Top 12 Features Competitive, New Look
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series just returned from Las Vegas, and, if folks could have cashed in on the odds of predicting what the series, top 12 would look like after the season’s first three races, the payout would have been monumental.
Heading into the KOBALT Tools 500 this Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the top 12 features a new and competitive look.
Only five drivers who were in the top 12 at this point last year are in there now and there is a trio of drivers, David Reutimann (No. 00 Aarons Dream Machine Toyota), Bobby Labonte (No. 96 ASK.com Ford), and Michael Waltrip (No. 55 NAPA Toyota), that would have been considered long shots to break into this illustrious group at the beginning of the season.
Reutimann is coming off a career-best fourth-place finish at Las Vegas and has moved up to fifth in points. A year ago, Reutimann was 31st in points after the first three races.
Labonte turned in his first top-five performance since 2006 by finishing fifth at Vegas and is 10th in points, he was 15th this time last season.
Waltrip stayed in the top 12 for the third straight week. Consider: Has 34th at this stage a year ago. Clearly, he is answering the self-imposed pressure he applied during the preseason when he said that if his 2009 results weren’t considerably improved, that he would retire.
Call it parity; call it balanced competition. But however you frame it up, the new blood in the 1op 12 certainly has made for some interesting early-season conversation, and speculation about whether these teams will be among the elite later in the season.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, following his run at Las Vegas.
“I can’t wait to get back in it and go. We’re taking it one race at a time, so I’m excited. I just feel like we’ve got all of this confidence on our side right now.”
Jeff Gordon Returns to Familiar Position, Atop Standings
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) is back in familiar territory.
The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion finds himself atop the points standings heading into this week’s action at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It’s the first time since Oct. 28, 2007 that Gordon has been the series’ points leader. And, it is the first time since his championship season of 1997 that he has been the points leader after the year’s first three events. Gordon has parlayed solid finishes through the season’s first three events, including 13th at Daytona, second at Auto Club Speedway and sixth at Las Vegas, to take over the points lead.
“Three weeks in a row, I’ve felt like we have had the car that can win and that’s quite a change from last year,” said Gordon, who went winless in 2008, snapping a 14-year stretch in which he won at least one race per season.
At Atlanta this Sunday, Gordon will be looking for his first points victory since Oct. 13, 2007 (Lowe’s Motor Speedway), a winless streak of 44 races. Atlanta is the site of Gordon’s first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start (Nov. 15, 1992) and has historically been a strong track for the highly decorated driver. In 33 career starts at the 1.54-mile venue, Gordon has posted four wins, 13 top fives and 21 top 10s.
Gordon has 81 career victories, sixth most in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history. At Las Vegas this past Sunday, he eclipsed the 20,000 laps led mark and heads into Atlanta ranked seventh all-time with 20,006 laps led.
Gordon’s last series championship came in 2001. He is seeking his first title under the Chase format, after finishing seventh (2008), second (2007), sixth (2006), 11th (2005) and third (2004) in the previous five Chase seasons.
Sunday’s Race Marks 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Event At Atlanta Motor Speedway
This Sunday’s running of the KOBALT Tools 500 marks the 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. And, if Sunday’s race is anything like the previous 99, one can expect an exciting and dramatic afternoon of competition.
Here’s a look at some of the most memorable races at AMS:
July 31, 1960, Fireball Roberts wins the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Nov. 5, 1978, Richard Petty thought he had defeated rival Cale Yarborough to win the race, however, a scoring snafu is discovered afterwards and the victory is awarded to Donnie Allison.
Nov. 15, 1992, Alan Kulwicki may have finished second in the race, but it was good enough for him to overtake Bill Elliott and claim his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship by a slim 10-point margin. Many deemed this race to be one of the greatest NASCAR races ever. It also marked the final race for Richard Petty and was the first career race for Jeff Gordon.
March 12, 2000, Dale Earnhardt beats Bobby Labonte to the checkered flag by .01 seconds to record his ninth and final victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Earnhardt’s nine wins at AMS is the most of any driver.
March 11, 2001, Kevin Harvick holds off Jeff Gordon by .006 seconds to record his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. The victory came on the heels of the tragic loss of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona just a few weeks earlier. Earnhardt’s famed black Chevrolet had been painted white and re-numbered 29, with the rookie Harvick given the daunting task of driving the car. It was an emotional win for owner Richard Childress and marked the second straight win for his team at the Atlanta spring race.
He’s Back, Kyle Busch Wins At Vegas; Defending Race Winner At AMS
Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) demonstrated once again last Sunday that he will be a force to be reckoned with in 2009.
Busch hit the jackpot at his home track in Las Vegas, winning for the first time there. His 13th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory moved him up to sixth in the points standings. Busch, who won a record 21 races across all three national series a year ago, is the defending race champion at this Sunday’s KOBALT Tools 500 in Atlanta. Knowing that he won eight times last year at the next 17 tracks that the series competes should provide reason for heartburn for the rest of the competitors.
“We didn’t let Daytona haunt us,” said Busch, referring to his car getting caught up in an accident towards the end of the race after being so dominant throughout the day. “We went to California and ran a smart race and finished third. We came here (Las Vegas) and ran a smart race and won. This could have been a 1-3-1 season thus far, but it is what it is. We’re really looking forward to getting back to Atlanta this weekend and defending our race title.”
RCR Team Posts Strong Showing At Las Vegas. Richard Childress Racing posted three top 12 finishes last week at Las Vegas. Clint Bowyer (No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet, 2nd), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 3rd) and Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Reese’s Chevrolet, 12th) came on strong and all moved up in the points standings. Bowyer is now second, having moved up four spots and now trails leader Jeff Gordon by just 18 points. Harvick moved up five spots to 11th, while Burton jumped 13 spots to move into 18th in points.
“Rocket Man” Looks For Record Friday At Atlanta. Ryan Newman (No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet) will be shooting for his eighth career pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway this Friday, which in turn would move him past Buddy Baker for the all-time pole winner record at Atlanta. Newman has 43 career poles, a total that ranks 11th all-time.
Footnotes: Bobby Labonte has six victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the most of any active driver, Rookie Joey Logano (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) posted his best NSCS finish to date last week, a 13th-place showing at Las Vegas, Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford) has three wins at AMS, including his first career series win in 2005, Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) blew an engine after only six laps at Las Vegas and dropped from first to third in points.
Loop Data Points To Strong Showing By Carl Edwards At Atlanta
Though Carl Edwards sits in ninth place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, he’s not exactly setting the world on fire.
At Las Vegas, he finished 17th; at Auto Club Speedway seventh; and at Daytona 18th. Edwards has led just three laps the entire season. What happened to the guy who won three of the final four races last season? Well, count on him coming back this Sunday at Atlanta, a track at which he dominated last October.
In Edwards’ nine-race Atlanta career, he has three wins (including his first career victory), five top fives and seven top 10s.
Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, Edwards ranks among the leaders in a number of statistical categories. He has a Driver Rating of 107.4 (second best), an Average Running Position of 10.312 (third), a series-high 260 Fastest Laps Run, an Average Green Flag Speed of 174.094 (second fastest), a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 84.6% (second), and 250 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), which is third-most.
Speaking of those who are having uncharacteristic struggles in the early going, at the top of the list arguably sits Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet). He rebounded some with his 10th-place finish at Las Vegas and the momentum should continue this weekend at Atlanta.
In his past eight Atlanta races, Earnhardt has a Driver Rating of 103.7 (third), an Average Running Position of 10.331 (fourth), 216 Fastest Laps Run (second), 484 Green Flag Passes (fourth) and Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 77.3%.
Seeing Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet) anywhere but Victory Lane is surprising. This season has thus far been full of disappointment for the three-time defending champion. Johnson sits 19th in the series standings, but is strong at Atlanta. He leads the series in Driver Rating with a 112.9 and is the only driver with an Average Running Position under 10.0, he has a series-best 7.2. He also ranks fourth in 183 Fastest Laps Run.
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