TIME
OF RACE: 3 hours, 8 minutes, 16
seconds
AVERAGE SPEED: 127.638
mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .291 second
JOLIET, Illinois. -- An
elated Dale Earnhardt, Jr claimed his first Nextel Cup victory of
the season Sunday, using a two-tire strategy and holding off 2003 Cup
Champ Matt Kenseth to win the inaugural USG Sheetrock
400 at the Chicagoland Speedway. USG took over naming
rights for the race this year... The first four races here were
sponsored by Tropicana Orange Juice.
"I was worried I was
going to go winless this year," Earnhardt said after smoking the
tires on his No. 8 Monte Carlo and celebrating with his crew
in the infield grass. "Lets crack that whip.. let's go out and do it
again, win some more."
"I know we didn't have
the best car today" Earnhardt said. "There's no arguing it. But we had
a strategy at the end that put us into a position to win."
Tony Stewart
heads towards the front.
© Oak Park Journal by Dan Peters
Kenseth
led 176 of the 267 laps but wound up second after choosing to change
four tires and falling behind on his final pit stop in the USG
Sheetrock 400.
Earnhardt,
NASCAR's most popular driver as well as the most sexiest, had a
miserable season and had little to smile about until he turned in a
third-place finish last week at Daytona. He started 25th on Sunday and
spent most of the day near the tail end of the top 10.
Scott
Wimmer stayed on track and took the lead, while Earnhardt and
several other drivers took only two tires and moved ahead of both
Kenseth and Tony Stewart, who took four tires after coming into the
pits first and second.
The
last of 10 caution flags waved on Lap 249, when Mike Bliss and Jeff
Gordon crashed, giving all the leaders a last chance to pit on a
day when right-side tires were blistering. Gordon was not happy..."I
don't know whats going on," The four time Cup Champ said. "We've been
struggling really bad. Its very frustrating."
The
green flag came out on Lap 255, and it took Earnhardt three laps to get
past Wimmer, who then faded quickly. Meanwhile, Kenseth charged toward
the front, grabbing second place from Brian Vickers on Lap 261.
But
Kenseth couldn't catch Earnhardt, finishing about five car-lengths back.
Kasey
Kahnes Ends his day early with a crash in turn #4
©
Oak Park Journal by Dan Peters
Jimmie
Johnson, the series points leader, came back from a lap down to finish
third, followed by Vickers and Stewart.
"It's
been a long time coming, man," Earnhardt said. "It's a lot of emotion,
more than I can handle right now. For these guys, all the darts they've
had thrown at them this year. It's just awesome.
I
thought we had a top-10, maybe a top-five car," he added. "My guys on
pit road won the race for me. Got me out front with two tires."
Kenseth,
who has not won since March 2004 at Las Vegas, was bitterly
disappointed.
"Our
car was awesome," he said. "I'm trying to be a gracious loser, but it's
a tough one."
The
call to take on four tires was made by his crew chief, Robbie Rieser,
but Kenseth wouldn't criticize him.
"I
can't really blame Robby. We were kind of a sitting duck. A lot of guys
were going to either stay out or take two tires," Kenseth said.
"Overall, it was a great day, just a tough one to lose."
Stewart,
still hurting from a crash on Friday that forced him to go to a
backup car and start from the rear of the 43-car field, was also
disappointed that he couldn't pull off a third consecutive victory and
defend his win here last year. Ironically, the only two times in
Stewart's Six year cup career that he had to resort to a back up car...
do to a practice crash...was at Chicagoland Speedway, this year and
last.
Lead Lap Car Makes a Pit Stop
© Oak Park
Journal by Dan Peters
"If
we'd have stayed out like I wanted to, we'd have won the race," said
Stewart, who has now finished third, second, first and fifth in his
last four starts at Chicagoland.
Greg
Biffle, second in the season standings, finished 11th Sunday and fell
from 73 to 108 points behind Johnson. With his 16th career victory and
first since November in Phoenix, Earnhardt moved up to 13th place, 115
points behind 10th-place Kurt Busch and 491
points behind Johnson.
The
top 10 drivers and any others within 400 points of the leader following
the 26th race of the season will be eligible to race for the series
championship
during the final 10 events.
Jeff
Gordon's "Black Cloud" still covers him.. It all seemed to start when
Gordon sang "Take me out the ballgame" earlier this year at Wrigley
Stadium....Oops... Wrigley Field. The four-time series champion
finished 33rd, it was his sixth finish of 30th or lower in the last
eight races. He fell to 15th place in the standings, 502 points behind
Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
Notables
from the USG Sheetrock 400...
Chicago
Cubs legend and future "Hall of Famer" Ryne Sandberg was on hand Sunday
as honorary starter. It seems Sandberg, like many other sports stars
has been "bitten" by the Nascar Bug. "This is very cool," Sandberg
said. "With the race going on here in Joliet and Chicagoland, it makes
it a special event for me, and an event that when I was asked,
I just jumped all over it. There was no question I wanted to be here."
Sandberg
also was asked about Gordon's recent blunder when Jeff sang "Take me
out to the ballgame" earlier this year at Wrigley Field. "He's gotten a
lot of publicity over that, not all good, especially from Cub's fans,"
Sandberg said putting it mildly. "But it was an honest mistake. I'm
just glad it wasn't me that said that."
Grammy
award winner Toni Braxton was on hand to sing the National Anthem
before Sunday's Race. She called her first Nascar experiance "like
being a kid in a candy store. Its more than I expected" Braxton said.
"I'll watch it on TV while channel surfing, but its much bigger and
grander in person."
When
asked who her favorite driver was, she said no one really, but admitted
to have some curiosity with the man who drives the number 24 car.
Rusty
Wallace and Mark Martin were honored in pre race ceremonies. Both were
presented with a framed program cover which featured both drivers. Both
Wallace and Martin are set to retire after this season.
Dave Blaney Gets Some Quick Service in the Pits.
© Oak Park
Journal by Dan Peters
Carl Edward's Crew works frantically.
© Oak Park
Journal by Dan Peters
Nascar
officials also kept a close eye on Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle
as
both seemed to renew thier "Fued" Saturday during the Busch Race here.
If they had
any problems...nobody seemed to notice.
An
estimated sell-out crowd of 85,000 were on hand today.. Rumor has up to
150,000 seats and lights on the near horizon for Chicagoland.. no
timetable has
been set... Stay tuned.
Dale
Earnhardt Jr and the USG Trophy...Earned Hard, but well Earned.
© Oak Park Journal by Joe Paolella
NASCAR
NEXTEL CUP SERIES RACE No. 18
USG
SHEETROCK 400
CHICAGOLAND
SPEEDWAY
Joliet,
Ill. July 10, 2005
1.5
Mile Paved Oval
400
M - 267 L Purse: $5,845,750
.
Bonus
Money
Fin St
Car#
Driver
Team
Laps
Pts
Pts
Won
Status
1
25
8
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Budweiser Chevrolet 267. 185 5
$325,033
Running
2
4
17
Matt Kenseth
USG Sheetrock/DeWalt Ford 267
. 180 10
265,201
Running
3
1
48
Jimmie Johnson
Lowes Chevrolet
267
170 5
217,266
Running
4
5
25
Brian Vickers
GMAC/ditech.com Chevrolet
267 .
160
146,300
Running
5
13
20
Tony Stewart
The Home Depot Chevrolet
267 .
155
169,561
Running
6
22
19
Jeremy Mayfield
Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
267
. 150
135,220
Running
7
28
21
Ricky Rudd
Motorcraft Genuine Parts Ford
267
. 146
130,564
Running
8
19
97
Kurt Busch
Sharpie Ford
. 267
142
148,775
Running
9
3
41
Casey Mears
Target/Kraft Dodge
. 267
138
125,608
Running
10 20
6
Mark Martin
Viagra Ford
. 267
134
112,375
Running
11 6 16
Greg Biffle
National Guard/Post-It Ford
267
135
*
5
107,625
Running
12 33
2
Rusty Wallace
Miller Genuine Draft Dodge
267
. 127
123,458
Running
13 26 18
Bobby Labonte
Boniva Chevrolet
267.
124
126,350
Running
14 24
5 # Kyle Busch
Kelloggs Chevrolet
. 267
121
99,600
Running
15 15 01
Joe Nemechek
U.S. Army
Chevrolet
267
118
115,058
Running
16 31 39
David Stremme
U.S. Navy
Dodge
.
267
115
84,800
Running
17 30 22
Scott Wimmer
Caterpillar Dodge
267
117
*
5
110,158
Running
18 8 88
Dale Jarrett
UPS Ford
267
109
121,458
Running
19 9 29
Kevin Harvick
GM Goodwrench Chevrolet
267
. 106
129,936
Running
20 43 11
Jason Leffler
FedEx Express Chevrolet
267
. 103
93,050
Running
21 17 32
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Tide Chevrolet
267 .
105
*
5
96,958
Running
22 36 42
Jamie McMurray
Home123/Havoline Dodge
267
. 97
92,600
Running
23 7 10
Scott Riggs
Valvoline Chevrolet
267
94
102,397
Running
24 40 43
Jeff Green
Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
267
. 91
112,136
Running
25 42
4
Mike Wallace
Lucas Oil Chevrolet
267
93
*
5
82,890
Running
26 41 49
Ken Schrader
Schwans Home Service Dodge
267
.90
*
5
81,775
Running
27 29 45
Kyle Petty
Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge
267
. 87
*
5
81,175
Running
28 39 37
Kevin Lepage
Patron Tequila Dodge
267 .
84
*
5
80,075
Running
29 2 12
Ryan Newman
Mobil 1/Alltel Dodge
262 .
81
*
5
122,366
Running
30 35 31
Jeff Burton
Bass Pro Shops/Cingular Chevrolet
260
. 73
103,970
Running
31 32 51
Stuart Kirby
Marathon
Multipower-3 Chevrolet
. 259
70
76,925
Running
32 38 40
Sterling Marlin
Coors Light Dodge
.
253
72
*
5
104,633
Engine
33 14 24
Jeff Gordon
DuPont Chevrolet
249
64
126,211
Accident
34 11
0
Mike Bliss
Net Zero Best Buy Chevrolet
249
. 61
76,325
Accident
35 12
7
Robby Gordon
Menards Chevrolet
222 .
58
76,125
Running
36 27 15
Michael Waltrip
NAPA Auto
Parts Chevrolet
. 214
55
103,139
Accident
37 23 38
Elliott Sadler
Combos/M&Ms Ford
210.
52
115,691
Running
38 10 07
Dave Blaney
Jack Daniels Chevrolet
200 .
49
83,500
Accident
39 21 99
Carl Edwards
Office Depot Ford
170.
46
93,290
Running
40 37 00
Carl Long
Sunquest Vacations Dodge
148
. 43
75,080
Handling
41 18
9
Kasey Kahne
Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
138
. 40
106,955
Engine
42 34 44
Terry Labonte
Pizza Hut Chevrolet
124 .
37
74,695
Handling
43 16 77 #
Travis Kvapil
Jasper Engines/Kodak Dodge
13
. 34
82,486
Engine
#
Raybestos Rookie of the Year Contender. *
Includes race leader/most laps led bonus.
Failed
to qualify: (4)
Kenny Wallace #92; Mike Garvey #66; P.J. Jones #34; Wayne Anderson #75.
Race
comments: Before
an estimated crowd of 80,000, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the USG SHEETROCK
400, posting his 16th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series victory. Prior to the
green flag, the following drivers, under penalty, dropped to the rear
of the field for the reasons indicated: #20 Tony Stewart (driver
change); #4 Mike Wallace (engine change).
TIME
OF RACE: 3 hours, 8 minutes, 16 seconds
AVERAGE SPEED: 127.638 mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .291 second
BUDWEISER
POLE AWARD: Jimmie Johnson, Lowes Chevrolet (188.147 mph,
28.701 secs.) Track Record
COMMIT
LOZENGES COMMIT TO WIN AWARD: Jimmie Johnson, Lowes Chevrolet
CHECKERS/RALLYS
DOUBLE
DRIVE-THRU
CHALLENGE AWARD: Tony Stewart, The Home Depot Chevrolet
EA
SPORTS MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser Chevrolet
GOODYEAR
GATORBACK FASTEST LAP AWARD: Matt Kenseth, USG
SHEETROCK/DeWalt Ford
MBNA
MID-RACE LEADER AWARD: Matt
Kenseth, USG
SHEETROCK/DeWalt Ford (No
winner of MBNA Bonus for winning race; rolls to $10,000 at N.H.)
MOBIL
1 COMMAND PERFORMANCE DRIVER OF THE RACE AWARD: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser Chevrolet
NASCAR
NEXTEL CUP LEADER BONUS: No
winner; rolls over to $70,000 at New Hampshire Intl Speedway.
RAYBESTOS
ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD: Kyle Busch, Kelloggs Chevrolet
SUNOCO
DIAMOND PERFORMANCE AWARD: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser
Chevrolet
U.S.G.
IMPROVING THE FINISH AWARD: Jason Leffler, FedEx
Express Chevrolet (23
positions)
WIX
FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD: Matt
Kenseth, USG
SHEETROCK/DeWalt Ford (176 laps)
CAUTION
FLAGS: 10 cautions for 47 laps. 27-29 (Competition);
80-85 (Car #99-Accident, Turn 3); 90-94 (Debris); 119-124 (Car
#07-Accident, Turn 2); 127-129 (Car #9-Accident, Frontstretch); 165-171
(Car #38-Accident, Turn 1); 184-187 (Oil on track); 216-220 (Car
#15-Accident, Turn 1); 245-248 (Debris); 251-254 (Car #0 &
24-Accident, Turn 2).
LAP
LEADERS: 17 lead
changes among 12 drivers. Jimmie Johnson 1, Ryan Newman 2-10, Johnson
11-30, Greg Biffle 31, Matt Kenseth 32, Biffle 33-65, Kenseth 66-81,
Bobby Hamilton Jr. 82, Ken Schrader 83, Kenseth 84-119, Kevin Lepage
120, Mike Wallace 121, Kenseth 122-165, Kyle Petty 166, Kenseth
167-245, Sterling Marlin 246, Scott Wimmer 247-256, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
257-267.
BUDWEISER 
