How do you compete with a team so dominant?

That’s what the NASCAR world is asking after last Saturday night when none other than Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s team was celebrating in victory lane come the race’s end.

led a race high 92 laps, including the final 17, en route to victory number six for 2009. It was also Johnson’s third win in five Chase for the Cup races, giving him a 90 point lead over Mark Martin.

Johnson was overtaken by teammate and co-owner Jeff Gordon on a restart with 17 laps to go and held off Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne to win the NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

An incident involving Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 125 hampered both drivers’ chances at challenging Johnson for the championship. The entire field seemed to check up on a restart, and the ensuing action caused Martin to make hard contact with the rear of Montoya, damaging both cars.

Martin rebounded somewhat to finish seventeenth, while Montoya fell well off the pace and finished 35th..

Denny Hamlin, another chase contender, also saw his championship hopes all but fade away. After leading 54 laps early, Hamlin’s engine blew on lap 192, negating him to a forty-second place finish and dropping him to 11th in the points standings.

Kenseth finished second behind Johnson, while Kahne was third, Gordon fourth, and rookie Joey Logano in fifth. Other chasers were Kurt Busch in tenth, Ryan Newman in 11th, Tony Stewart in 13th, Greg Biffle in sixteenth, Brian Vickers in thirty-fourth, and Carl Edwards in 39th.

Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings (After 5 of 10 races): 1. Jimmie Johnson (5923 points); 2. Mark Martin (-90); 3. Jeff Gordon (-135); 4. Tony Stewart (-155); 5. Kurt Busch (-177); 6. Juan Pablo Montoya (-195); 7. Greg Biffle (-268); 8. Ryan Newman (-288); 9. Kasey Kahne (-331); 10. Carl Edwards (-341); 11. Denny Hamlin (-372); 12. Brian Vickers (-485).

Nationwide Series: Kyle Busch didn’t let the flu prevent him from extending his lead on the Nationwide Series, leading 137 laps en route to his seventh Nationwide Series victory of the season last Friday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Mike Bliss was second, followed by Dave Blaney in third, Brian Vickers in fourth, and Carl Edwards in fifth.
Busch now leads Edwards by 195 points with just four races remaining.

Coming Up: The Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series heads to Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, while the Nationwide Series heads to the Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, Tenn.

Bruce Knoll, 17, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com

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