Post Race Report - California
Event: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 (Race No. 25 of 36)
Location: California Speedway; Fontana, Calif.
Top-five finishers: Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth
Race recap: Jimmie Johnson clearly had the best car all night, leading 228 of 250 laps, to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at California Speedway on Sunday night.
The longest stretch Johnson was denied the lead the whole night was
seven laps. After losing the battle off pit road to Greg Biffle on lap
220, Johnson regained the top spot on the ensuing restart three laps
later. He held the lead the rest of the way en route to his third
victory of the season.
Kyle Busch still leads the championship standings with one race left in the 26-race "regular season." A total of five drivers have already clinched berths in the 10-race playoff, with Greg Biffle just needing to start next week at Richmond to join that group. That means that there are eight drivers contending for six spots in the playoffs, with Clint Bowyer currently holding down the 12th and final spot.
The Sprint Cup Series concludes its regular season at Richmond next Saturday night.
Companion event:
Kyle Busch proved equally dominant in the NASCAR
Nationwide race at California on Saturday night. Busch led 144 of 150
laps in winning his 18th major NASCAR race of the season -- eight in
Sprint Cup, seven in Nationwide and three in Craftsman Truck.
Goodyear quote -- Rick Heinrich:
"We brought back the same combination
of Goodyear Eagles that we used here at California in February. Pit
strategy always plays a big role in events here, as does the factor of
starting in the daytime and finishing at night, and our tires worked
very well for teams all weekend long.
