Jimmie Johnson completed a sweep of the Nextel Cup races at Richmond International Raceway tonight by taking the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in convincing fashion. As he pulled away to a three second margin at the finish, he captures his 6th win of the season and 29th of his Cup career (he’s now solo in 21st place on the all-time win list). This win gives him back-to-back victories and was worth $249,836 from the over $5M in posted awards. This was win #161 for Hendrick Motorsports and their 12th this season. David Ragan (3rd) had his career-best finish tonight. His previous best was 5th at Daytona in the 500 this past February. Johnny Sauter (5th) had his career-best finish tonight. His previous best was 9th twice….at Phoenix in April of 2005 and again there this past April. His Top-5 finish gives us 30 drivers at that mark this season….last year we had 29 and there were 30 drivers to score a Top-5 in 2005. J. J. Yeley (10th) had his best finish since he was runner-up at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. David Reuitmann (13th) had his career-best finish tonight as well. His previous best was 15th at Michigan in June. Kyle Petty (25th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. STREAKIN….Tony Stewart has 7 Top-10’s in the last 8 races. Jimmie Johnson has 5 Top-5’s in the last 6 races. Kurt Busch has 5 Top-10’s in the last 6 races. This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is Johnny Sauter (+30), followed by J. J. Yeley (+26) and Martin Truex Jr (+25). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Carl Edwards (-36), followed by Jamie McMurray (-26), Juan Pablo Montoya (-26), and Scott Riggs (-24). In “Classic” Points, Jimmie Johnson (6th to 4th), Johnny Sauter (32nd to 30th), and Paul Menard (36th to 34th) made the best moves forward in the Top-35, while Carl Edwards (4th to 6th) was the only multi-position mover on the negative side.(Stock Car Fans)(9-8-2007)
