Atlanta was a race we thought would be decided by a driver who had a great car, one who had a great pit crew, or one who was simply too desperate for victory to be denied. In the end, it was decided by two guys who turned their high-powered machines into bumper cars to force a green-white-checker…or two.
Kevin Harvick had the car. He dominated the race, but when it came time to go to extra time he had a bit of ground to make up. Paul Menard, after a two tire stop, could not get going on the re-start. Harvick clipped him, and then Menard squeezed up to the wall as the two fresh tired Joey Logano came up behind. Harvick went from challenging for a win to being challenged by the wall. He finished 19th.
Denny Hamlin had the pit crew. 11-seconds and a tick were what they were giving him every stop, and he used the advantage to stay up near the front. By the time the smoke cleared, he was still up there, just two positions back of where he had hoped to finish.
Kasey Kahne wanted a win. He needed a win. He got by Hamlin with just over twenty laps remaining, then fended off Harvick, and it seemed that would be how they would finish, Kahne, Harvick, Hamlin…then it was time to waste away in Moronoville.
Not sure what prompted it, but with under a handful of laps left, Kyle Busch went into the rear of Martin Truex Jr. Then did it again. They he got tagged back, as the two proceeded to dance the auto tango to bring out the caution. They even had words later, with Rowdy in his car and Truex leaning in to chat. Neither mattered much on this day, but their spat could have affected things.
Well, it did affect Harvick’s finish, though it matters little at this stage. It did allow Matt Kenseth to duel Kahne in a battle of the winless for the decision in the second G-W-C attempt, but Kahne survived to win his Chase place while Kenseth locked himself a berth on points. In the end, all was right with the world.
Not for Clint Bowyer. He hold on a Chase place went to crap along with his shifter. It broke and he fell laps back to fall right out of the Chase. A win at Richmond, or he is left hoping for a repeat winner along with finishing well ahead of Greg Biffle on Saturday.
Anyone still in the Top 33 still has a shot at a spot in the Chase, but they need a win next week to pull that off. That makes Danica Patrick still a contender, and a sixth place finish at Atlanta made a bunch of happy reporters. Still, I will wait for a couple of back-to-back Top Fifteens before I get too warm and fuzzy about it. I mean, Aric Almirola also had a Top Ten, but no one seemed quite ready just yet to snap up his autographed bikini photos in celebration.
It was nice Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards had pretty good finishes, or even that Junior was 11th even on a day he was a non-factor. Too bad for Jeff Gordon, who looked good early before a tire and his hopes went away at about the same time. Tony Stewart was back, looked great the first few laps, but then Kyle Busch squeezed him into the grinder to damper his hopes. A blown tire a little later ended them. Still, it was good to see him back.
With Richmond coming up this Saturday night, it comes down to this. 13 drivers are in the Chase through wins this season and one is in on points. That leaves two open. Give one to Ryan Newman. As you check these standings, you will see that as long as Biffle does not make any great gains on him, or Newman blows up early, the Rocket is in. As for Biffle, it comes down to trying to catch Newman, holding off Bowyer, and hoping for a repeat winner…unless the winner is a guy named Greg. That would be fine by him.
So Richmond will be all about Newman, Biffle, and Bowyer, and the identity of the driver that wins. Nothing else really matters, but at least that keeps things rather simple.
The Locked in chasers…
1 – Jeff Gordon – 3 Wins – 871 Points
2 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 – 851
3 – Joey Logano – 3 – 791
4 – Brad Keselowski – 3 – 782
5 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 766
6 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 755
7 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 748
8 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 708
9 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 657
10 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 636
11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 614
12 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 594
13 – A.J. Allmendinger – 1 – 590
14 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 794
One is in, but no guarantee as to another…
15 – Ryan Newman – 0 Wins – 747 Points
16 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 728
17 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 705
18 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 704
A Win to be in…
19 – Paul Menard – 0 Wins – 675 Points
20 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 674
21 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 666
22 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 650
23 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 628
24 – Casey Mears – 0 – 583
25 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 561
26 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 540
27 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 538
28 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 500
29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 443
30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 393
A win…and 30th or better…
31 – David Gilliland – 0 Wins – 392 Points
32 – David Ragan – 0 – 370
33 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 353
