Matt Kenseth Wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

At a track where passing is difficult, his second place starting position was pivotal. While other drivers had problems, Kenseth kept himself in a position to capitalize on their misfortune.

Tony Stewart was competitive at the beginning of the race but lost the handling on his car about halfway through the race. Stewart wasn’t able to contend for the win but was still able to salvage an eight place finish. He also gained two spots in the points and is now in fifth place.

Greg Biffle was also fast early in the race but a missing lug nut during a pit stop put him one lap down.  Although he regained the lap, a late race scuffle with Stewart and a subsequent cut tire left Biffle with a fifteenth place finish.

Trevor Bayne had a strong top ten car throughout the race but a problem with a fuel cell caused him to run out of gas and go three laps down.

Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson provided the biggest surprise of the night.  Johnson, who was racing for seventh position, crashed into the wall on lap 317 and destroyed the No. 48 Chevy, ending his night. Johnson dropped five positions in the points standings to eighth place, 35 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

When asked about the impact this would have on his quest for a sixth championship, Johnson said, “We just have to keep racing. That’s all there is to it. There’s five races left and a lot can happen in five races.”

Matt Kenseth has been steadily gaining ground and now sits third in the points standings.   He was all smiles after the race.

“I’m happy to have won, obviously.” Kenseth continued, “I’m always thankful to get to victory lane. You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is, and I’m certainly thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

Unofficial Race Results
Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway
=========================================
Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
=========================================
1 2 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 47
2 25 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 44
3 3 99 Carl Edwards Ford 42
4 8 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 40
5 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 39
6 14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38
7 4 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 37
8 1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 37
9 17 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 35
10 6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 35
11 11 6 David Ragan Ford 34
12 16 20 Joey Logano Toyota 32
13 20 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 31
14 32 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 31
15 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 30
16 26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 28
17 7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 27
18 28 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 26
19 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 25
20 31 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 24
21 23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 23
22 38 38 J.J. Yeley Ford 23
23 18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 21
24 19 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 20
25 21 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 19
26 29 0 David Reutimann Toyota 18
27 27 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 17
28 30 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
29 22 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 15
30 42 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
31 10 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
32 24 13 Casey Mears Toyota 12
33 41 71 Hermie Sadler Ford 0
34 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 11
35 35 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
36 33 34 David Gilliland Ford 8
37 13 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 7
38 43 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 6
39 37 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 5
40 34 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
41 36 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 3
42 40 277 Andy Lally * Ford 2
43 39 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Angela Campbell
Angela Campbell
A native of Charlotte, NC, Angela (Angie) was first introduced to racing by her father. An avid fan of NASCAR, she found a way to combine her love of racing with her passion for writing. Angie is also an award-winning member of the National Motorsports Press Association. Follow her on Twitter @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

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