Burton Steals Bank Of America 500

Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, was the stage for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 Sprint Cup. The night was full of fast-paced action, with an exciting turn of events taking place as Jeff Burton took his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to its limit to take home the winner’s trophy.

The race was exciting and had the phenomenal 160,000-strong crowd on the edge of their seats. Jeff Burton led the final 57 laps of the race, finally managing to beat 2nd place winner Kasey Kahne by just one second. Burton’s entire racing strategy was a gamble, but it paid off. This is his second victory this season and it has had even bigger implications for him in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. The win helped Burton gain 30 points on Jimmie Johnson, who only finished sixth in the race. Burton is now just 69 points behind Jimmie Johnson for the Sprint Cup and there are still plenty of races in the season for Burton to gain even more ground. Commenting on his move up on the Sprint Cup standings, Burton said: “People keep wanting to give the trophy to someone, but we’re only halfway through this chase, and it’s a long time from here to Homestead.” Indeed, contenders for the coveted Sprint Cup trophy are only five races into the ten-race chase. A lot can happen between now and then and Burton’s latest victory might give him quite a big psychological advantage over his chief rival.

Dodge driver Kurt Busch finished third and both he and Kasey Kahne were a surprise to fans who watched Johnson fade into the background after some stiff competition initially. Carl Edwards had an even more dismal race, crashing early and finishing a distant 33rd. Prior to the start of the race, Edwards had been second in the standings for the Sprint Cup, just 72 points behind Johnson. He will now have to work extremely hard if he wants to regain the ground he has lost. Sprint Cup contenders will be looking forward to driving at Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Miami during the second half of the challenge. A lot has already happened in the first half of the Sprint Cup challenge and it is impossible at this point to predict who will be taking the Cup home after the Miami finale.