 After he was rammed by his teammate Brian Vickers in the UAW @-@ Ford 500 , Johnson said the expectations for him to succeed at Lowe 's Motor Speedway were high and hoped the track 's surface would be more predictable . Martin said he was in the best position that he had been in for several years to win the championship , and stated he was less interested at looking at race results . Having secured one top @-@ ten finish in the season 's first four Chase for the Nextel Cup races , Earnhardt stated he need to secure a top @-@ five finishing position , and was determined to get his team more involved in the championship battle . Gordon had driven well at the circuit , but without finishing . His team brought the car he drove to victory in the season 's 18th race at Chicagoland Speedway . Gordon felt it would help him at intermediate tracks and get him back into championship contention . Following a poor start in the chase , which improved after he finished second at Talladega Superspeedway , Kahne believed the momentum would be carried into Charlotte and stated he would race hard to win races . 
