Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

Jimmy Johnson takes the win at Texas and the points lead from team mate Jeff Gordon. 30 points separate the two Hendrick Motorsports team mates after a nail biting finish at The Dickies 500 in Fort Worth Texas. It came down to whether or not Matt Kenseth could hold off the potentially three time in a row Johnson. Once the pass was made with only a hand full of laps to go, the Lowes Chevy pulled away and never looked back.

ONLY TWO RACES LEFT

Two races to go and there really is no other way to out it other than its all about Gordon and Johnson now. Positions seven through twelve have been mathematically eliminated after the Texas race. That leaves Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart to fight it out. Trust me when I say that it will be no fight for anyone other than the top three. Mathematically there is a chance for Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart but it would take a miracle for them to win it. First of all Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon Would both have to have DNF’s in both of the last two races, and at the same time one of the bottom three would have to win both races and lead the most laps. Its the kind of stuff that hard core fans try to convince themselves of and normal fans know won’t ever happen. The only shot for the title other than the two Hendrick teams is Clint Bowyer in the Jack Daniels Chevy. I may be wrong, but unless he wins at Phoenix and the Hendrick teams do badly, He too will be out of it. I still think that its between Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson.

HERE IS HOW THEY FINISHED AT TEXAS

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS WINNINGS
1 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 190/5 334 Running 486,211
2 18 17 Matt Kenseth Ford USG Sheetrock / DEWALT 175/5 334 Running 378,041
3 1 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 170/5 334 Running 262,245
4 17 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s 170/10 334 Running 217,400
5 11 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 160/5 334 Running 214,125
6 27 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 150/0 334 Running 192,116
7 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 151/5 334 Running 184,561
8 6 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 147/5 334 Running 165,783
9 24 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal Special Reserve 138/0 334 Running 134,925
10 4 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 134/0 334 Running 168,261
11 15 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 130/0 334 Running 159,361
12 19 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers Lifetime Powertrain Warranty / UAW 127/0 334 Running 131,620
13 20 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Stanley Proto Tools / Valvoline 124/0 334 Running 118,325
14 12 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 126/5 334 Running 147,058
15 39 88 Ricky Rudd Ford Snickers 123/5 334 Running 141,758
16 13 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories 115/0 334 Running 141,561
17 38 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 112/0 333 Running 131,133
18 25 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers Lifetime Powertrain Warranty / UAW 109/0 332 Running 146,266
19 29 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 111/5 332 Running 110,425
20 40 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 103/0 332 Running 113,275
21 32 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 100/0 332 Running 127,908
22 36 66 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Best Buy 97/0 332 Running 125,583
23 22 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 94/0 332 Running 101,125
24 14 36 Mike Skinner Toyota 360 OTC 91/0 331 Running 98,575
25 3 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Texaco / Havoline 93/5 331 Running 143,300
26 21 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 85/0 331 Running 108,625
27 42 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet FleetPride / Yellow 82/0 330 Running 100,025
28 34 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s 79/0 330 Running 127,039
29 7 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Kinko’s 81/5 324 Running 115,625
30 16 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet Moen / Menards 73/0 322 Running 99,425
31 9 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 70/0 302 Running 114,225
32 41 7 Robby Gordon Ford MAPEI / Menards 67/0 300 Running 96,025
33 23 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 64/0 295 Oil Cooler 114,775
34 10 01 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 61/0 278 Running 103,625
35 35 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 58/0 275 Brakes 95,425
36 30 21 Bill Elliott Ford Delimex 55/0 248 Running 114,414
37 33 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA Insurance 52/0 222 Accident 130,825
38 26 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 49/0 217 Accident 94,800
39 5 84 A.J. Allmendinger * Toyota Red Bull 46/0 151 Accident 94,600
40 31 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 43/0 143 Accident 116,558
41 28 40 David Stremme Dodge HomeLife Communities 40/0 136 Accident 94,180
42 37 45 Kyle Petty Dodge National Tire & Battery 37/0 129 Accident 105,638
43 43 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Burger King 34/0 90 Engine 103,608

* Denotes Rookie

NEXT WEEK PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Next week we go to Phoenix for the second to last race in the season. Its the Checker Auto-parts 500 presented by Pennzoil. Television coverage starts Friday with Bud Pole Qualifying at 5:30 eastern time on ESPN2. Pre race coverage is on ABC Sunday at 2 P.M. Sunday with the green flag being dropped a little after 3 P.M. Sunday. I hope you can catch this race as the season is drawing to a close. After that we will probably be talking about the Nascar Nextel Cup Awards Banquet and any news of driver and sponsor changes that occur during the winter break. Stay safe out there and thank you for what you do for our great country. With out you drivers, I would not have this computer. Thanks Guys!