Qualifying
Toyota drivers dominated qualifying and claimed three of the top five starting spots including the most important one. Kasey Kahne was quickest in qualifying in his Red Bull Toyota. Kahne was the only driver to top 186 MPH. This is a far cry from the 197 MPH track record
Clint Bowyer put his Richard Childress Chevy on the outside of the front row while the next two spots went to the Toyotas of Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers. Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch was the story of qualifying as he was the highest qualifier among those eligible for the Sprint Summer Showdown three million dollar bonus. If he this weekend he gets a millin dollar bonus for himself, a million for his favorite charity and a million for a lucky fan.
The other eligible drivers are Brad Keselowski who qualified fourteenth, Marcos Ambrose who qualified eighteenth and Paul Menard who started twenty-second.
Drop Of The Green
Tropical Storm Lee caused NASCAR to move the start time up by 20 minutes to the leading edge of the ESPN coverage. Unfortunately it proved to be a lost cause as the rain washed out the race start and NASCAR reset to try again on Tuesday since the forecast for Monday was 100% chance of rain all day long.
Nearly 36 hours after the race was scheduled to start Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer took the green and completed lap one side-by-side. Bowyer got the nod on lap one but Kasey Kahne got him for the lead going into turn one on the second lap and lead through to the first caution.
Drivers were taking it easy and feeling out their cars in the early laps. Practice and qualifying saw hot weather and sunny skies. The race started under much cooler temps and a heavy overcast which changed track conditions quite a bit.
NASCAR called for a competition caution on lap 30 to give teams a chance to change tires and make any necessary changes.
Storylines
None of the four drivers eligible for the Sprint Summer Showdown $3,000,000 bonus was in contention today so the real story of the race ended up being the weather.
Tropical Storm Lee just wouldn't leave the race fans at Atlanta Motor Speedway alone. Lee washed out the race on Sunday before it ever got started. The forecast was so bad that NASCAR didn't even try to race on Monday and instead scheduled an extremely rare Tuesday race.
Even when we started racing on Tuesday Lee still had an effect on the racing. One caution was extended as a heavy mist continued to fall around the race track. Shortly after that the race was halted for twenty-four minutes while the mist soaked the track. After the red flag the race resumed for just two laps before the mist returned again and brought back the caution.
They were finally able to get the race back undeway and the dedicated race fans who were able to stay saw all 500 miles that they paid for.
Good job to NASCAR for getting the full show in. Bad job to NASCAR for not having any remaining off weeks in the schedule. The NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule desperately needs a late-season off week to allow for a complete reschedule if necessary.
Chasing The Checkers
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were leading the race when the final round of green flag stops brought the leaders to pit road with forty laps to go. Both crews did their jobs and when they returned to pit road Gordon and Johnson were still nose-to-tail for the lead.
Jeff Gordon had the better car on the final run and steadily pulled away from Johnson for a while but Johnson caught his teammate for the lead with ten laps to go and the battle for the win was once again nose-to-tail.
They were side-by-side for the win when they took the four to go signal. Gordon held him off and claimed the 85th win of his career and took sole posession of third place on NASCAR's all-time win list.
Top Ten
- Jeff Gordon
- Jimmie Johnson
- Tony Stewart
- Kurt Busch
- Carl Edwards
- Brad Keselowski
- Kevin Harvick
- Denny Hamlin
- Matt Kenseth
- A.J. Allmendinger
The Points
Jimmie Johnson posted another strong top five finish and took over the point lead.
Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman joined the list of drivers who are locked into a top ten Chase qualifying spot. Now the top eight drivers are locked in leaving Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart to attempt to race their way in next week.
Brad Keselowski has also clinched one of the wild card spots as he can not be bumped next week in Richmond.
This leaves Denny Hamlin clinging to the final spot. Hamlin can't be passed by any oif the existing race winners so for him to get bumped A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle or Martin Truex Jr. will have to win in Richmond and pass Hamlin in points. Unlikely, but not impossible.
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:
- Jimmie Johnson -0
- Kyle Busch -21
- Carl Edwards -38
- Matt Kenseth -39
- Jeff Gordon -43
- Kevin Harvick -54
- Kurt Busch -84
- Ryan Newman -87
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -120
- Tony Stewart -122
