Race Summary:

After a marathon night of racing that threw tire and pit road problems at most of the Chase contenders, it looked as though Jimmie Johnson’s Lowe’s Chevy would continue its dominance at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. But when the bad luck bug bit Johnson in the late stages, the night was handed to his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch. A series of late restarts seemed to set race leader Gordon up for failure as Busch, pole winner Ryan Newman, Chase upstart Clint Bowyer and his RCR teammate Jeff Burton all took shots at the series points leader. But in the end, the Rainbow Warrior survived several cautions, a red flag, and a breathtaking series of challenges, keeping the hammer down and overcoming fuel pickup problems to take his second consecutive win and the 81^st of his amazing career.