Dale Earnhardt Jr Moves into Sprint’s Top Spot

Sunday’s fourth place finish on Sunday’s Brickyard 400 has moved Dale Earnhardt Jr 14 points ahead of Matt Kenseth, who is in second place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings…

Sunday’s fourth place finish on Sunday’s Brickyard 400 has moved Dale Earnhardt Jr 14 points ahead of Matt Kenseth, who is in second place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. When asked how it feels to be running first in the standings, Earnhardt noted that it is a reflection on how hard his team has worked and that he was proud of their achievements, but no doubt echoed his team and his fans’ sentiments by saying that he would like to win some more races.

Jimmy Johnson took the checkered flag in the Brickyard 400, bringing his career wins in the race to four, matching the record of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon – the only other NASCAR driver to win this particular race four times at the historic Indianapolis racetrack. It was Hendrick Motorsports’ eighth win out of the nineteen Indianapolis NASCAR races. While acknowledging that winning at Indianapolis is special because of the track’s unique history, Hendrick noted that his team put the same amount of effort into every race and that winning a championship called for being good everywhere. Johnson completed his victory lap in a pace car with his wife, daughter and crew members accompanying him.

Kyle Busch took second place just 4.758 seconds behind Johnson, with Greg Biffle in third, Dale Earnhardt Jr in fourth place, Jeff Gordon fifth and Denny Hamlin in sixth. Matt Kenseth finished the race in 35th place after being wrecked in a crash triggered by Joey Logano with only 26 laps remaining, describing the events as “frustrating”.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series top ten standings are:

Dale Earnhardt Jr – #88 Chevrolet – 731 points

Matt Kenseth – #17 Ford – 717 points

Greg Biffle – #16 Ford – 709 points

Jimmie Johnson – #48 Chevrolet – 704 points

Denny Hamlin – #11 Toyota – 667 points

Kevin Harvick – #29 Chevrolet – 653 points

Martin Truex Jr – #56 Toyota – 653 points

Tony Stewart – #14 Chevrolet – 652 points

Brad Keselowski – #2 Dodge – 649 points

Clint Bowyer – #15 Toyota – 643 points

Top three Nationwide Series standings are: Elliott Sadler in the #2 Chevrolet with 704 point; Austin Dillon in the #3 Chevrolet with 703 points; and Ricky Stenhouse Jr in the #6 Ford with 691 points. The Camping World Truck Series top three are: Timothy Peters in the #17 Toyota with 395 points, Ty Dillon in the #3 Chevrolet; and Justin Lofton in the #6 Chevrolet with 365 points.