For the second consecutive race, Jimmie Johnson has taken the checkered flag in the 1st position. This week’s victory came for Johnson in the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He started the race in 20th position. Kevin Harvick, who currently leads the championship standings by 47 points, finished 2nd, and Jeff Gordon, who lead the most laps of the day finished in 3rd. Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.

The pole-sitter, Kurt Busch, didn’t fare so well finishing 35th, with Kevin Conway, the leading rookie in the field finishing behind him in 36th.

A variety of problems faced the drivers who didn’t finish the race including an accident involving Mike Bliss, some rear gear problems for Boris Said, overheating issues for Joe Nemechek, brake troubles for Michael McDowell, and a vibration felt by Aric Almirola, which took him back to the garage.

Results of the 2010 Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway:

Pos  #  Driver               Make      Laps  Status
 1  48  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet  267  Running
 2  29  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet  267  Running
 3  24  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet  267  Running
 4   5  Mark Martin          Chevrolet  267  Running
 5  17  Matt Kenseth         Ford       267  Running
 6  20  Joey Logano          Toyota     267  Running
 7  14  Tony Stewart         Chevrolet  267  Running
 8  33  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet  267  Running
 9   9  Kasey Kahne          Ford       267  Running
10  16  Greg Biffle          Ford       267  Running
11  31  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet  267  Running
12  99  Carl Edwards         Ford       267  Running
13   0  David Reutimann      Toyota     267  Running
14  47  Marcos Ambrose       Toyota     267  Running
15  18  Kyle Busch           Toyota     267  Running
16  88  Dale Earnhardt Jr.   Chevrolet  267  Running
17  98  Paul Menard          Ford       267  Running
18  39  Ryan Newman          Chevrolet  267  Running
19  11  Denny Hamlin         Toyota     267  Running
20  56  Martin Truex Jr.     Toyota     267  Running
21  78  Regan Smith          Chevrolet  267  Running
22  82  Scott Speed          Toyota     266  Running
23   6  David Ragan          Ford       266  Running
24  34  Travis Kvapil        Ford       265  Running
25  43  A.J. Allmendinger    Ford       265  Running
26  12  Brad Keselowski      Dodge      265  Running
27  19  Elliott Sadler       Ford       265  Running
28  77  Sam Hornish Jr.      Dodge      264  Running
29  66  Dave Blaney          Toyota     264  Running
30  38  David Gilliland      Ford       263  Running
31  83  Brian Vickers        Toyota     262  Running
32   7  Robby Gordon         Toyota     262  Running
33  13  Max Papis            Toyota     262  Running
34   1  Jamie McMurray       Chevrolet  260  Running
35   2  Kurt Busch           Dodge      259  Running
36  37  Kevin Conway (R)     Ford       256  Running
37  42  Juan Montoya         Chevrolet  247  Running
38  71  Bobby Labonte        Chevrolet  216  Running
39  36  Mike Bliss           Chevrolet  135  Accident
40  26  Boris Said           Ford       134  Rear Gear
41  87  Joe Nemechek         Toyota      65  Overheating
42  55  Michael McDowell     Toyota      40  Brakes
43   9  Aric Almirola        Chevrolet   23  Vibration

The next race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be the Kobalt Tools 500 held at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7, 2010.

Related Links:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Series Information, Schedule, Standings, Past Champions, News, Videos

After a long and caution-filled race, Kyle Busch celebrated his win by grabbing the checkered flag, kissing the start/finish line and doing donuts around the grass in front of the main grandstands. This marked his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

This race also marked the first time that a Sprint Cup driver has won Las Vegas from the pole position since the series first started racing at the track back in 1996. Though it’s still being debated whether or not this counts as a win from the pole, as Busch was sent to the back of the field due to an engine change for the start of the race.

Following the Toyota of Busch were the two Chevrolet’s of Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton. Jeff Gordon, who faced some late troubles by missing the pit entrance and blowing a tire, still managed a strong sixth place finish which moved him to the championship lead. Gordon currently has a 18 point lead over the second place championship contender, Clint Bowyer.

For the full results from the race, please see this link:

2009 Shelby 427 Results from Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The standings have been updated and can be found here:

2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings