This was also a big night in the Chase For The Cup as three drivers saw their Championship dreams crushed in various Atlanta incidents.
Qualifying
Rain washed out qualifying on Friday so the starting lineup was determined by points. This put all ten of the Chase For The Cup contenders in the top ten spots. Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton are all within 48 points of the lead and started up front. This great point battle is front and center as all of the Chasers are clumped together as the green flag flies.
Drop The Green Flag
Kevin Harvick got a great start on the outside of row one and lead the first lap. This is important as Harvick claimed five points for leading a lap and tightened the points battle even more.
Kyle Busch just plain lost it on lap four. Busch was almost got through cleanly but he was just barely clipped by teammate Brian Vickers as drivers were scrambling to avoid the incident. Kyle Busch is one of the 2006 Chasers, but came into today tenth in points and was already out of the Championship picture.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed his strength early in the race. Junior took over the lead on lap 11 and lead the early portion of the race. Tony Stewart also took a turn up front as he drove from his eleventh place starting spot to the lead in just 26 laps.
Storylines
Chasers Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin all saw their Chase chances take a final, fatal blow today. Kyle made a mistake early in the race that dumped him back in the final standings. Then Kasey Kahne also made a mental mistake that ended his Chase dreams. Finally, Mark Martin was caught up in a late race incident which crushed his Championship dreams in this, his final full season of NEXTEL Cup racing.
Chasing The Checkers
The green flag flew with just 16 laps to go but that would not be the final green. There was a big chain-reaction wreck in turn one that collected Mark Martin along with a long list of others. This effectively ended Mark Martin's Chase hopes.
On the final restart Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the leader but he was on old tires. His lead didn't last long as Tony Stewart got a run on the restart with his fresher tires and took over the lead with ten laps to go. This race was not in doubt after that. Tony Stewart cruised home for the easy win.
Top Ten
- Tony Stewart
- Jimmie Johnson
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Matt Kenseth
- Greg Biffle
- Jeff Gordon
- Carl Edwards
- Denny Hamlin
- Joe Nemechek
- Robby Gordon
The Points
Coming into today we had a very tight point battle. The points shuffled a little bit but this is still a great battle with just three races remaining. Matt Kenseth stretched his lead a little bit but there are still five drivers within 84 points of the lead. The 2006 Chase For The NEXTEL Cup is still a barnburner as Texas, Phoenix and Homestead are all that remain.
The top ten in points are now:
- Matt Kenseth -0
- Jimmie Johnson -26
- Denny Hamlin -65
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -84
- Jeff Burton -84
- Kevin Harvick -121
- Jeff Gordon -146
- Mark Martin -201
- Kasey Kahne -210
- Kyle Busch -249
Next Week
Only three races remain in the 2006 Chase. Next weekend Texas Motor Speedway hosts another critical race in The Chase. Texas is similar in size and shape to Atlanta Motor Speedway where today's race saw some good battles. Next weekend's race should be just as interesting as the Championship is still up for grabs.
