Race #4: Kobalt Tools 500
Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA
When: Sunday, March 7th, 1:16 EST
TV: FOX
How Long: 501 miles, 325 laps
Last Year at Atlanta....Kurt Busch effectively dominated the field, leading a ridiculous 234 laps en route to an easy victory. The race wasn't the most exciting by any means, with the most noteworthy event being a crew member from Marcos Ambrose's 47 crew chasing a runaway tire down in the infield and bringing out a caution. In other events, "Sideways" Sam Hornish wrecked Bill Elliot halfway through the race and Scott Speed managed to wreck Roush driver Greg Biffle shortly after. Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards finished second and third at the stripe and in laps led, Kevin Harvick and a surprising Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.
Last Week on the Circuit....Deja vu anyone?? Jimmie Johnson wins, point leader Kevin Harvick was right behind him, followed by Jeff Gordon. Gordon was running in front of Johnson much of the way but fell behind to third late. All of that sums up what was the second straight snoozefest of a race. Mark Martin finished fourth, Matt Kenseth was fifth, and the NASCAR world seemed to go on an anti-Johnson rampage through the week.
This Week's Starting Lineup
| Starting Position | Car# | Driver | Manufactuer/Sponsor | Qualifying Speed (mph) | Qualifying Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | AMP Energy/National Guard Chevy | 192.761 | 28.761 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's Toyota | 192.280 | 28.833 |
| 3 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Target Chevy | 192.106 | 28.859 |
| 4 | 5 | Mark Martin | Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevy | 191.814 | 28.903 |
| 5 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont/National Guard Chevy | 191.774 | 28.909 |
| 6 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser Ford | 191.688 | 28.922 |
| 7 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Tornados Chevy | 191.549 | 28.943 |
| 8 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford | 191.436 | 28.960 |
| 9 | 00 | David Reutimann | Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota | 191.186 | 28.998 |
| 10 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Scotts Ford | 191.087 | 29.013 |
| 11 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite Dodge | 191.054 | 29.018 |
| 12 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Lance/Tom's Toyota | 190.935 | 29.036 |
| 13 | 16 | Greg Biffle | U.S. Census Ford | 190.850 | 29.049 |
| 14 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Valvoline Ford | 190.791 | 29.058 |
| 15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Office Depot Chevy | 190.692 | 29.073 |
| 16 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevy | 190.640 | 29.081 |
| 17 | 6 | David Ragan | UPS Ford | 190.574 | 29.091 |
| 18 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | BB&T Chevy | 190.561 | 29.093 |
| 19 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | NAPA Toyota | 190.548 | 29.095 |
| 20 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Office Toyota | 190.424 | 29.114 |
| 21 | 71 | Bobby Labonte | TaxSlayer.com Chevy Chevy | 190.267 | 29.138 |
| 22 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Caterpillar Chevy | 190.221 | 29.145 |
| 23 | 98 | Paul Menard | CertainTeed/Menards Ford | 189.987 | 29.181 |
| 24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevy | 189.915 | 29.192 |
| 25 | 43 | A J Allmendinger | Best Buy/Insignia Ford | 189.857 | 29.201 |
| 26 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull Toyota | 189.798 | 29.210 |
| 27 | 66 | Dave Blaney | PRISM Motorsports Toyota | 189.590 | 29.242 |
| 28 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | Mopar/FLO TV Dodge Dodge | 189.571 | 29.245 |
| 29 | 20 | Joey Logano | Home Depot Toyota | 189.189 | 29.304 |
| 30 | 36 | Mike Bliss | Wave Energy Drink Chevy | 189.144 | 29.311 |
| 31 | 13 | Max Papis | GEICO Toyota | 189.112 | 29.316 |
| 32 | 82 | Scott Speed | Red Bull Toyota | 189.079 | 29.321 |
| 33 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | FrontRowJoe.com Toyota | 189.060 | 29.324 |
| 34 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford | 189.021 | 29.330 |
| 35 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Shell/Pennzoil Chevy | 189.015 | 29.331 |
| 36 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Mobil 1 Dodge | 188.970 | 29.338 |
| 37 | 38 | David Gilliland | Charter Air Transport/Taco Bell Ford | 188.341 | 29.436 |
| 38 | 78 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row Racing Chevy | 187.958 | 29.496 |
| 39 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Warner Music Nashville/Blake Shelton Toyota | 186.403 | 29.742 |
| 40-OP | 34 | Travis Kvapil | Long John Silver's Ford | 185.430 | 29.898 |
| 41-OP | 37 | Kevin Conway # | Extenze Ford | 184.812 | 29.998 |
| 42-OP | 26 | Boris Said | Sacred Power/Southern Pride Trucking Ford | 182.916 | 30.309 |
| 43 | 55 | Michael McDowell | PRISM Motorsports Toyota | 188.758 | 29.371 |
DNQ: 09- Aric Almirola, 90- Casey Mears, 46- Terry Cook
My Predicted Finish This Week
Last Week...
Number of Top Ten Cars Correct: 7 of 10
Number of Top Five Cars Correct: 2 of 5
Correct Winner: No
Exact Position Correct: 0 of 10
This Season
Number of Top Ten Cars Correct: 15 of 30 (50%)
Number of Top Five Cars Correct: 4 of 15 (26.7%)
Correct Winner: 1 of 3 (33.3%)
Exact Position Correct: 3 of 30 (10%)
I nailed seven of the top ten at Las Vegas last week, missing only on Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, and Clint Bowyer. I got Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson in the top five, though my pick for Kyle Busch to win was way off. It was also the first week I didn't correctly pick any positions.
Going to Atlanta, it's hard NOT to pick Jimmie Johnson to not win this race, but I still won't anyway. I will however, pick a Hendrick driver, Jeff Gordon, who has enjoyed Atlanta success, to win the race. Johnson will still finish second this week though. Defendings champion Kurt Busch goes third and Matt Kenseth falls into fourth. Juan Pablo Montoya recovers for fifth place this week, followed by the pole sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mark Martin completes the Hendrick four in seventh, followed by Kyle Busch and points leader Kevin Harvick in eighth and ninth. Carl Edwards seems to like tenth in 2010 for some reason, so he'll go tenth.
My Top Ten Picks
1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kurt Busch
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Juan Pablo Montoya
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Mark Martin
8. Kyle Busch
9. Kevin Harvick
10. Carl Edwards
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