HAMPTON, Ga. -- Chase Elliott won the pole for the Daytona 500, won his qualifying race, led 39 laps and was in the lead in the closing laps of the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, destiny was not in his favor.
I still can't imagine that it has been 23 years since we lost Alan Kulwicki in a plane crash as he was headed to Bristol Motor Speedway. The sight of the No. 7 hauler taking the lap around Bristol before leaving the track still brings a chill up my back.
This last weekend, we got a show the likes of which we haven't seen in years now. Cars that were sideways, three-wide and passing. That's right, it was racing, everyone. That's what racing is. That's what racing should be.
Under clear blue Georgia skies, Jimmie Johnson gambled on his fuel to put himself in position to win the race. On the final restart, he got the best restart and scored the victory in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It tied him with the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on NASCAR's all-time wins list.
After a fast race, with an average speed of 155.865 mph and only three cautions, here was what was surprising and not surprising from the 57th Annual Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.