The race held on October 15 at Lowe's Motor Speedway was delayed by the finish of the Southern California-Notre Dame college football game which was being broadcast on NBC by forty-five minutes and ended after midnight (EDT) because of the green-white-checkered finish rule. The race was marred by multiple tire problems, similar to the 2005 United States Grand Prix where tires seemed to "self-destruct" on their own. This was caused by a recent levigation of the track and Goodyear failing to bring an adequate tire to the track. Even with drivers driving at 75% speed, tires continued to explode due to excessive heat in the right-front tire. Not even series point leader and eventual champion Tony Stewart was exempt. At one point, NASCAR even considered calling the race, although they ended up throwing competition caution flags instead. When the smoke cleared, Jimmie Johnson won his fourth straight points-paying race at Lowe's and surged into a tie with Tony Stewart for the top of the standings. Stewart, who has five wins, holds the tie-breaker and retained the lead, finishing 25th. The top three finishers were involved in the 2005 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.