I just got through.''

While she can't employ the same strategy going wheel-to-wheel at 220 mph while racing IndyCars, Patrick said she just may have to rely on that approach a little more in the bulky stock cars.

"I like being able to make my own destiny a little bit with people out there and there's a lot of drivers in IndyCar that push you around and do things you can't believe; you know there are times I'm like 'Are you trying to flip the car?' " Patrick said. "If I didn't lift, that's what would happen.

"You know I don't want to put myself in that position in those cars all the time, so I might come across as a little more of a pushover over there. But in this series, you've got fenders all the way around and if someone makes you mad enough, for sure, you can just take them out.

"You make your own way, you don't have to be taken advantage of because someone is just more crazy than you.''

To her credit, Patrick was calm and cool despite the frustration and disappointment last week. Her message Friday, however, was a warning to her competitors not to push it ... or her.

"I think I'm starting to find the right way to handle situations,'' Patrick said. "In the past I just used to yell about it. I'd stomp down pit lane and go yell at somebody.

"What matters is what happens out on the track, so I've found the best thing to do is give people a taste of their own medicine out there. I've found you also gain respect in those situations, because you respect someone for standing up for themselves. ''

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Darrell Waltrip's Hall of Fame Exclusion Hurts More Than Any Defeat

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Darrell Waltrip, winner of 84 races and three championships on the track, lost a popularity contest among his peers that stung more than any other defeat in his illustrious career.

Snubbed by the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting committee in his campaign to be included in the second class, Waltrip was clearly hurt by his exclusion. The color drained from his face as he watched the five names called -- David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and Bud Moore -- and although he gamely spun his chair away from the podium and toward the cameras to work an hour-long, live television program, he was wounded.

Waltrip took to Twitter immediately after leaving Wednesday's announcement -- "just having a small pity party right now," he posted -- and was still smarting a day later. Instead of celebrating his selection Thursday, he played golf with younger brother Michael.

"My feelings are hurt," Waltrip told The Associated Press in a candid conversation Thursday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"Do I take it personal? No. I can't. I couldn't live in this community if I did. I take it as that group of people that voted on those five guys had a stronger connection to their past and to those five guys than they did to me and what I did."

Nobody denies that Waltrip's statistics are Hall of Fame worthy: Three championships, three runner-up finishes in the standings, five Coca-Cola 600s wins, one Southern 500 and one Daytona 500. And he's tied with Allison for third on NASCAR's career wins list.

But his name was checked on less than half of the 53 ballots even though many, Waltrip included, believed he was a shoo-in for the second class.

His exclusion sent a clear message that not everybody loves ol' DW.

A polarizing driver because of his flamboyant personality and many feuds, he's found the audience is equally divided in his second career as an analyst for Fox. He openly cheered for his younger brother to win the Daytona 500 in the network's 2001 debut.
"I don't know what I could do. I feel like I've been a good boy lately. I may disagree with things on TV, things I don't like, but that's my job."
-- Darrell Waltrip
His "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let's go racing boys!" scream at the start of every race has grown stale, and his outspokenness has angered many in the industry.

There's also a prevailing sense that Waltrip turns the most mundane activities into a chance to promote himself, and no moment is not a good moment for the showman to ham it up for the cameras.

But is a style that rubs some people wrong enough to overshadow the substance of his glorious NASCAR career?

"Despite Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, the same reasons you would vote Ned Jarrett into the Hall should apply to Darrell Waltrip," said voter Doug Rice, president of PRN.

If voters indeed dismissed Waltrip because of his personality, the man who was known as "Jaws" for running his mouth during his driving career doesn't know what he can change.

"I don't know what I could do. I feel like I've been a good boy lately," he said. "I may disagree with things on TV, things I don't like, but that's my job. When I was a driver, I was Jaws, and maybe it wasn't my job. That was something I had to overcome."

The 52-member voting panel is made up of eight NASCAR representatives, 11 track owners, 14 media representatives, three manufacturer representatives, four retired drivers, three retired car owners, three retired crew chiefs, four industry representatives and two executives from the Hall of Fame. The 53rd ballot is a fan vote.

The panel spent more than two hours Wednesday in a closed door session debating the 25 nominees, and voters said the discussion was split on contributions to the sport and if NASCAR's pioneers should make up the first several years of inductees.

"My personal thinking is that the majority of the voters feel we should, the panel, should go back to the roots and honor some of the pioneers first," said Tom Higgins, who covered NASCAR for 34 years for The Charlotte Observer. "I have no problem with that, although I didn't vote that way. The five selected are an excellent class. But I don't know why Darrell Waltrip didn't make it.

"I don't think it was personal. I would hope not. But I don't have any explanation to it other than people wanted to see pioneers get into the Hall first."

There's an age issue that Waltrip cited himself. He's 63 years old and won the bulk of his races in the 1980s.

Moore, a decorated World War II infantryman who won 63 races in his 37-year career as a car owner, is 85. Jarrett, a two-time champion and beloved former broadcaster, turned 78 the day before the vote. Pearson, a 105-race winner, is 75, and Allison, tied with Waltrip with 84 victories earned mostly in the 1970s, is 72.

NASCAR president Mike Helton said he was confident that Waltrip's exclusion was not personal, but explained that many voters felt a responsibility to electing the sport's elder statesmen.

"There was a great debate on comparing drivers from the 50s to drivers from the 70s. There were 52 different opinions on what the five should look like and this is how it came out," Helton said. "I don't think there were any winners or losers in there, every one of the 25 names on there will end up in the Hall of Fame. It's just a matter of when, and five is all we had to work with this year."

Jeff Burton, the voice of reason among active drivers, didn't view Waltrip's exclusion as a snub because Waltrip's qualifications are not in question.

"Time will sort all of those things out. If you're honored enough to get into the Hall of Fame, you shouldn't lose sleep about when you got into the Hall of Fame," Burton said. "The third class in no less important that the second class

Try telling that to Waltrip.

"All these people who say you'll get in sooner than later, well, I sure hope it's sooner cause this later stuff isn't much fun," Waltrip said.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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David Pearson, Bobby Allison Lead NASCAR's Second Hall of Fame Class

Driving champions David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and team owner Bud Moore were named as the second class of inductees into NASCAR's Hall of Fame on Wednesday afternoon during a ceremony at the Grand Hall of the year-old shrine in downtown Charlotte.

Representing markedly different eras, the new class is comprised of some of the sport's most recognizable names.

Three-time Cup champion David Pearson, who many thought would enter the Hall during its inaugural class, was the first name announced by NASCAR Chairman Brian France (right).

Legendary driver Bobby Allison, the 1983 Cup champ and three-time winner of the Daytona 500, was the next name revealed, followed by the Petty family patriarch and inaugural Daytona 500 winner Lee Petty; Ned Jarrett, a two-time Cup champ (1961, '65) and father of 1999 Cup driving champ Dale Jarrett; and Bud Moore, a three-time Cup champion mechanic and team owner.

The class -- selected by a 52-person voting panel plus a fan internet vote in a four-hour voting session Wednesday morning -- will be inducted in May of 2011.

The new group of five joins inaugural inductees Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Dale Earnhardt , who were honored in an elaborate ceremony this May.

Pearson, left off the inaugural list, received a convincing 94 percent of the vote this time around. As with last year, the list of year's inductees will be debated for months to come, with those who contributed to the foundation of the sport seemingly getting the nod over drivers with lengthier winning resumes. NASCAR's winningest crew chief Dale Inman and three-time driving champions Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip also received votes from the committee.

The fan vote went -- in order -- to Allison, Pearson and Petty.

"There was a spirited discussion,'' France said of the four-hour voting deliberation. "A lot of weight was put on what you did off the track as much as what you did on it. They all made great contributions.''

In order of votes received, here's a look at the 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class:
"I think they might have gotten it a little backwards with Richard getting in there (Hall of Fame) first. If it hadn't been for ol' Lee, Richard wouldn't have been there to do it."
-- Maurice Petty
David Pearson (96 percent of vote): Nicknamed "The Silver Fox," Pearson's 105 Cup Series victories is second only to Richard Petty's 200 wins. He won championships in 1966, '68 and '69 and won the 1976 Daytona 500, prompting Petty to say of Pearson, "He was the greatest driver I ever raced against.''

Bobby Allison (62 percent): One of the iconic names in NASCAR, Allison is tied with Darrell Waltrip for third on the all-time wins list with 84, including three Daytona 500 victories. In 1988, at the age of 51, he became the oldest winner in Daytona 500 history, edging his son, the late Davey Allison, at the finish line. Allison won the 1983 Cup title and in 1972 posted one of the most impressive seasons in NASCAR history, winning 10 times and finishing runner-up 12 times in 31 starts.

Lee Petty (62 percent): The patriarch of the Petty family, Lee was NASCAR's first three-time champion (1954, '58 and '59) and the winner of the very first Daytona 500 held in 1959. His 54 wins rank ninth best and he never finished worse than fourth in the championship from 1949-1959. As the owner of the legendary Petty Enterprises, he collected 268 wins in 2,000 starts, the bulk of those victories contributed by his son, seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty.

"I think they might have gotten it a little backwards with Richard getting in there (Hall of Fame) first,'' Maurice Petty, Richard Petty's brother and Lee Petty's son, joked. "If it hadn't been for ol' Lee, Richard wouldn't have been there to do it."

Ned Jarrett (58 percent): "Gentleman Ned" as Jarrett was known won 50 times in NASCAR's Cup ranks claiming the championship in 1961 and 1965 before retiring the next year at the unheard of age of 34. He soon, however, found his calling in the NASCAR broadcast booth. And his emotional call of his son Dale Jarrett winning the 1993 Daytona 500 is on NASCAR's television highlight reel.

Bud Moore (45 percent): A decorated World War II veteran who fought at Normandy, Moore easily transitioned from the military to the fledgling world of NASCAR as a mechanic and team owner. He won back-to-back titles fielding a car for Joe Weatherly and another championship as crew chief for Buck Baker.

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Denny Hamlin Gets Serious as Chase Crunch Arrives

Making eye contact with reporters, speaking in a strong voice,gesturing for emphasis, Denny Hamlin all but declared the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship was his to lose in the hour after he won the final regular season race Sept. 11 at his home track in Richmond, Va.

His body language seemed to challenge anyone to believe differently. And five races into the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hamlin is every bit on track to back up the words.

He felt he could win or contend on every single of the 10 Chase tracks and, in the past, it might have seemed more bravado than measured confidence from the NASCAR "young gun."

But this is a different Hamlin. The 2010 Hamlin model says the proper championship mindset has at last matched his considerable talent. And he is doing everything he needs to do to give four-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson a real run for a fifth.

Johnson holds a 41-point edge over second place Hamlin entering Sunday's race at the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where the Tums Fast Relief 500 is being billed as mano y mano -- a heavyweight fight of sorts between Hamlin and Johnson, who have combined to win every race there in the last four years.

"People would think so, I would think so,'' Hamlin said of comparing the race to a title fight. "I feel like if it is mano y mano, we've been in a lot of green-white-checkers where we've been on the front row together, so it should be interesting.''

Much has been made of Johnson's uncanny ability to turn a lemon of a race into lemonade. Last week in Charlotte was a prime example. Johnson spun by himself, had trouble on pit road and ran as low as 37th at one point only to recover for a third-place finish and actually increase his points advantage.

Hamlin too, however, has proven himself capable of rallying from an imperfect outing, and his ability to calmly persevere has kept him on Johnson's heels.

"A lot of people like to give Jimmie a lot of praise for what he does and he deserves it, he's a four-time champion,'' said Hamlin, who drives the No. 11 FedEx Toyota. "But for myself, we've had to overcome starting worse than him pretty much every week. We've had to overcome crashes, things like that that's happened right in front of us.
"We've gotten spun out and come back to finish second. That's what we have to do. And I feel like we've executed really perfectly this Chase so far."
-- Denny Hamlin
"We've gotten spun out and come back to finish second. That's what we have to do. And I feel like we've executed really perfectly this Chase so far.''

Compared to his flashy, season-best, six-win regular season, Hamlin's post-season has been quiet and methodical. He's still contending for the championship thanks to top-15 finishes -- nothing extreme either way.

In fact, some have criticized Hamlin for being too conservative in his approach.

"I've wanted to be, but what I've been calling conservative is being conservative on re-starts and not putting myself in a bad position,'' Hamlin said. "I've pushed myself every lap, don't get me wrong. It's just that you minimize yourself on restarts by not putting yourself in bad positions. And I feel like it's cost me a few points at the end of these races.

"There's been a few little things that have happened on restarts that have kept us from getting five, 10, 15 points and I feel like that's just me trying to be cautious and making sure I don't give up 100 because that's going to be tough to make up on the 48.

"But the way we're running right now, it keeps him honest.''

In the Martinsville "Tale of the Tape," Johnson holds a 5-3 edge in victories since 2006. However, Hamlin comes in as the most recent winner, having won handily over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano in March.

He also won this race last fall and it propelled him to another win in the season finale in Homestead, Fla. Ultimately, however, he finished fifth in the championship, more than 300 points behind Johnson.

This time around, Hamlin -- the preseason pick to unseat Johnson -- has kept the four-time champ much closer in his sights.

"I feel like I am in striking distance,'' Hamlin said. "I'm happy with it (position in the ranking).

"Talladega is such a wild card in the sense that it can go 100 points one way or another, of course we'd like to go into Talladega and have a cushion. But unless we go out there and lead the most laps and Jimmie has a struggle in Martinsville, that's probably not going to happen.

"So we just hope to close the gap once we leave Martinsville, then I'm going to keep him right in front of me for the entire Talladega race. If I'm going to get in a wreck, I'm going to make sure he's in it as well.

"We've got to just make sure that we keep him in our sights.''

And he added, "I'm not giving going to give it to the 48 by any means, because I know my potential.''

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Denny Hamlin Wins Martinsville Pole

Considering Denny Hamlin's record at Martinsville Speedway -- two straight victories and three wins in the last five races -- you wouldn't think he'd be too worried about whether he could hold onto the pole position for Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 after posting the fastest lap in his qualifying run Friday.

But winning the pole means getting the pick of the pit stalls, and at Martinsville the best one is first in line, right behind the exit line of the pits.

So as Hamlin waited nervously in the lounge of his team transporter while the rest of the field took their runs, he was. . . well, let's let him describe it in his usual frank manner: "I wasn't wishing bad luck," he said, "but I was just like, 'Slip, slip, slip, slip.'

"It came true for us. We've had to work extra hard today because we have worked just on qualifying."

The pole position at this tight, half-mile short track was "objective number one" for Hamlin and he and his team devoted all of practice to the qualifying setup.

"This is the first time for us doing that and obviously we executed it," he said.

Jimmie Johnson, who has a 41-point lead over Hamlin with five races remaining in the Chase to the Sprint Cup, qualified well back in 19th in the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. Johnson has won five of the last eight Martinsville races -- the only other winner besides Hamlin at NASCAR's oldest active track since 2006.

"Odds are the 48's not going to stay where he's at and the 29 (of Kevin Harvick) is not going to stay where he's at," Hamlin said. "As soon as the green flag drops, those guys are going to be coming."

Harvick, who is third in points, qualified near the back of the field in 36th.
"I wasn't wishing bad luck, but I was just like, 'Slip, slip, slip, slip."
-- Denny Hamlin
Hamlin won the pole with a speed of 97.018 mph, edging Aussie driver Marcos Ambrose, who turned his lap at 97.003 mph after surviving a spin in practice without any lingering effects.

"I'm excited to be in the front row," Ambrose said. "I'm going to stay there as long as I can.

Greg Biffle qualified third, followed by Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya. Tony Stewart. trying to hang within shouting distance of the Chase leaders, qualified sixth, followed by Carl Edward and David Reutimann. Jamie McMurray and David Ragan rounded out the top 10.

Jeff Gordon, who is fourth in the Chase, 156 points behind Johnson, qualified 11th.

Kasey Kahne, in the first start of his interim service as driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, struggled in time trials and will start 33rd.

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Jamie McMurray Wins Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jamie McMurray battled past Kyle Busch on the final restart of the Bank of America 500 Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway and won his third race of the year, stealing the thunder of the drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

McMurray added the Charlotte fall race to his impressive non-Chase record of 2010, which also includes victories in the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400.

Busch finished second after dominating the race and leading 217 of the 334 laps. But Busch had to hold off a determined challenge in the final laps from Jimmie Johnson, who finished third.

Johnson's finish gave him a 41-point lead over Denny Hamlin at the halfway point in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Denny Hamlin finished fourth, followed by Greg Biffle.

"As I was catching Kyle at the end of the race, when the caution came out, I really wasn't sure whether we had enough speed to outrun him the last 25 or 30 laps," McMurray said. "But the car was unbelievable those last 25 or 30 laps, it was effortless to drive and it had a lot of speed."

McMurray's victory comes eight years, almost to the day, since his first Cup victory here in the fall race back in 2002. He didn't win another race for almost five more years and until this year has never won more than one race in a season.

But 2010 was McMurray's breakout year -- with his career-changing victory in the Daytona 500, followed by a win the Brickyard 400. Still, he found himself shut out of the Chase because of inconsistent runs, including three DNFs and six finishes of 30th or worse.

But McMurray will take his year, thank you, and beating all the chasers in the midst of the Chase was simply icing on the cake.

McMurray's biggest victim was Busch, who saw his hopes for victory evaporate with a yellow flag for debris with only 24 laps to go.

"Apparently, there was a mouse that ran across the race track," Busch said afterwards.

But McMurray was catching Busch at a fast clip when the caution came out, and was probably fast enough to pass him had the yellow flag not flown.

"I was disappointed when the caution came out," McMurray said. 'I thought that was going to take the win away from us."

When the green flag flew again on lap 313, McMurray got a good run on Busch going through turns one and two and was able to power past him coming off turn two and that was pretty much it, especially when Busch became embroiled in his own battle with Johnson for second.

"It's just very, very frustrating," Busch said. "We got beat on the caution and the ensuing laps until the end. We just didn't quite find out what it took here from last night to tonight."

Said McMurray, "You just drive your heart out and if you have the car, then you are able to make those passes. And if you don't, you don't make the passes. We had a better car than Kyle at the end. He was better at certain stages during the race, but at the end of the race we had the best car."

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Jeff Gordon Wins Charlotte Pole; Dale Earnhardt Jr. Lifted By Top-10 Start

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon won his first pole of the season Thursday night, besting the Fords driven by Carl Edwards and A.J. Allmendinger with a lap of 191.544 mph around the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. His No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 -- the fifth race in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship run.

Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin (fourth), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (eighth) and four-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson (10th) will join him near the front of the grid. It is Gordon's eighth pole at this track but his first there in 10 years. It is his 69th career pole position, tying him with Cale Yarborough for third best all-time.

Gordon, Edwards and current points leader Johnson are the only Chase contenders among the top-14 qualifiers. Last week's winner, Tony Stewart, will start 29th, well off his top-six run in opening practice.

"This was huge and a huge shock,'' Gordon said smiling. "We just haven't been qualifying well lately. We used to be the kings of qualifying at Charlotte, but with the competition changing and different cars, we kinda lost our way here. I'm shocked we're here on the pole. But it's awesome timing here in the Chase. It's a small momentum and confidence booster for us.''

Although he's not among those vying for a championship -- for the second straight year -- Earnhardt was encouraged with his qualifying effort in the No. 88 Amp Energy Chevrolet. It is his best since a third-place start at Pocono, Pa., in June and is his second consecutive top-10 start.

"I think it's a roller coaster every week in this sport for teams like us, anyways,'' Earnhardt said. "We unloaded comfortable and fast. And our car had more speed than that (lap). I'm happy. We had a chance to go tire testing at Homestead and just having the chance to run a little bit, test a little bit, might have helped us, at least for this qualifying here tonight."
"Time's running out on the season and time's running out from sitting on our asses not doing nothing for a couple months so I'm trying to get all the racing I can out of these last few races."
-- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
It's a vast upturn for Earnhardt compared to a year ago when he arrived at Charlotte full of doubt, frustration and disappointment. He told reporters last October that he was "about at the end of my rope,'' regarding the up-and-down season and dismal championship run after joining the uber-champion Hendrick organization in 2008.

He was decidedly more upbeat Thursday night even though he is ranked 18th in the standings with only one top-10 finish since July. Last year he was 22nd in points entering the Charlotte fall race.

"I feel pretty good about what we're thinking, we'll just see how it works out on the race track,'' Earnhardt said.

"Everybody in the garage has the same intentions but not everybody has the same results. A lot of things aren't necessarily in your control, but you just try to control what you can and try to stay focused and stay aggressive.

"Time's running out on the season and time's running out from sitting on our asses not doing nothing for a couple months so I'm trying to get all the racing I can out of these last few races.

"We're not only just preparing for next year, but we're trying to help our teammates win the championship and get all you can out of it. I think attitude is everything. If I falter or struggle in practice or the middle of the race or anyone else on the team has a mental hiccup or lapse in focus it can be tough on any team.

"We're just trying to keep our minds going in the right direction, doing what's right.''

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Jimmie Johnson's Third Place Increases His Championship Lead

CONCORD, N.C. -- It may have been a familiar car up front in Saturday's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it was hardly just another hum-drum NASCAR championship effort.

Jimmie Johnson finished third behind winner Jamie McMurray and the night's most dominant driver, Kyle Busch, and still extended his NASCAR Sprint Cup championship lead to 41 points over second place Denny Hamlin. Most disconcerting to his competition is the fact the four-time defending series champ scored the finish despite an early race spin, pit road collision and uncharacteristic pit stop bobble.

"Ah, Superman; he woke up,'' Busch said at one point midway through the race while exchanging the lead with Johnson, who had just overcome a series of early race setbacks.

With five races remaining in NASCAR's 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs, Johnson has clearly established himself as the odds-on favorite, man-to-beat for an unprecedented and unthinkable fifth consecutive title.

"We've had a little more drama in this situation than we would have wanted to,'' Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus offered Saturday night. Yet somehow, even nights like this haven't derailed his title hopes in the least.

The other 11 Sprint Cup playoff drivers must be asking themselves, 'What's it going to take?' Even when Johnson has bad luck or makes mistakes, the team still manages to prevail.

"The finish was great, but the first half of the race was a disaster for us,'' said Johnson, who drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. "I'm so relieved to be sitting here in third spot and still leading the points.

"It's amazing what goes through your mind when you're sliding around on the back straightaway. I saw all my hard work for the year and all the dreams of being a five-time champion go away. Fortunately, my car turned away from the wall and, at that point, scared me straight.

"We kept our composure. In the summer months, the issues with the car, the spin, our frustrations would have gotten the best of us and we would have taken ourselves out of contention. But tonight the team stayed in it, Chad did, I did, (spotter) Earl (Barban) kept us calm. I hope we look back at it and say, 'Tonight was a good night.'''
"The finish was great, but the first half of the race was a disaster for us. I'm so relieved to be sitting here in third spot and still leading the points."
-- Jimmie Johnson
Not so much for many of Johnson's key challengers. The race had dramatic effects on the championship standings -- clearly separating Johnson, Hamlin and third place Kevin Harvick from the other chasers. Harvick is 77 points behind Johnson, thanks to an eighth-place finish Saturday night.

Many of the other Chase contenders experienced bad luck and mechanical problems. Unlike Johnson, they weren't able to salvage the night.

Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon entered the night ranked fourth trailing Johnson by 85 points. He remained in fourth place, but is now 156 points back thanks to a 23rd-place finish Saturday, his No. 24 DuPont Chevy hampered with electrical problems.

Similarly, Tony Stewart retained his fifth-place ranking, but instead of being 107 points out, he's now 177 points behind Johnson. Like Johnson, the two-time champ Stewart also had contact with another car, a pit road problem and issues getting his No. 14 Old Spice/Old Depot Chevy running to his liking. He, however, wasn't able to overcome the problems and finished 21st in the race.

Busch's runner-up effort placed him in a tie with Stewart, 177 points behind Johnson with five races remaining to settle the championship.

"Tonight is a night that reminds me of the last four years and what made this team champions,'' Johnson said. "I hope tonight's performance leads us to a championship. I hope we look back and say, Charlotte was a key point for us in the championship battle.''

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Kasey Kahne Released From Richard Petty Motorsports

After what became a contemptuous relationship between NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne and his Richard Petty Motorsports team, the entities have parted ways.

RPM announced late Wednesday it was immediately releasing Kahne, whose contract was done at the end of the season.

Aric Almirola will drive the No. 9 Budweiser Ford this weekend in Martinsville, Va. and the team is still trying to finalize a driver lineup for the rest of the year. Kahne has not commented.

Frustrations seemed to boil over Saturday night at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when Kahne's Ford experienced brake problems for the third time in recent weeks. Instead of sticking around while the team repaired the car, Kahne left the track. After the crew repaired the car, driver J.J. Yeley took over driving duties and the team said only that Kahne left because he was ill.

Early the next morning, Kahne ran in his Kasey Kahne Foundation Charity 5-Kilometer run and finished in 22 minutes -- still insisting that he had been ill the night before.

Already having decided he would not renew a contract with RPM, Kahne made news early this season when he announced his 2012 plans -- two years early. He will replace Mark Martin in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet in 2012 and recently confirmed that he will drive for Red Bull Racing next year.

The Red Bull team announced Thursday that Kahne would be in the No. 83 Toyota at Martinsville.

Richard Petty Motorsports is the latest evolution of the only Sprint Cup Series team Kahne has ever known. He was hired by Ray Evernham in 2004 to help lead the former champion crew chief's Evernham Motorsports young Dodge operation. The two had great success together, with Kahne capturing the 2004 Cup Rookie of the Year honors. He won a series best six races in 2006 and finished a career best eighth in the championship.

Kahne, 30, of Enumclaw, Wa., also qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2009 with what was now Gillett Evernham Motorsports. That team merged with Petty Enterprises prior to the 2009 season to become Richard Petty Motorsports, which merged with Yates Racing to create its current four-car line up for 2010.

Since the recent mergers, however, the team has struggled. Kahne scored the team's only two wins last year -- at Sears Point, Calif. and Atlanta, but has suffered through a disappointing 2010.

He missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup this year and has only seven top-five finishes through the first 31 races. He's had only one top-10 finish since September including five races where he finished 28th or worse.

His 38th place finish at Charlotte dropped him to 21st in the standings, putting him on pace for his worst ranking since a 23rd place final showing in 2005.

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