The continual theme of the racing world this weekend has been the weather. Races in Japan and Australia were both hampered by Mother Nature, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was no exception. The race, scheduled to be run on Saturday night, was rained out and rescheduled to Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the weekend, Matt Kenseth (#20 Dollar General Toyota) would claim the pole for the Bank of America 500, but with a car set up for racing on the high grip surface at night. Now, with racing moved to the heat of the day with much less grip on the track, how would the cars and drivers adjust?
As the race got underway, Matt Kenseth would charge out to a strong lead over his teammates Kyle Busch (#18 M&M’s Toyota) and Denny Hamlin (#11 FedEx Toyota). His lead would continue to grow before a split strategy of pit stops happened near lap 100, when he would pit from the lead, and handed the point to Joey Logano (#22 Shell Pennzoil Ford).
From there, the next 100 laps would be highlighted by two key stories – the control of Logano, and the struggles for Chase drivers. Logano would be in command of the field for a long stretch, while his fellow Chase competitors fell by the wayside. Matt Kenseth would get caught up in two incidents with fellow contender Ryan Newman (#31 CAT Chevy), while Kyle Busch would tangle with Kyle Larson (#42 Target Chevy) while trying to pit, causing both to spin.
Kenseth’s day would continue to grow worse as the race wore on, coming to a climax when he crashed on his own with 93 laps to go. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson (#48 Lowe’s Chevy), no longer in the Chase, had an engine failure with 75 laps to go, continuing his bad race stretch.
As the laps counted down, the battle would be on at the front for the lead between Joey Logano and last week’s winner Kevin Harvick (#4 Jimmy Johns Chevy). The battle would close up following the final round of pit stops, but the win would not be in doubt in the final laps. Joey Logano would win the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte, and punch his ticket to Round 3 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Behind Logano, Kevin Harvick would finish second, while Martin Truex Jr (#78 Furniture Row Chevy) rallied to third. Denny Hamlin came home fourth, and Kurt Busch (#41 Haas Automation Chevy) in fifth. In terms of the Chase grid, four drivers will be eliminated in two races following Talladega, and the bottom four now become Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Those bottom four and all the Chase drivers without a win will be looking to lock in to Round 3 in America’s heartland next Sunday, as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway. Be sure to catch the race next Sunday afternoon on your local NBC station.
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