Backflips in Atlanta
Don't know what it is about Atlanta that produces such exciting finishes. This one was reminiscent of the spring 2001 race where Kevin Harvick got his first Cup win by edging out a hard-charging Jeff Gordon. This time the scenario was a little different, with Carl Edwards coming from behind to edge Jimmie Johnson at the checkers and take his first career victory. I will say that Edwards' backflip was at least as good as Harvick's burnout that day.
Other than that, this race sucked eggs as far as my predictions went, thanks to a first lap crash that scattered the field and took a couple of my picks in the process. It only got worse from there
GLENN'S TEN (4-for-10. Pffft!):
* Tony Stewart (winner) -- 17th, The Home Depot Chevy never got it right, despite repeated trips to pit road to make changes. The car was good on the short run, but was only saved from being lapped by timely cautions.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 2nd, Looked like he had this one in the bag, but Edwards was determined. He spent most of the race running door-to-door with Greg Biffle. His ninth top five in the last 10 races. Back in the points lead, despite being docked 25 points after last week's win for a car that didn't meet height specs.
* Jeff Gordon -- 39th, Jeff paid the price for his poor qualifying run, getting swept up in the lap 1 crash caused when Casey Mears found his way against the wall. Jeff got back out on the track 75 laps down. Second straight disastrous Atlanta finish.
* Ryan Newman -- 14th, Same story, different weekend. Ryan qualified on the pole but slipped back quickly. He got a lap down and spent many laps trying to get un-lapped. Finally managed to do that with about 40 to go. Up to 6th in points.
* Carl Edwards -- 1st, This kid's the real deal. The charge for the win over the final 10 laps or so was just classic Atlanta racing. It looked like he'd burned the tires off after running down Johnson once only to slide up near the wall coming through the turns. He cooled down the tires and made one last run that got the job done, making contact with the #48 to slow his momentum before the scoring stripe. I'll give the backflip a 6 out of 10, but for the victory I'll give him a 10. It doesn't get much sweeter.
* Greg Biffle -- 3rd, Turned in consistently awesome pit stops to pace the field most of the day, but got beaten out on the last one by Johnson. He didn't have his best stuff in the final green sequence. Still, another solid run by the Roush camp.
* Brian Vickers -- 6th, I feel somewhat vindicated by this correct pick. Vickers sank into the 20s early in the race, but the car got better as the laps progressed. The #25 always seems to do well at Atlanta no matter who is driving it.
* Kurt Busch -- 32nd, Ugh! Suffered some damage in the opening lap fracas. Got that repaired and stayed on the lead lap, and looked strong until he cut a tire that blew apart the right rear quarter panel. Had to spend some time behind the wall.
* Kevin Harvick -- 21st, Got caught a lap down and never recovered.
* Bobby Labonte -- 37th, Another casualty of the race opening crash. Not a good day for Joe Gibbs cars.
THE REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Mark Martin -- 4th, Knew I should have picked him. The car ran in the top 5 much of the day.
* Kasey Kahne -- 5th, He has a knack for Atlanta. I missed the fact he had two previous top 5's here.
* Michael Waltrip -- 7th, Awesome finish by a team that desperately needed one.
* Dave Blaney -- 8th, Blaney also has a good history at this track. Best finish by him in a while.
* Scott Riggs -- 9th, I continue to overlook the fact that he is much improved from the first half of last season.
* Elliott Sadler -- 10th, Quietly made his way into the show with good pit stops.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 24th, The crew chief swap thing hasn't helped Little E so far. He's struggled three races in a row, and this one at a track he one on a year ago. The car started deep in the field and stayed there. Only reason he finished this high was attrition.
* Jason Leffler -- 25th, FedEx isn't gonna tolerate this too long. At least the UPS-sponsored entry is stinking up the joint as well. I think they all better start racing their delivery trucks.
* Matt Kenseth -- 31st, Two years ago at this time he was the championship leader. Right now he's nearing the cut for not making the Chase.
* Ricky Rudd -- 33rd, If not for losing his brakes late in the race this might have been a car to contend with. Fatback McSwain is going to make an impact on this team at some point this season, but first they've got to overcome the mechanical issues. Rudd was as high as 4th.
Next week... No race on account of Easter. (Phew!) Bristol is coming up in two weeks.
