2008 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

2008 Kobalt Tools 500:

Atlanta Motor Speedway has a history of great racing and thrilling finishes. Will Atlanta Motor Speedway provide another awesome finish like we saw in 2005 when Carl Edwards won by just .028 seconds? Or a repeat of 2001 when Kevin Harvick won by just .006 seconds? Sunday's race promises to be yet another barnburner.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (770) 946-4211

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

Atlanta Motor Speedway is l.54 mile quad-oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. Because the cars don't use the speed-sapping restrictor plates here the average speeds in Atlanta are even faster than the superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega. This is a very fast race track that has a history of truly great racing.

Race Distance:

325 Laps = 500 Miles

The Big Picture:

We left Las Vegas last week thinking that Carl Edwards was the point leader. However, NASCAR announced penalties this week for the #99 team that included a 100 point deduction. This penalty drops Edwards from the lead down to seventh overall.

The top twelve:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Ryan Newman -20
3. Kasey Kahne -26
4. Kevin Harvick -42
5. Greg Biffle -43
6. Jeff Burton -49
7. Carl Edwards -79
8. Martin Truex Jr. -99
9. Elliott Sadler -102
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -109
11. Tony Stewart -115
12. Kurt Busch -122

Storylines:

Last week in Las Vegas NASCAR discovered that Carl Edwards' car did not pass post-race inspection. The rule that the team violated states that "any device or duct work that permits air to pass from one area of the interior of the car to another, or to the outside of the car, will not be permitted."

As a result NASCAR has fined Edwards and his car owner 100 points each. In addition crew chief Bob Osborne has been fined $100,000 and suspended from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events.

Starting the season off with a penalty worked well for Jimmie Johnson. Does this mean that Edwards will win the Cup in 2008?

Media Coverage:

TV: Fox Sunday, March 9th 1:30PM Eastern.

Radio: PRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 2:00 p.m. Eastern

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson 2007 Polesitter: Ryan Newman

Last Year:

In 2007 Tony Stewart had the lead late in the race when Jimmie Johnson ran him down. They battled side-by-side for the lead with Stewart on the outside and Johnson on the inside. Then, with three laps to go Johnson finally got past when Stewart bobbled slightly.

Johnson got away and coasted home for the win.

Predictions:

For my top pick this week I am going to predict that Toyota will win their first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup series race. Kyle Busch has been fast all year long in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. I think this is the week that Toyota will break through and celebrate in Victory Lane.

This weekend Jimmie Johnson will look to become the first driver in Atlanta Motor Speedway history to win three races in a row. Johnson swept both races here in 2007. Even though Johnson struggled last week in Las Vegas I am going to stick with Jimmie Johnson as my backup pick this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.