2008 SPRINT CUP RACE 31: Bank of America 500 @ Lowe's

Back to Lowe's for the fifth race of the Chase. Kasey Kahne won the All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600 in the Spring, trying to shoot for the first trifecta at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Qualifying was rained out so Jimmie Johnson sat on the pole being the point leader at this point in the Chase. Carl Edwards sat outside pole. However in the race Carl Edwards would not be a factor due to ignition problems in his #99 Ford. Two straight weeks now Edwards has had problems in the Chase. Just after Lap 100, Dale Jr. got into the wall due to a cut tire and finished 36th. There was another big werck involving Travis Kvapil, Matt Kenseth, and many others along the frontstretch. The #28 took a ride through the grass and hit the wall pretty hard. Jimmie Johnson seemed to remember how to get around Lowe's Motor Speedway to be able to lead the most laps. But it came down to Jeff Burton winning out on fuel strategy to take over the reigns for the race. He motored off in the final 20 laps, holding off a charging Kasey Kahne to score his second win of the year. Kahne was one position away from hitting the record books had he beaten Burton. Johnson ended up fading from 2nd to 6th on the final run do to an ill-handling racecar. Four Chevys, three Fords, two Dodges, and one Toyota got Top 10s in this race. McMurray was the highest of those Fords, having a great run in his #26 car.

The Top 10:
1. #31 Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)
2. #9 Kasey Kahne (Dodge)
3. #2 Kurt Busch (Dodge)
4. #18 Kyle Busch (Toyota)
5. #26 Jamie McMurray (Ford)
6. #48 Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)
7. #16 Greg Biffle (Ford)
8. #24 Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)
9. #8 Mark Martin (Chevrolet)
10. #6 David Ragan (Ford)

Halfway through the Chase and Jimmie Johnson has extended his overall lead. Off to Martinsville for Chase Race 6.