Kasey Kahne wins at Fontana
Kasey Kahne won his 5th race of the 2006 Nextel Cup season, but he still remains on the outside looking in at the Top10. He came into the race 90 points behind 10th place and a place in the Chase for the Next Cup and with the win he was able to close the gap down to 30 points.
This sets a free for all to see who will fill the 3rd - 10th spots after this coming weekend at Richmond. This is because only Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson have officially locked up their inclusion in the Top10. That leaves the final 8 positions up for grabs between Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhard Jr., Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Kasey Kahne.
There will be plenty of scenario’s discussed of what needs to happen for each driver to secure their position in the Top 10, but in the end all that each driver can do is do their best with what his team gives him to drive on Sunday afternoon. The rest will depend on the other 42 cars on the track and that is variable that will drive the drama next Sunday at Richmond.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked a great time to figure out that he really can have success at California’s Fontana Raceway. He and the rest of the #8 Budweiser Chevy team put together one heck of a package and together they were able to take the checkered flag in second place and he moved up 3 spot to #6 in points and more importantly he is 77 points ahead of Kasey Kahne in 11th.
I really felt sorry for rookie Reed Sorenson, he was in first place with two laps to go and looking like he was going to pick up his first win in the Nextel Cup Series, that is until he ran out of gas. He was forced to coast into the pits and fillup on fuel and he ended up 19th.
Top 10 Finishers
| Fin. | No. | Driver |
| 1 | 9 | Kasey Kahne |
| 2 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 3 | 07 | Clint Bowyer |
| 4 | 99 | Carl Edwards |
| 5 | 24 | Jeff Gordon |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 7 | 17 | Matt Kenseth |
| 8 | 5 | Kyle Busch |
| 9 | 20 | Tony Stewart |
| 10 | 88 | Dale Jarrett |
Jr looked good last week, he was one of, if not the best car in the race.
I hope Kasey gets in, if we are going to have this STUPID chase, I want to see the best cars in it
Comment by DonB — September 8, 2006 @ 9:19 am
He did look pretty good, but this weekend is when it counts, he has to finish 16th or better to be in the Chase no matter what anyone else does. If he slips and has a bad race he will have to rely on the other drivers to do bad.
Comment by Administrator — September 8, 2006 @ 11:20 pm