Atlanta Race Thread

[Jonesi]

Atlanta Cup Grid should be:
24 JEFF GORDON
88 DALE EARNHARDT JR
1 MARTIN TRUEX JR
99 CARL EDWARDS
43 BOBBY LABONTE
18 KYLE BUSCH
07 CLINT BOWYER
29 KEVIN HARVICK
9 KASEY KAHNE
8 MARK MARTIN
--
48 JIMMIE JOHNSON
12 RYAN NEWMAN
16 GREG BIFFLE
6 DAVID RAGAN
31 JEFF BURTON
22 DAVE BLANEY
78 JOE NEMECHEK
19 ELLIOTT SADLER
42 JUAN MONTOYA
15 PAUL MENARD
--
10 PATRICK CARPENTIER
11 DENNY HAMLIN
40 DARIO FRANCHITTI
26 JAMIE McMURRAY
41 REED SORENSON
7 ROBBY GORDON
55 MICHAEL WALTRIP
66 SCOTT RIGGS
2 KURT BUSCH
00 DAVID REUTIMANN
--
38 DAVID GILLILAND
20 TONY STEWART
77 SAM HORNISH JR
84 MIKE SKINNER
83 BRIAN VICKERS
70 JEREMY MAYFIELD
96 J.J. YELEY
17 MATT KENSETH
5 CASEY MEARS
45 KYLE PETTY
--
01 REGAN SMITH
28 TRAVIS KVAPIL
44 DALE JARRETT (uses Champ Provisional)

DNQ
49 KEN SCHRADER
21 BILL ELLIOTT
27 JOHNNY BENSON
08 BURNEY LAMAR
34 JOHN ANDRETTI

[DazzlaF1]

Dario 23rd, best qualifying of the season for him

[dont_be_jack]

Debris caution. Nice way to bunch up the field, NASCAR. Should've let Joonyer run away with it.

[dont_be_jack]

Damn, the 88 can just hit the gas a whole lot earlier than the 18 can at this point. He was jumping at least half a second earlier than the 18.

[RaikkonenRules]

McMurray's having a poor performence. Last place 5 laps down.

[Jonesi]

This is looking too good to be true, 40 laps to go Toyota will restart 1st & 2nd.

[RaikkonenRules]

Kyle wins from Fat Tony Toyota 1-2 :D

[RaikkonenRules]

Kyle Petty 12 laps down while Labonte was still on the lead lap. :eek:

How does that happen?

[Vez]

Unofficial Results
FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Snickers 195/10 325 Running
2 32 20 Tony Stewart Toyota Home Depot "10 Years Strong" 170/0 325 Running
3 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 170/5 325 Running
4 13 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 165/5 325 Running
5 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 160/5 325 Running
6 7 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 155/5 325 Running
7 8 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 146/0 325 Running
8 38 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 142/0 325 Running
9 35 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 143/5 325 Running
10 15 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 134/0 325 Running
11 29 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 130/0 325 Running
12 5 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 132/5 325 Running
13 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's / Kobalt Tools 124/0 325 Running
14 12 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 121/0 324 Running
15 22 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 118/0 324 Running
16 19 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley's Big Red 115/0 324 Running
17 39 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg's / CARQUEST 112/0 324 Running
18 28 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 109/0 324 Running
19 20 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Energizer / Menards 106/0 324 Running
20 30 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 103/0 323 Running
21 3 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 100/0 323 Running
22 10 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 97/0 323 Running
23 14 6 David Ragan Ford AAA 94/0 323 Running
24 26 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Valvoline / Jim Beam 91/0 323 Running
25 33 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Penske Truck Rental 88/0 323 Running
26 9 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 90/5 322 Running
27 42 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Zaxby's 82/0 322 Running
28 43 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 79/0 322 Running
29 34 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 76/0 322 Running
30 31 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 73/0 321 Running
31 23 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Fastenal 70/0 321 Running
32 16 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 67/0 321 Running
33 27 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 64/0 321 Running
34 25 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 61/0 321 Running
35 37 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 58/0 320 Running
36 41 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 55/0 320 Running
37 17 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 52/0 320 Running
38 21 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Cintas 49/0 320 Running
39 36 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 46/0 318 Running
40 24 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 43/0 317 Running
41 40 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 40/0 313 Running
42 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 42/5 274 Out of Race
43 18 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 34/0 257 Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie

Vickers in 9th what a great result.
Matt did a great job getting 8th after starting from the back.

[BenRoethig]

Kyle Petty 12 laps down while Labonte was still on the lead lap. :eek:

How does that happen?

Bobby can still drive and the team has firm financial backing.

[dont_be_jack]

I can honestly say that I'm glad that Toyota got their first win and that Kyle Busch is the one that gave it to them.

[harvick#1]

all RCR drivers top 10 again.

looks like they are some very good sleepers.

must be driving MD nuts seeing Harvick in the top 10 now everyweek and Johnson nowhere to be found :bounce: :D

[MD24]

all RCR drivers top 10 again.

must be driving MD nuts seeing Harvick in the top 10 now everyweek and Johnson nowhere to be found :bounce: :D

It is and hopefully it won't last too long :p :

[MD24]

Why wasn't Dale Jarrett moving out of Kyle Busch's way at the end of the race.
I understand Micheal Waltrip not doing it because he's an idiot but Jarrett?

[harvick#1]

Why wasn't Dale Jarrett moving out of Kyle Busch's way at the end of the race.
I understand Micheal Waltrip not doing it because he's an idiot but Jarrett?

maybe Waltrip told him to get all the TV time he could get :mark:

but yeah, very unsportsmanlike from a former champ. guess Watrip could also be mad how good Gibbs is running and how bad his team is running

[e2mtt]

I am happy to seen Dale Jr. running strong.

Other then at California when he crashed in the rain, he has been the top finishing Hendricks car every single week. (At California, he still wasn't the last placed Hendricks car.)

He is also the only Hendricks driver currently in the top 12, at 6th.

[BenRoethig]

I am happy to seen Dale Jr. running strong.

Other then at California when he crashed in the rain, he has been the top finishing Hendricks car every single week. (At California, he still wasn't the last placed Hendricks car.)

He is also the only Hendricks driver currently in the top 12, at 6th.

He's reminding us that his bottleneck wasn't his driving skills.

[woody2goody]

I know this isn't about Atlanta, but will Mark Martin run at Bristol? I'm gonna make my pickems choices and I dunno if he's available.

[Jonesi]

I know this isn't about Atlanta, but will Mark Martin run at Bristol? I'm gonna make my pickems choices and I dunno if he's available.

Entry list should be out/up in a few hours.
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/5/data/entry_list.html

[e2mtt]

He's reminding us that his bottleneck wasn't his driving skills.

I always knew it wasn't. It is a very real reminder of how big a difference the team & car do make though. It's tough to perform at even mid-pack levels in a poorly developed & engineered car, regardless of whether you're a superstar, a former champion, or a former open-wheel star.

[Jonesi]

Just looked at the 'official' race results from yesterday's race. They must have had a T&S glitch since all postions from 26th to 38th (3 to 5 laps down) changed. The points changed are mostly 3-12, but it affects most of the driver's around the 'top 35' cutoff.

[RaceFanStan]

... the Owners Points Standings are showing a potential for a change …

(Race 5 @ Bristol will be the last race to use 2007 Owners Points)

Drivers in cars that were OUT of the Top 35 in Owners Points for 2007
but are now IN the Top 35 in Owners Points for 2008 so far :
Brian Vickers #83 Toyota
David Reutimann #00 Toyota
Dale Jarrett #44 Toyota
Kurt Busch #2 Dodge (2007 Owners Points was given to the #77)
Michael Waltrip #55 Toyota

Drivers in cars that were IN of the Top 35 in Owners Points for 2007
but are now OUT of the Top 35 in Owners Points for 2008 so far :
Dario Franchitti #40 Dodge
Dave Blaney #22 Toyota
Kyle Petty #45 Dodge
Regan Smith #01 Chevrolet
Sam Hornish Jr #77 Dodge (was given the #2 2007 Owners Points)

Drivers in cars that were OUT of the Top 35 in Owners Points for 2007
that remain OUT of the Top 35 in Owners Points for 2008 so far :
Bill Elliott #21 Ford
Joe Nemechek #78 Chevrolet
John Andretti #34 Ford
Johnny Benson Jr #27 Toyota
Ken Schrader #49 Dodge
Mike Skinner #84 Toyota
Patrick Carpentier #10 Dodge