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Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart combined to lead 256 of 325 laps to finish 1-2 at AMS in March.By the Numbers: Atlanta
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Would-be Chasers occupied seven of the top-eight finishing positions at the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, and nine of the top 12.
Not surprising, Jimmie Johnson led the way with the second of his series-high seven victories this season. Johnson has finished worse than sixth just once in the past eight races at Atlanta.
Somewhat surprising, Jeff Gordon was 12th, the first of his six non-top-10s this season. Only four times in 2007 has he finished worse. Still, Gordon was coming off three consecutive races at Atlanta of finishing sixth or better and has four victories, 12 top-fives and 18 top-10s in 30 starts there.
And speaking of starting at Atlanta ...
Interesting Fact
7Poles for Ryan Newman at Atlanta, tied with Buddy Baker for most of all time at the track. He started 17th last October, the only time in 11 races at AMS he has failed to start in the top six. Newman started from the pole in March, but finished 23rd. His career average start at AMS is 3.1; average finish: 17.2.
Fun Fact
0Drivers with the name of Manny or Moe in the history of NASCAR. Manny and Moe, along with Jack, are the founders of the Pep Boys automotive chain that is the sponsor of this week's race at Atlanta. There have been 78 Jacks in NASCAR.
All the Facts (Top 20 at Atlanta, March 2007)
1Jimmie Johnson posted his second victory at Atlanta and sixth top-five in the past eight races. In 12 career starts at AMS, Johnson has seven top-fives and eight top-10s. Average finish: 10.1.
2Tony Stewart just missed out on his second consecutive victory at Atlanta. He led 121 laps in posting his seventh top-five finish in 17 races. Stewart has led 100 or more laps five times at AMS. Average finish: 11.5.
3Matt Kenseth posted his second consecutive top-five finish at Atlanta, and third in the past four races there. Average finish (15 starts): 15.6.
4Jeff Burton posted his fourth fourth-place finish at Atlanta, which represents his best in 26 career starts there. Average finish: 17.2.
5Juan Montoya posted his first career Cup top-10 at Atlanta. He now has three top-fives in his rookie season. Average finish: 5.0.
6Clint Bowyer scored his first top-10 at Atlanta after finishing 27th and 25th in his two starts there as a rookie in 2006. Average finish: 19.3.
7Carl Edwards has five top-10s in six starts at Atlanta including a sweep of the 2005 season. Average finish: 9.8.
8Martin Truex Jr. posted his first top-10 in five Atlanta starts, and finished a race there for just the second time. He has competed in three October races at AMS, with a DNF each time including two crashes. Average finish: 28.2.
9Reed Sorenson has top-10s in two March races at Atlanta, but hasn't finished better than 29th in two starts there in October. The Georgia native led his first and only lap at AMS earlier this year. Average finish: 22.2.
10Mark Martin has 22 top-10s in 43 starts at Atlanta including two victories. He has as many DNFs (13) as top-fives. Average finish: 16.0.
11Kurt Busch just missed his first top-10 at Atlanta since October 2003. He has finished 32nd or worse in six of 13 starts at AMS. Busch has only three top-10s there but one is a victory. Average finish: 22.3.
12Jeff Gordon will make his 31st start at Atlanta, which will be the most of any one track in his career. Average finish: 13.3.
13David Stremme finished 33rd and 39th at Atlanta as a rookie in 2006, including a DNF (crash) last October. Average finish: 28.3.
14Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended a string of three consecutive top-fives at Atlanta. He has seven top-fives and nine top-10s at AMS -- which match his career bests at any particular track -- in 16 starts there. Average finish: 11.4.
15Jamie McMurray has finished higher than 15th just three times in 10 starts at Atlanta. All three of his top-10s came in the October races, but so did his worst finish there -- 40th last year.
16Bobby Labonte leads all active drivers with six victories at Atlanta, and all but one of his 13 top-10s were top-fives, the last coming in October 2003. After engine failure relegated him to a last-place finish in his first start at Atlanta (March 2006) in the 43 car, he finished 12th last October. Average finish: 15.6.
17Joe Nemechek has posted five of his seven top-10s (and two of three top-fives) in the October races at Atlanta. Average finish (27 starts): 19.9.
18Elliott Sadler started second in March, the seventh time in the past nine races he has started 11th or better. He has three top-10s in 17 starts at AMS, the last in 2005 when he finished 10th in both races that year. Average finish: 21.8.
19Denny Hamlin finished at his career average in four starts at AMS. His lone top-10 was an eighth-place finish last October. Average finish: 19.2.
20Robby Gordon finished at his career average in 13 starts at AMS. His lone top-10 was a 10th-place finish last October. Average finish: 20.2.
All the Facts (Notables at Atlanta, March 2007)
25Kevin Harvick won his first race in just his third career start in 2001, then finished third in the second race that year at Atlanta. He hasn't finished better than 19th in 11 starts since. Average finish: 25.2.
32Kyle Busch has three 12th-place finishes, each consecutively, and three finishes of 27th or worse in six starts at Atlanta. Average finish: 23.0.
One final Numbers note: Kasey Kahne has a victory and four top-fives in seven starts at Atlanta. Kahne will make a special appearance at RaceTown Atlanta from 10:30 a.m. to noon ET. Then stick around for a live edition of Track Smack, starting at 1 p.m. ET. For more info, click here
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Atlanta Motor Speedway
Track Winners
| Driver | Wins | Driver | Wins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale Earnhardt | 9 | Donnie Allison | 1 | |
| Cale Yarborough | 7 | Bob Burdick | 1 | |
| Bobby Labonte | 6 | Kurt Busch | 1 | |
| Richard Petty | 6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 1 | |
| Bobby Allison | 5 | A.J. Foyt | 1 | |
| Bill Elliott | 5 | Kevin Harvick | 1 | |
| Jeff Gordon | 4 | Jim Hurtubise | 1 | |
| Fred Lorenzen | 4 | Dick Hutcherson | 1 | |
| David Pearson | 4 | Ernie Irvan | 1 | |
| Neil Bonnett | 3 | Dale Jarrett | 1 | |
| Morgan Shepherd | 3 | Ned Jarrett | 1 | |
| Darrell Waltrip | 3 | Bobby Johns | 1 | |
| Buddy Baker | 2 | Junior Johnson | 1 | |
| Carl Edwards | 2 | Kasey Kahne | 1 | |
| Jimmie Johnson | 2 | Dave Marcis | 1 | |
| Mark Martin | 2 | Jerry Nadeau | 1 | |
| Marvin Panch | 2 | Benny Parsons | 1 | |
| Tony Stewart | 2 | Fireball Roberts | 1 | |
| Rusty Wallace | 2 | Ricky Rudd | 1 | |
| LeeRoy Yarbrough | 2 | Ken Schrader | 1 | |
| Rex White | 1 |
• Active drivers in bold | Modern Era Results
2007 Chase drivers at Atlanta
| Pos. | Driver | No. | W | T-5 | T-10 | Avg. Fin. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | J. Gordon | 30 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 13.3 |
| 2. | J. Johnson | 12 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 10.1 |
| 3. | C. Bowyer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.3 |
| 4. | T. Stewart | 17 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 11.5 |
| 5. | C. Edwards | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9.8 |
| 6. | Ky. Busch | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 |
| 7. | K. Harvick | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 25.2 |
| 8. | D. Hamlin | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.3 |
| 9. | J. Burton | 26 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 17.2 |
| 10. | Ku. Busch | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20.7 |
| 11. | M. Truex Jr. | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28.2 |
| 12. | M. Kenseth | 15 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 15.6 |
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