Round 14 - New Hampshire

An eventful race on this relatively flat oval.

I qualified 6th but quickly made my way to the front. I held the lead until I was spun out on lap 18 and was subsequently relegated to 40th.



I did manage to fight back and finish 4th.

The race was won by Clint Bowyer.


I rose to 21st in the overall standings.

Track Facts

Length 1.058 mi (1.703 km)
Banking Turns - Variable banking at 2/7 degrees (12% grade)
Straightaways - 1 degree banking
Lap record 0:21.466 (Andre Ribeiro, Tasman Motorsports, 1995, CART PPG IndyCar World Series)

Round 13 - Milwaukee

The flat Milwaukee Mile was home to round 13 of the championship.

I qualified on pole but was spun out on lap 3 and demoted to 43rd after the ensuing caution period.

I managed to fight back to 2nd but caused another caution period on lap 44 which earned me the dreaded black flag on lap 48.

I finished 18th after taking the madatoy dive thru penalty.

The race was won by Jeff Burton.

I was now 23rd in the standings.

Track Facts

Surface Asphalt
Length 1.032 mi (1.665 km)
Turns 4
Banking Turns - 9.25°
Straights - 2.5°

Round 12 - Dover

The tight one mile Dover track claimed another victim when I was attempting to make a pass for the lead. This happened on the 39th of the 40 laps when I collided with the leader and recieved the dreaded black flag! I ended up finishing 39th after the mandatory visit to pit lane.

The race was strewn with caution periods especially in the first 20 laps.

The last yellow flag appeared at lap 35.

I dropped to 24th in the standings.

Jimmie Johnson 2006, 07, 08 and 2009 Sprint Cup Champion.

Track Facts

Surface Concrete
Length 1 mi (1.6 km)
Turns 4
Banking Turns: 24°
Straights: 9°
Lap record (Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)

Round 11 - Lowes Motorspeedway

Formerly known as Charlotte Motor Speedway, Lowes is considered to be the home of Nascar because many of the teams are based in the immediate area.

A good race for me on this 1.5 mile oval, I qualified on pole and ultimately finished second.

I rose in the standings to 12th and my REP increased to 5074.

Track Facts

Surface Paved
Length 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Banking Turns - 24 degrees
Straightaways - 5 degrees
Lap record 0:24.49 (Tony Stewart, Team Menard, 1998, IRL IndyCar Series)

Round 10 - Darlington

Nicknamed, the track too tough to tame, Darlington sure gave me some problems.


I qualified 35th which did not bode well for the race however in the race I ran steady and managed to finish 11th.


This finish placed me 27th in the standings and my REP went up to 5039.

Track Facts





Surface Asphalt
Length 1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Turns 4
Banking Turns 1 & 2: 25°
Turns 3 & 4: 23°
Front Straight: 3°
Back Straight: 2°
Lap record 27.394 sec. (179.514 mph) (Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing, May 7, 2009, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)

Round 9 - Richmond

The short track at Richmond provided the closest finish of the season so far when I was leading going into the last turn only to beaten off it by Dale Earnhart Jr.

The resulting second place pushed me up to 31st in the standings.

My REP increased to 5030.

Track Facts

Surface Asphalt
Length 0.87 mi (1.2 km)
Banking 14° in turns
8° on frontstretch
2° on backstretch
Lap record 0:15.564 (Helio Castroneves, Penske Racing, 2006, IRL IndyCar Series)

Round 8 - Talledega

My inability to perform on super-speedways shone through in this race.

I qualified in 34th but lost the draft early and finished at the rear in 43th position.

The result was I dropped to 35th in the syandings and my REP went down to 4993.

Track Facts

Surface Asphalt
Length 2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Turns 3
Banking Turns 1&2: 33°
Turn 3: 32.4°
Turn 4: 32.5°
Tri-oval: 16.5°
Back straight: 3°
Lap record 0:44.998 (Bill Elliott, Melling Racing, 1987, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)

Round 7 - Phoenix International Raceway

A disappointing finish to a good race. I was spun out while in the lead 4 laps from the end. I did recover to finish 25th.

I've dropped to 32nd in the championship standings.

My REP score sunk to 5051.

Track Facts

Surface Asphalt
Length 1 mile (1.6 km)
Turns 4
Banking Turns 1 and 2 - 11°
Turns 3 and 4 - 9°
Backstretch - 9°
Frontstretch - 3°