Sophomore Nextel Cup driver Clint Bowyer accomplished two goals in one race today, going from the pole to the checkers in the Sylvania 300 Loudon. As the only driver in the Chase without a win this year, Bowyer silenced critics who questioned whether his team deserved to be in the title hunt. In so doing, the 28-year-old Kansas native also notched his first Nextel Cup victory, and he did it in commanding fashion, leading six times for 222 of 300 laps.

The race was relatively uneventful with no major crashes and just seven cautions - five for minor accidents or single car spins, one for debris, and a competition caution thrown by NASCAR on lap 35 due to yesterday's rain-out of both Cup practices.

The field was led to the green flag by two second-year drivers, Bowyer in P1 and Martin Truex Jr. in P2. Aside from the competition yellow at Lap 35, the first caution didn't occur until Lap 68 when Ward Burton spun. There was virtually no passing up front throughout the race, as Bowyer seemed to have the only car strong enough to muscle past another for the lead. The vast majority of lead changes occurred as pit stops were cycled through.

Several drivers complained about the inability to pass in the Car of Tomorrow and struggled to get around lap traffic let alone make a move on the race leader. Track position was vitally important, as passing in the COT was at a premium and frontrunner Bowyer pulled away once he got in the clean air. Fully half of the top-10 finishers started in the top 10, though Matt Kenseth proved that it was possible to combine pit strategy with skillful driving to make his way through the field, starting 30th and finishing seventh.

Including winner Clint Bowyer, the top seven drivers were all Chase contenders, as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth took spots two through seven. Casey Mears was the highest-finishing non-Chase driver in eighth, giving the Hendrick Motor Sports team four drivers in the top eight. Non-Chasers Ryan Newman and J.J. Yeley rounded out the top 10.

Eight of the top 10 drivers were in Chevy's with just one Ford, Matt Kenseth, and one Dodge, Ryan Newman, making the top 10. As has often been the case this season, David Reutimann was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in 26th place. David Ragan, fresh off his surprising third-place run last week in Richmond, was the highest-finishing rookie in 19th. Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch were the only lap leaders besides Clint Bowyer in double figures. Stewart took the lead at Lap 70 after a quick two-tire stop and held on until Lap 109 when he was passed by the faster Bowyer. Busch was credited with leading 21 laps.

Though 16 cars finished on the lead lap, three Chase contenders were among the drivers who struggled and finished a lap down, including Kevin Harvick, 17th, Jeff Burton, 18th, and Kurt Busch 25th. Harvick had not one but two flat tires, and Burton's team was never able to get the handling dialed in. Meanwhile Busch, who initially thought he had dropped a cylinder, later learned that his loss of horsepower was due to a carburetor problem.

The biggest movers in the Chase standings were Clint Bowyer, who shot up eight spots from 12th to fourth on the strength of his dominating victory, and Kurt Busch, who fell seven places from fifth to 12th with mechanical issues that plagued him from about the halfway point on.

It's worth noting that all 43 cars in the field were running at the end of the day, marking the first time that has happened in the modern NASCAR era.

Next week it's on to Dover, second race in the Chase, where Martin Truex Jr. got his first Cup victory back in June of this year.