By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com

Monday, October 18, 2004

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Kurt Busch gets an A-plus grade at the halfway point of the NASCAR "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup." And Dale Earnhardt Jr. would deserve the same grade if not for a slip of the tongue following his victory at Talladega.

2004 Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon, who led by five points when the "Chase" started five races ago, has slipped to third and is 74 points out of first. But he gets a B for persevering after encountering numerous problems during the first five races.

Busch, driver of the IRWIN Industrial Tools/Sharpie Ford, leads Earnhardt by 24 points at midpoint in the 10-race "Chase" by finishing sixth or better in every race.

He won the first race at New Hampshire after qualifying seventh. He started 13th at Dover and finished fifth, came home fifth again at Talladega after qualifying eighth, finished sixth after qualifying 22nd at Kansas and finished fourth after qualifying 21st in the UAW-GM Quality 500 on Oct. 16 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson won that race.

Both Busch and Gordon recovered from early accidents at Lowe's to fight their way back to the front at the finish. They had fallen to 38th and 40th, respectively, when green-flag racing resumed. Later Busch was forced to drive across the infield grass to avoid another accident that saw Gordon get tagged slightly.

Earnhardt started 25th and also battled his way toward the top in his Budweiser Chevrolet but chose a conservative approach in the race instead of going for the win. This allowed the Hendrick Racing drivers of Johnson and Gordon to run one-two at the checkered flag.

Earnhardt would lead by one point if he hadn't been docked 25 points for using a curse word following his victory at Talladega. His five-race finishes have been third, ninth, first, ninth and third.

Earnhardt's appeal of his penalty was heard and denied on Oct. 18 by the National Stock Car Racing Commission consisting of Chairman George Silbermann and members Brad Daugherty and David Hall. Under Section 15 of the Rule Book, Earnhardt still has the right to appeal the decision to the National Race Car Racing Commissioner Charles D. Strang, retired boat racer and engineer.

Johnson picked up his fifth win of the season as he edged his Lowe's Chevrolet away from Gordon in the closing laps. He picked up 20 points on first place and moved up a spot in the top 10 from ninth to eighth. But his failures in the previous two races still have him 227 points behind.

He became the first driver to sweep the two races at Lowe's Motor Speedway since the late Dale Earnhardt in 1986. Hard-luck rookie Kasey Kahne led on Lap 268 of the 334-lap race when a deflated tire sent his Dodge into the wall.

Mark Martin, making a solid bid for his first championship in his next-to-last season, led late in the race until Johnson passed him. Still, he appeared to have a certain second place until he couldn't avoid an accident in front of him and wound up 13th. He is fifth in the standings but 186 points behind the front.

With only five races remaining, it appears the Chase has boiled down to a three-driver race between Busch, Earnhardt and Gordon. All three would have to experience serious problems at the same time for any of the other six to seriously challenge them.

The next race, the Subway 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 24, should be a pivotal one for those trailers from fourth on down as the bump-and-bang nature of short-track racing can cause sudden problems for every driver.

THE CHASE
1. Kurt Busch 5,850 (Chase finishes: 1-5-5-6-4)
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -24 (5,826; 3-9-1-9-3)
3. Jeff Gordon -74 (5,776; 7-3-19-13-2)
4. Elliott Sadler -157 (5,693: 8-20-22-4-7)
5. Mark Martin -186 (5,664; 13-2-15-20-13)
6. Tony Stewart -204 (5,646; 39-6-6-14-10)
7. Matt Kenseth -215 (5,635; 2-32-14-17-11)
8. Jimmie Johnson -227 (5,623; 11-10-37-32-1)
9. Ryan Newman -271 (5,579; 33-1-16-33-14)
10. Jeremy Mayfield -349 (5,501; 35-7-38-5-30) ***

2005 tickets: The 12th Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005. Customers who are upgrading or purchasing Brickyard 400 tickets for the first time should act quickly to increase their chances of obtaining their desired seats.

To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.

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