Kasey Kahne did everything right, yet it did
little to help his championship hopes.
Kahne put on a dominating performance Saturday night to complete
a season sweep at Lowe's Motor Speedway, passing track favourite
Jimmie Johnson with 26 laps go then pulling away for the victory.
But the win _ his series-leading sixth of the season _ hardly
moved him in the Chase for the championship standings. He's eighth,
160 points out with five races to go before the Nextel Cup is
awarded.
Although several Chase contenders had horrible nights _ including
Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon _ Jeff Burton is proving
to be an excellent points racer and retained his spot atop the
standings. He overcame a pit-road miscue to finish third and take a
45-point lead over Matt Kenseth.
Kahne led 134 laps to grab the win, his second this season on the
1.5-mile track. He also nipped Johnson to win the Coca-Cola 600 in
May.
Johnson, winner of five of the past eight races here, finished
second again. He moved up one point to seventh in the Chase
standings, but is still 146 out.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
