For Kasey Kahne, victory in Sunday night’s Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the watershed moment of his Sprint Cup Series career.
For one thing, it all but guaranteed Kahne a position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, jumping him five positions to sixth in the series standings—a sizable-if-not-comfortable 96 points ahead of 13th-place Brian Vickers, who finished seventh Sunday.
For Kahne, 29, the victim of a late-season fold with back-to-back 40th-place finishes at Michigan and Bristol last year, the win was vindication. For Richard Petty Motorsports, the victory was cause for celebration, all but ensuring a Petty car in the Chase for the first time since NASCAR’s playoff format was introduced in 2004. NASCAR
Kevin Harvick, who won the Nationwide race Saturday night, was in position for a weekend double until teammate Clint Bowyer spun with 15 laps to go, bringing out the final caution of the night. Kahne got Harvick on the restart and pulled away to an easy 1.766-second win.
Harvick held on for second, matching his best performance in a disappointing season. Juan Pablo Montoya finished third and solidified his odds of making the Chase for the first time. The Associated Press
“I think Harvick was the best on the long runs until we had that restart with 11 to go,” said Kahne, who earned his second Sprint Cup Series win of the season and 11th of his career.
“To see a crowd like this in Atlanta,” Kahne said, “it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that and it’s pretty awesome to see the support on Labor Day (weekend) and this crowd.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Race: Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta - Race Results
“It’s all about making the Chase,” Kahne said. “I knew Harvick and (Juan Pablo) Montoya were going to be tough there at the end.
“We just had a little bit better car there in the last 10 laps.” Boston Herald
“I knew we were in trouble there at the end, because it took our car 15 or 20 laps to get going,” Harvick said. “But, hey, that’s a long ways from where we’ve been. We led a bunch of laps tonight, something we haven’t been able to do in a while.
David Reutimann finishes fouth followed by Mark Martin.
With his sixth-place finish, Denny Hamlin joined Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon as those drivers who have already secured a position in the Chase.
Brian Vickers, Gordon, Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle completed the top-10.
Vickers moved within 20 points of Kenseth, while Kyle Busch fell 37 markers behind after his 13th-place run. MiamiHerald.com
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