Yesterday's Golden Corrall 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was rained out. So the race was on Monday at 11AM. Tire wear and engine durability are always an issue at Atlanta. The way the race turned out was if you could stay out of trouble, you could have a good finish. Kasey Kahne-#9 UAW-Dodge Dealers Dodge won the pole but the big story was Bill Lester-#23 Waste Management Dodge becoming the first black driver to start a Nextel Cup race since 1986. Unfortunately, Lester didn't do very well in the race. He went several laps down with an ill handling race car and finished 38th.
The big story of the race was many potential winners dropping out of contention. Carl Edwards-#99 Office Depot Ford was looking to win his third consecutive Atlanta race but a pit road collision with Dave Blaney-#22 Caterpillar Dodge eliminated him. Most of the rest had tire problems. Kurt Busch-#2 Miller Lite Dodge, Kevin Harvick-#29 GM Goodwrench Chevy, Clint Bowyer-#07 Jack Daniels Chevy, Denny Hamlin-#11 FedEx Chevy, Matt Kenseth-#17 DeWalt Ford, Robby Gordon-#7 Harrah's Chevy, Greg Biffle-#16 Subway Ford & Jeff Burton-#31 Cingular Chevy all had fast cars and all spent time at the front but tire problems killed all of them.
That left Kasey Kahne in the lead with Mark Martin-#6 AAA Ford chasing him. Martin got close but Kahne turned it on when he needed to and won the race. Congratulations to Kasey Kahne, crew chief Kenny Francis & Car Owner Ray Evernham. Big top ten finish for Paul Menard. Menard is what is called a pre-rookie. He's a Busch Series regular and will run a few Nextel Cup races to prepare for a full time Nextel Cup ride next year. A top ten finish for a part time team is unbelievable. Top tens for Kyle Petty & rookie Reed Sorenson too. Jimmie Johnson finished sixth and continues to lead the points. Here' the top ten.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.9/Kasey Kahne/UAW-Dodge Dealers/Dodge/Ray Evernham
2.6/Mark Martin/AAA/Ford/Jack Roush
3.8/Dale Earnhardt Jr./Budweiser/Chevy/Dale Earnhardt Inc.
4.24/Jeff Gordon/Dupont/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
5.20/Tony Stewart/Home Depot/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
6.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
7.15/Paul Menard/Menards-Pittsburgh Paints/Chevy/Dale Earnhardt Inc.
8.45/Kyle Petty/Tire Kingdom/Dodge/Petty Enterprises
9.88/Dale Jarrett/UPS/Ford/Robert Yates
10.41/Reed Sorenson/Fujifilm/Dodge/Chip Ganassi
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