Yellows plentiful in Cup race, too

? There were 10 caution flags in Saturday’s Yellow Transportation 300, tying the Kansas Speedway record in the Busch Series.

Sunday’s Nextel Cup drivers saw plenty of yellow, as well.

The Banquet 400 had 11 cautions – two fewer than the Nextel Cup record at Kansas – translating into 45 laps being run under yellow.

Emporia native Clint Bowyer was running in fifth place when he brought out the ninth caution of the day on the 172nd lap, sliding up the track and hitting the wall – smashing in the back-right of the car. After falling back following numerous pit visits, Bowyer was able to finish ninth.

“I thought this was the day all weekend long,” Bowyer said about picking up his first Nextel Cup victory. “I knew that even before coming here that we were going to run good with this car just because I had that much confidence in it. It’s a bummer that I wrecked the ol’ girl, but I know that the guys will get it fixed up for me.”

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No pressure: With 29 laps remaining, Jeff Gordon lost fuel pressure while running in eight and wound up finishing all the way back in 39th.

Gordon was in second place – six points behind Jeff Burton – in the Chase for the Cup and dropped to sixth in the standings.

Burton’s fifth-place finish alleviated the pressure between himself and second place taking a 69-point lead after the first three of 10 races.

“We had two good finishes in the first two (Chase) races, and now we don’t,” Gordon said, “and so now we’re in the same boat as the rest of the guys back there.”

Nextel Cup rookie Denny Hamlin supplanted Gordon in the second spot following his 18th-place finish. The biggest winner in the terms of the standings was Mark Martin, who climbed three spots – just one point behind Hamlin – after finishing third.

Despite leading the most laps with 105, Jimmie Johnson’s errors on pit row late in the race pushed him back to 14th and dropped another 29 points behind Burton in the Chase – now 165 back.

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Coleman released: Busch Series driver Brad Coleman was released from the hospital Sunday before the Banquet 400 race at the Kansas Speedway. Coleman had been hospitalized after crashing in the 45th lap of the Yellow Transportation 300 Busch race Saturday.