It's time for a rundown on the last three races, beginning with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on May 30th. The 600 mile odyssey turned out to be "The Jimmie Johnson Show." Johnson led 334 laps out of the 400 lap race on the 1.5 mile Charlotte Speedway. There's not much else to say about the race other than that!
Following Johnson across the finish line at Charlotte were Michael Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Casey Mears, Jeremy Mayfield, Tony Stewart, and Rusty Wallace. The top ten starters and how they finished:
- Jimmie Johnson -- #48 Chevy - finished 1st
- Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 35th
- Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 30th
- Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 5th
- Brian Vickers* -- #25 Chevy -- finished 15th
- Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy -- finished 9th
- Brendan Gaughan* -- #77 Dodge - finished 33rd
- Jeff Green -- #43 Dodge -- finished 27th
- Bobby Labonte -- #18 Chevy -- finished 13th
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy - finished 6th
The top five in points after the Charlotte event were Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 1798 points, followed by Jimmie Johnson with a -5 deficit. Matt Kenseth moved up to third listed with a -111 followed by Jeff Gordon who lost a spot to fourth listed with a -144. Tony Stewart remained in fifth with a -211.
The first race in June was the MBNA 400 at Dover, which was won by Mark Martin. The win was the 34th for the 45 year old veteran in his 22nd year in Cup racing, and his first since winning the Coca-Cola 600 in 2002. It appeared that the Evernham Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield were the ones to beat, but they fell by the way side after suffering really bad luck. Kahne was leading the race with 20 laps to go when he slid in the oil left on the track by a crippled car that shouldn't have been out on the track to begin with, sadly ending his day and his chances for his first victory. Mark Martin was in the right place at the right time and took the win.
Following Martin across the finish line at Dover were Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Burton, rookie Scott Riggs, Michael Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, rookie Scott Wimmer, and Kevin Harvick. The top ten starters and how they finished:
