2009 Pepsi 500 Review
by Virginia Vroom of Predictem.com
Whether or not you want to hear it, Johnson wins again! Jimmie Johnson came to victory lane after a strong run at Fontana. Needless to say, there was a lot of beatin’ and bangin’ at the end of the race, and it sure was an exciting finish! There were some angry drivers, though, by the finish.
Betting against Jimmie Johnson is probably one of the dumbest moves that you can make. You don’t really have to be a fan to know that Johnson is an awesome race car driver. Love him or hate him, he’s a hell of a driver with a hell of a crew chief. It took the sun to come out by lap 66 and Johnson was gone. Teammate Jeff Gordon also had a very good day coming in a resounding second place 1.6 seconds back from Johnson. Montoya ran his heart out but just couldn’t make it to the front. He fought between Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin throughout the series of late-race restarts but both fought hard to block Montoya. He got past Martin, but Gordon held him off.
For Johnson, this win was extremely good. It makes him the all-time winner at Fontana, with 4 wins at the track. It is similar to a home track for Johnson, so it isn’t very surprising. He’s very good at the 1.5 mile to 2 mile tracks as well. Charlotte is a great track for Johnson as well.
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Some other highlights include Kyle Busch who had a bad case of the flu and was forced to get out of his car during the first caution. David Gilliland replaced Bush but only for 13 laps before parking the car. Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, and Kasey Kahne were collected in a late race wreck after NASCAR officials called a debris caution. Although the cameras showed the debris, I’m with Kasey Kahne on this one. He was frustrated because he feels like NASCAR threw the caution to put on a better show for the fans. Quite frankly, as high up on the track as the debris was, it was an unnecessary call that ruined the day for a lot of drivers.
That being said, the points changed quite a bit after Fontana. Here’s a look at your top 10 finishers from the race:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Juan Montoya
4. Mark Martin
5. Tony Stewart
6. Carl Edwards
7. David Ragan
8. Kurt Busch
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Kevin Harvick
Here’s a look at your current top 12 in the points after the shakeup at Fontana:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Mark Martin
3. Juan Montoya
4. Tony Stewart
5. Jeff Gordon
6. Kurt Busch
7. Greg Biffle
8. Carl Edwards
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Ryan Newman
11. Kasey Kahne
12. Brian Vickers
This weekend, we are headed to the house of Jimmie Johnson. Lowe’s Motor Speedway is where Johnson dominates. Look for him to extend his points lead, but then again, it’s shaping up to be a pretty exciting finish this year for the points.
