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Last Updated Friday, Oct 20, 2006 5:32 pm, EDT

Bank of America 500

Status: Final Lowe's Motor Speedway

Race Capsule

Charlotte Motor Speedway
  • What:

    Race 33 of 38 on Sprint Cup circuit

  • Where:

    Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, NC

  • When:

    October 14, 2006 7:10 pm EDT

  • Laps:

    334

  • Track Length:

    1.5 miles

  • Race Length:

    501.00 miles

  • Purse:

    $5,078,500

Drivers to Watch

Kasey Kahne Chase Points: 5,413 (9th) Was runner-up to Vickers at Talladega and kept alive his slim title hopes; gained 88 points in the standings on Burton and is 185 points off the pace; failed to cash in on claiming the pole at Kansas, spinning out as he tried to make it to the pits on his final stop after running out of fuel and finishing 33rd; leads the series with five victories and is tied with Kurt Busch for the circuit lead with five poles, fueling his first appearance in the season-ending title run; beat the favored Johnson at this track in the spring race.
Kevin Harvick Chase Points: 5,565 (4th) Made a huge rebound push in the "Chase" at Talladega after consecutive poor finishes; finished sixth last week to climb one spot to fourth in the standings and trails Burton by just 33 points after gaining 63 points; still has a very real chance to catch Richard Childress Racing teammate Burton for the title, although at some point he may be asked to protect him rather than challenge him; still tracking an unprecedented double as he is the runaway leader in the Busch series and virtually assured of his second crown on that circuit (2001); no driver has won the Nextel Cup and Busch titles in the same year; ran 28th in this event last season, placed 34th here in the spring and has just one top-five finish in 11 career starts at this track; has been very erratic in his last nine races, with three of his four victories coming in that span but only one other finish better than 11th.
Jeff Burton Chase Points: 5,598 (1st) Holds a slim lead in the "Chase for the Championship" after struggling to 27th place in last week's UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway; leads Matt Kenseth by just six points in the standings; finished fifth at Kansas and won three weeks ago at Dover, his only victory this season; has six top-five finishes and 18 top-10s; ran 14th in this event last year but finished sixth in the spring race at this track; has teamed with Kevin Harvick to lead a resurgence by Richard Childress Racing.
Mark Martin Chase Points: 5,588 (3rd) Announced his intentions to retire nearly two years ago but still going strong; has been in the "Chase" each of the last two seasons and has a legitimate chance to win elusive first series title, which would be a wonderful capper to a remarkable career; finished eighth at Talladega and remained third in the standings but gained 60 points on Burton and now is just 10 points off the pace; avoided trouble and finished third at Kansas to climb three spots in the standings, supplanting Kenseth, his Roush racing teammate; has yet to win a pole or a race this season, again raising questions about points distribution in the Nextel Cup standings; four-time winner at this track last won here in the 2002 spring race and has 17 top-five finishes in 43 career starts; ran fourth in the spring race here and placed fifth in last year's event.
Jimmie Johnson Chase Points: 5,442 (8th) Becoming the bridesmaid of the Nextel Cup circuit with another late-season slump that likely will prevent him from claiming his first series title; appeared primed for at least a runner-up finish and possibly the checkered flag at Talladega before being wrecked by teammate Vickers in the final lap; entered the "Chase" atop the standings but has tumbled to eighth, 156 points off the pace; led 105 laps at Kansas but was flagged for speeding on pit road, resulting in a 14th-place showing; will need to continue his overwhelming success at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he has won five of the last seven races; has not finished better than 10th in his last nine races; has won four times this season - including victories at superspeedways Daytona and Talladega - but has not taken a checkered flag since the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in early August.
Matt Kenseth Chase Points: 5,592 (2nd) Delivered a huge performance with a fourth-place finish at Talladega; climbed two spots to second in the standings and trails Burton by just six points; had consecutive wins in August to run his season total to four and grab the standings lead heading into the "Chase"; ironically, won the series title in 2003 despite claiming just one checkered flag, which prompted the change to the "Chase" format; finished fifth here in the spring race but struggled to 26th place in this event last season; won the spring race at this track in 2000 and has five top-five finishes in 14 career starts here.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chase Points: 5,492 (6th) Chances for his first series title took a serious hit at Talladega, where he was knocked off the lead in the final lap by Brian Vickers; managed 23rd place in the race and climbed one spot to sixth in the standings but trails Burton by 106 points; ran 10th at Kansas; has eight top-five finishes and 13 top-10s this season; ran 11th here in the spring but struggled in this event last season, finishing 42nd after crashing in lap 62.
Kyle Busch Chase Points: 5,413 (10th) Finished 11th at Talladega and gained ground in his long and potentially fruitless climb from the bottom of the "Chase" standings; is tied with Kasey Kahne for 10th place but trails Burton by 185 points, 48 less than when he came to Talladega; finished seventh at Kansas; only win of the season came at New Hampshire on July 16; has struggled at this track, finishing no better than 25th in his five career starts here; ran just 39th in this race last season after crashing in lap 151; placed 38th here in the spring.
Denny Hamlin Chase Points: 5,547 (5th) Outstanding circuit rookie continues his improbable run at the series title; ran 21st at Talladega and fell three spots to fifth in the standings but still trails Burton by just 51 points; it was his worst finish in 21 races, but Hamlin avoided the trouble others encountered and actually gained 18 points on Burton for the top spot; has two wins this season, both at Pocono, becoming just the second rookie in series history to win both races at a single track; hopes to draw from limited success at this track, where he ran ninth in the spring race and eighth in last year's event.
Jeff Gordon Chase Points: 5,451 (7th) Dropped another spot to seventh in the standings with a 36th-place finish at Talladega; got caught up in an 11-car crash late in the race and completed just 167 laps; plummeted four spots after placing 39th at Kansas; trails Burton by 147 points; has registered four victories at this track, most recently in this race in 1999; has fared well in his 27 career starts here, recording seven poles, 13 top-five finishes and 15 top-10s; crashed in lap 152 of this race last season and finished 38th; has won twice this year to push his career total to 75, most among active drivers.