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UAW-Ford 500 - Talladega Superspeedway
Gordon Regains Points Lead With Victory at Talladega
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson laid back for two-third's of the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday, then stormed to the front with just seven laps remaining to finish one-two in a wild scramble to the finish line.
Gordon, a four-time champion, and Johnson, NASCAR's defending champion, saved their best for last as both drivers hooked together and literally charged to the front of the free-wheeling pack at the end.
It was a typical every-man-for-himself Talladega finish as 200 mile an hour cars fanned out four abreast for the final run to the finish line.
Tony Stewart, who did everything he could to win, was cut off in the scramble to the line after leading most of the final laps. He wound up eighth.
Trailing Gordon and Johnson were Dave Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Stewart, Tony Raines and Reed Sorensen.
The "big one" happened on lap 145 and knocked several frontrunners out of contention. Something broke on Bobby Labonte's car and he slid suddenly up the track and into the wall in front of the field. The ensuing wreck involved Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers and David Ragan.
Several other accidents or mechanical problems took out drivers who might have been a factor in the "last man standing" finish, including Dale Earnhardt, Jr., his teammate Martin Truex, Jr., Michael Waltrip and Elliott Sadler.
Engine problems accounted for the DEI team problems. Waltrip and Sadler wrecked.
It was not a good day for many of the contenders in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup title. Besides Busch, Kenseth and Truex, Jeff Burton fell out with engine problems and Kevin Harvick had to nurse a sick engine to 20th finishing position.
This white-knuckle race, traditionally one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking on the circuit, had a little added spice in its ingredients this time around.
The first seven qualifiers had to get in the race on speed and were set up for qualifying runs, not race runs. As a result, there was added nervous anticipation to what would happen at the start under those conditions.
Michael Waltrip, the pole winner, and Bobby Labonte, Robby Gordon, Dave Blaney and Brian Vickers set the tone for the 188-lap event by swapping the lead every lap for the first six trips around the massive, 2.6-mile tri-oval.
Crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr., roared to the front for the first time on the 32nd lap. The crowd of more than 150,000 fans remained on its feet 50 laps into the race as NASCAR's best drivers jockeyed for position.
Some of the Chase for the Cup contenders were content to hang back in the first half of the race, including defending champion Johnson, four-time champion Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer and Kenseth.
With his 80th NEXTEL Cup Series career win, Jeff Gordon takes over the championship points lead, nine points ahead of Jimmie Johnson. Johnson slips to second with Bowyer 63 points behind Gordon in third. In fourth, Tony Stewart is 154 points out of the lead while fifth place Kevin Harvick trails Gordon by 202 points.
Waltrip Pulls Off Surprising Pole Run
Michael Waltrip won the Bud Pole for the UAW-Ford 500 with a lap of 50.648 seconds, 189.070 mph.
This is his fourth pole position in 686 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races.
This is his first pole and first top-10 start 11 races in 2007.
This is Waltrip’s first pole position and 11th top-10 start in 43 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Dave Blaney posted the second-fastest qualifying time with a lap of 50.838 seconds, 188.838 mph. He
posted his second top-10 start in 14 races at Talladega and his seventh top-10 start in 27 races in 2007.
Brian Vickers (third) posted his second top-10 start in seven Talladega races. It is his second top-10 start
in 19 races this season.
Jacques Villeneuve (sixth) qualified for his career-first NASCAR NETEL Cup race.
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