Kasey Kahne surveys the damage after his wreck with David Stremme. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Title hopes dim for Kahne, Martin at Atlanta

Both looked to be favorites Sunday before separate accidents

HAMPTON, Ga. -- In an instant Sunday evening at sunset, Kasey Kahne went from being a dark horse contender in the Chase for the Nextel Cup to lights-out.

And after it had completely darkened around Atlanta Motor Speedway, a little more than 60 laps later, Mark Martin joined Kahne in Chase obscurity following a restart pileup, this one involving no less than seven cars.

Mark Martin makes contact with Dale Jarrett on Sunday at Atlanta. Credit: AP

Bass Pro Shops 500 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Tony Stewart Chevy 2. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 4. Matt Kenseth Ford 5. Greg Biffle Ford 6. Jeff Gordon Chevy 7. Carl Edwards Ford 8. Denny Hamlin Chevy 9. Joe Nemechek Chevy 10. Robby Gordon Chevy • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Victory LaneTony Stewart celebrates his win and makes his own Victory Lane in Atlanta Top finishersJohnson, Kenseth and Dale Jr. all enjoyed Atlanta racing FrustratedJeff Burton is unhappy after his 13th-place finish Debris on track?Robby Gordon defending himself from debris throwing Final lapsDale Earnhardt Jr. battles Matt Kenseth on the final laps Hard hitKasey Kahne makes a hard hit into David Stremme Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

It was hard to say who was more frustrated: Martin, Kahne or David Stremme, who engaged Kahne in a brief, but heated verbal exchange in Kahne's garage stall.

Kahne came into the race eighth in the championship, but only 99 points behind Kenseth. He won here in the spring, but had a legitimate hope of repeating after he led Saturday's Happy Hour.

Kahne, in a classic case of role-reversal, pinched his No. 9 Dodge, which was running 10th at the time, up into the No. 40 Dodge of the rookie Stremme, heading into Turn 1 on Lap 247.

Stremme, running two laps down in the frontstretch high line, was wiped out of the race when Kahne inexplicably disregarded spotter and brother Kale's warning that Stremme was outside him -- and turned right anyway.

"My spotter told me outside, outside -- and I ran into [Stremme]," Kasey Kahne said. "I thought I had cleared him for some reason, but I totally knew he was there. I just thought I had cleared it.

"I don't know, just a brain fade. We lost a lot of points. We lost a great finish, maybe even a win for us today. These are the races you've got to step up and perform under pressure and do everything you need to do, and we didn't do that [Sunday].

Both Kahne and Stremme took their cars to the garage after the incident. Stremme got out of his car and circled it several times, observing the damage and talking to various crewmen.

He fruitlessly tried to get a drink from the team's cooler behind the No. 40 hauler, and after accepting a beverage offered by a bystander, strolled to Kahne's garage, which was on the opposite side of the building from his own.

Kahne was still in his car, with the window net up, while his crew tried to repair it. Stremme leaned on the No. 9 Dodge's windowsill and leaned down to ask Kahne what happened.

Kahne released his window net and quickly climbed out of the car, to explain to Ganassi's rookie driver that the crash was Kahne's fault. In a matter of seconds, the conversation escalated to two shouted exchanges, which were audible over the engine noise of the resumed race.

A little later, Kahne admitted he was bemused and confused by Stremme's actions, after he took full blame for the accident.

Kahne patiently fielded every question proffered by a group of about 10 reporters and TV crews, but at times appeared to almost be in a state of shock. Before he met the media and after he exited his car, Kahne laid his head on his crossed arms above the driver's window for several seconds to absorb the loss.

"I'm perfectly fine with [Stremme]," Kahne said. "I don't know what he's talking about [a dispute]. David came down and asked what happened, and I told him what happened -- I told him it was all my fault. I ran him over.

"It was completely my fault and then he went on to tell me I'd screwed up, that I'd run him over. I just told him I'd run him over, so I don't know what he was talking about. He confused me.

"I took blame for the whole wreck. It cost my team a lot of points. I screwed up. I think we had a chance to win the race. We had a really, really good [car]. That's the breaks of racing."

As painful as it was, Kahne revisited the crash; one more time so there was no mistaking its cause.

"I had passed [Stremme] off Turn 4," Kahne said. "He was out beside me. I was going down the front straightaway and my spotter said outside [but] I was looking ahead.

"I was looking at the cars I was racing with and by the time I got to the corner I had decided to go high. I thought that I had cleared him even though I knew he was there. I don't know what went thought my head. It was just an error."

Afterward he met Kahne Stremme explained his disbelief of what had happened.

"I don't know what [Kahne] was doing, but we both ended up in the wall," Stremme said. "I couldn't do nothing. I understand he was faster, and I moved up on the top side to let him by, but it was pretty blatant what happened."

Stremme said that the setting sun, entering Turn 1, was no issue by the time his wreck occurred. He also said that he understood how it was possible that a driver could disregard his spotter's warning.

"Well, yes and no, I see how it could happen," Stremme said. "But with a driver of [Kahne's] caliber, it definitely shouldn't happen."

The crash was particularly painful for Stremme, who after falling out of the top 35 in owner points earlier this year, had raced his way well into the group that automatically qualifies for races.

With the crash and a 39th place finish, Stremme is now 34th in the driver standings. His owner, Felix Sabates, is also 34th, 59 points ahead of 35th-place Sterling Marlin and owner Bobby Ginn.

More bad luck for Martin

	Kasey Kahne has a word with car owner Ray Evernham after the accident. Credit: AP
	Chase for the Nextel Cup After Atlanta (7th of 10 races) Rank +/- Driver Behind 1. -- M. Kenseth Leader 2. +1 J. Johnson -26 3. +1 D. Hamlin -65 4. +2 D. Earnhardt Jr. -84 5. -- J. Burton -84 6. -4 K. Harvick -121 7. +2 J. Gordon -146 8. -1 M. Martin -201 9. -1 K. Kahne -210 10. -- Ky. Busch -249 • Complete standings, click here

Martin was another innocent bystander when the cars in front of him entered Turn 1 one lap after a restart in a four-wide diagonal. A chain reaction was created when Kenny Wallace squeezed down on Jeff Green, who was below him almost on the apron.

Before the melee was over, Marlin drove up into Marlin and knocked him into the wall, where Dale Jarrett drilled him. Martin's No. 6 Ford ended up on the apron and for the second time in three weeks, Martin made a premature exit from a race, and a wrecked racecar with waves to the fans in the stands.

"I don't know what happened -- I haven't seen it yet," Martin said. "The 14 car [Marlin] just veered up in front of me [and] I'm not sure what happened because you can't see through all the cars."

Martin, who came into the race 96 points behind leader Matt Kenseth in seventh position, was running 10th when he was eliminated. Martin, who'd said before the green flag that he had to win to keep his Chase hopes alive, is now unofficially eighth, 201 points out of first, with three races remaining in his final full-time season in Nextel Cup.

"I don't know about my chances," Martin said. "I'm just happy that we're running good. I'm proud of the triple-A team and I want to thank all the fans for cheering so loud.

"We've got three more races and we'll keep doing what we're doing."

Kahne said he would swallow his disappointment and head for Texas, a track at which he's also won.

"You just know that race is over and we had a shot at winning [and] that's all I wanted to do," Kahne said. "I was just upset and frustrated with myself. There's no one you can blame -- you just have to take it yourself.

"It's going to be tough to win [the championship] now unless everybody dropped out the last three races, which can happen. I guess we're still in it, but who knows?"