Cross' Words: Atlanta (cont'd)

Say What?

"Instead of coming in in jeans and picking up the trash on Monday, we'll come back in race mode."
-- AMS president Ed Clark, on Car of Tomorrow test at Atlanta during which Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive for Hendrick Motorsports. Clark said he expects "a few thousand people or more" to attend the test.

Figuratively Speaking

3 -- Tracks at which Jimmie Johnson has swept this season: Atlanta, Martinsville and Richmond.

3 -- Races remaining: Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. Johnson is winless in 24 starts at those three tracks.

Oddly, Johnson has the best average finish at Texas (10.2) and Phoenix (7.2) among active drivers with at least five starts at each track.

Up Next

Dickies 500 | Texas | 3 p.m. ET Sunday | ABC
Race No. 34 of 36 | Get tickets | Book travel

• Defending race winner: Tony Stewart
• Most victories at the track: Jeff Burton (2)
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (10.2 in eight starts)
Active drivers only

Sound off

• This week's topic
Both have unique qualities, but which is your go-to during the race: radio or television?

Surf over and weigh in on the blog.

• Last week's topic
Of the drivers no longer in contention for the Cup, whose Chase has been the biggest disappointment?

pookiechuck
I'm disappointed with Denny. I thought he would still be up there in contention.

29thebomb
I'm not disappointed in Kevin; disappointed for him the most. Tire issues, tire issues, tire issues. Jeff Burton did the same thing last year as this, ran good all year til the Chase started.

d9060
Not disappointed in Matt, but definitely for him. After a blown engine and two wrecks -- both somebody else's mess -- I still hoped Matt had a chance at one of his patented last-minute comebacks. ... Oh, what might have been.

Read all the responses ...

Six of one ...
Chase drivers with momentum heading to Texas:

• Jimmie Johnson -- Classy move, donating the purse to the people affected by the SoCal wildfires. Let it be a lesson: Don't forget where you come from. (And yes, my high school grammar teacher, Mr. Larry Middleton, would chastise me for ending that sentence with a preposition.)

• Carl Edwards -- 'Roid rage? Maybe he's just a jerk who smiles a lot. A modern day Eddie Haskell, perhaps?

• Matt Kenseth -- Consecutive top-five finishes for the first time since Texas and Phoenix. Maybe it'll be deja vu all over again for the next couple weeks ...

• Jeff Burton -- Finished fifth, the best of all three RCR drivers in the top 15, for his second top-five in three weeks.

• Clint Bowyer -- Another top 10 (that's five in seven Chase races) and still nothing worse than 12th.

• Kurt Busch -- Nice paint scheme, which lends itself to having a golden opportunity fall to the wayside.

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Jeff Gordon -- Points lead was 68 after Charlotte; two races later it's a single digit despite averaging a top-five at Martinsville and Atlanta. ... Problem is, Johnson has averaged a 1.0.

• Kyle Busch -- Good news: That jackman won't be at Gibbs in 2008.

• Kevin Harvick -- Back-to-back top-15 finishes for the first time since Moby Dick was a minnow. (Actually, it was Fontana and Richmond.)

• Denny Hamlin -- Tenth place in points, baby -- that's the cutoff for getting a seat on stage during the Cup banquet!

• Tony Stewart -- Wonder if Smoke was as curious about that pit selection as Jamie Little was while interviewing Zippy? Nah, Tony understood.

• Martin Truex Jr. -- Twelfth place ... it is what it is.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.