NASCAR Food City 500 at Bristol, Tennessee (3.21.2010)
The Irrepressible Jimmie J Snares Career Victory No. 50 at Thunder Valley.
Spring Bristol will stand out as another day when the dominant car on the day again plays bridesmaid to the ever standard late race run by the irrepressible 48.
Kurt Busch (2) and his Dodge utterly dominate the afternoon on the concrete oval, yet a caution condition with only 18 laps remaining generates groans among the learned NASCAR set, now all familiar with the script: a sudden surge to the front by defending series’ champion Jimmie Johnson (48).
And Johnson refuses to disappoint his fans or detractors. With ten laps to go, Greg Biffle (16) and Matt Kenseth (17) lead the pack on the final restart as Busch and Johnson sit poised to pounce back in Row 3. Biffle breaks away, yet a scramble at the front allows Tony Stewart (14) and Johnson racing room to chase Biffle while Busch draws the short straw and gets caught behind traffic on the bottom line. Busch can only press on in frustration as Stewart runs down Biffle with eight laps remaining, yet Johnson promptly pulls into the 14 car’s slipstream and the racing world resigns itself to the predictable finish. Johnson rushes past Stewart on the outside banking with seven laps to go, easily marks the gap between him and a desperately charging Busch, and picks up his first career victory on the concrete Bristol oval and NASCAR notch number 50 for his all-time register. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (88) fans gasp in relief with his seventh place finish, his first respectable result since Daytona.
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