Cross' Words: Atlanta

By Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
October 29, 2007
07:51 PM EDT

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Nine points -- less than the difference between winning a race and finishing second -- separate Cup leader Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson with only three races remaining in the Chase. Get excited, Ethel; this scenario is beyond NASCAR's wildest dreams:

• Four-time champion vs. defending series champ!
• Car owner vs. his own driver!
• Teammate vs. teammate!
• The past vs. the future!

Meanwhile, ESPN on ABC cannot manage to get out of its way to show the race. Even worse, the coverage has spawned another take on the enormously popular "Brent Mushbooger Drinking Game" (Google it):

• Each time Dr. Jerry mentions safety, bottoms up.
• When Rusty ends a sentence with "Andy," chug-a-lug.
• After Petree repeats what Wallace said, pop a top.

And you only thought Suzy Kolber was the worst thing in motor racing -- until Brad Daugherty spoke up.

But then came Sunday at AMS and ESPN broadcast a piece on Alan Kulwicki and his 1992 championship, which was clinched during the season finale at Atlanta.

Hang on, could this be -- a change (for the better) from the Worldwide Leader? Might the racing take top billing? Could the on-track action be the focus? Will the fans get what they want?

Stay tuned -- after this SportsCenter Minute, of course.

Ethel, we're gonna need more beverages.

Random ruminations ...

• Reed Sorenson's third-place finish -- a career best in 71 starts -- was his third top-five of the season.

• Give it up for Kasey Kahne: ninth-place run at AMS was his sixth top-10 finish in the past 10 races.

• Toyota had four cars finish in the top 20: Brian Vickers (10th), Michael Waltrip (11th), A.J. Allmendinger (16th) and Dale Jarrett (19th).

• Casey Mears' average finish in the past seven races is 11.0; he was 12th on Sunday.

• Kyle Petty finished 13th, his best run since a third-place showing at Charlotte in May. It was his 10th top-15 in the past 98 starts.

• Elliott Sadler posted his sixth top-15; he's had nine in 47 starts with Evernham.

• Ricky Rudd finished 17th in his swan song at AMS -- his 32nd top-20 in 58 starts since his track debut on March 23, 1975, in the Atlanta 500 (he finished 25th).

• Hometown hero Bill Elliott, who finished 18th on Sunday, now has 34 top-20s in 58 starts since his track debut on March 21, 1976, in the Atlanta 500 (he finished last in the 36-car field).

• Robby Gordon was 21st at AMS, marking his 18th top-25 finish of the year. Through 33 races last year, he also had 18 (including a 10th-place finish at Atlanta in the fall, his last top-25 of the year).

• Bobby Labonte's 41st-place run was only the ninth time in 30 races at Atlanta in which he failed to post a top-20 finish.

• Worthless trivia: Jimmie Johnson's victory ensured that he will have the most top-five finishes through four years of the Chase. He now leads Jeff Gordon, 18-14, with three races remaining. JJ already has the most wins (9) and top-10s (25). (Continued)

Inside the Numbers

All-time Chase drivers (through Oct. 28, 2007)

Driver	Races	W	T5	T10	Titles

M. Kenseth	37	0	11	14	0
			30%	38%
J. Johnson	37	9	18	25	1 (2006)
		24%	49%	68%
M. Martin	30	1	10	13	0
		3%	33%	43%
J. Gordon	27	2	14	19	0
		7%	52%	70%
T. Stewart	27	0	7	17	1 (2005)
			26%	63%
* Ku. Busch	25	1	7	15	1 (2004)
		4%	28%	60%
D. Earnhhardt Jr.	20	2	6	11	0
		10%	30%	55%
J. Mayfield	20	0	1	5	0
			0.5%	25%
R. Newman	20	2	6	9	0
		10%	30%	45%
J. Burton	17	1	5	8	0
		6%	29%	47%
Ky. Busch	17	0	5	7	0
			29%	41%
C. Edwards	17	3	8	11	0
		18%	47%	65%
D. Hamlin	17	0	5	9	0
			29%	53%
K. Harvick	17	2	4	8	0
		12%	24%	47%
G. Biffle	10	1	5	6	0
		10%	50%	60%
K. Kahne	10	1	3	5	0
		10%	30%	50%
E. Sadler	10	0	1	3	0
			10%	30%
R. Wallace	10	0	1	3	0
			10%	30%
C. Bowyer	7	1	3	5	0
		14%	43%	71%
M. Truex Jr.	7	0	1	1	0
			14%	14%