 | | Credit: Autostock |
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
September 2, 2004
01:45 PM EDT (17:45 GMT)
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The Chase for the Nextel Cup, already a tight squeeze for eight teams, got even tighter at Bristol, with all eight avoiding damaging finishes. Ryan Newman Newman scored just his second top-five since his win at Michigan in June, as he rallied to finish second in the Sharpie 500.  |  | | Ryan Newman Credit: Autostock |
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Newman has made it clear that he does not like the new points format, but he was all smiles following his third straight solid run at Bristol. He made the biggest jump among all the bubble teams, as he moved from 13th to 10th in the standings. He now has a 26-point cushion heading into Fontana and Richmond, two of his better tracks. "We look forward to going to them and we have some team momentum," Newman said. "We are going to try to get some top-fives, and that would solidify us for the Chase." Jamie McMurray McMurray has quickly established himself as one of the best drivers at Bristol, as he has never finished worse than 11th in his four starts here. McMurray is also expected to be strong at Fontana, where he finished 15th in the spring and fifth in 2003. McMurray didn't gain any spots in the standings, but he gained 35 points on the final spot in the Chase. |  | | Dale Jarrett Credit: Autostock |
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Dale Jarrett Jarrett had a bittersweet night at Bristol. He scored his fourth top-10 in the last six races, but he knows it could have been better. Jarrett tangled with Robby Gordon on Lap 366, costing him valuable track postion and leaving him scrambling to stay on the lead lap. "We got up to second or third there and on one of the restarts I got down to the inside and Robby Gordon tried to drive down on the apron and turned me around," Jarrett said. Jarrett gained 13 points on 10th place, and he's 45 back heading into Fontana. |  | SHARPIE 500 | |
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""It's not impossible," Jarrett said about his chances. "We've just got to go have two good races. We'll concentrate on California next week and if we can have a good race there, we'll have a good chance." Mark Martin Mark Martin finished a lap down in 13th -- a lap he lost when he drove down both pit roads during a round of green-flag stops. Had Martin finished on the lead lap, he would have finished at least seventh. As it was, he was 13th and stayed the course in the Nextel Cup standings. Despite the error, it was the third straight week Martin has been run well. "It was a good run for us. We did the best we could and recovered well from getting a lap down because we had such a great car," Martin said. "I've got a great race team. We're gonna keep fighting. If we make it, we make it. "If we don't, we don't." Kevin Harvick Harvick had to get out of the car on Lap 362 after experiencing problems with his left arm, and Kyle Petty finished the race. |  | | Kevin Harvick Credit: Autostock |
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Harvick was credited with a 24th-place finish and went from 40 points ahead of 10th place to a mere five points ahead of 10th place. He said he had no choice but to surrender the car. "I knew the only thing to do was have someone replace me because I knew I could not drive the car with one arm," Harvick said. Bobby Labonte Labonte finished 16th at Bristol and is only one point ahead of Newman, who holds down the 10th spot. The run was Labonte's seventh straight out of the top 10, but he finished fifth at Fontana in the spring. "We have got a couple more races," Labonte said. "If we're good enough to get in, we will, if not, we won't," he said. "We have to go out and prove that we can be there, and right now, we're not doing it." Kasey Kahne Kahne's weekend at Bristol started great -- he qualified second -- but he crashed the car in the second practice. The team elected not to use a backup, and Kahne faded from the top 10 after the first third of the race. |  | | Kasey Kahne Credit: Autostock |
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Kahne said the car never handled well, and the long green-flag run in the middle of the race didn't help. "It felt like the longest race (of my life) at times," Kahne said. "It was a tough race especially with an ill-handling racecar. "We lost some good points. We've got to run good at California and Richmond." Kahne hasn't scored a top-10 finish in a short track event this year, a point not lost on team owner Ray Evernham. "Short tracks have been our weakness all year and it was again tonight, so we need to make sure we get our act together by the time we go (to Richmond)," Evernham said. Jeremy Mayfield Mayfield finished 22nd -- right behind teammate Kahne -- and dropped two spots to 13th in the standings, 35 behind Newman. "We didn't do our job today," said Evernham. "We can't blame it on luck or anything. We are running the same stuff (at Fontana) we had at Michigan, so we feel we will be OK." | 
