See where each driver finished at Atlanta and what put them there
MORE: Gallery of 2014 winners | Best Atlanta photos
1. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kasey Kahne basically had to win, so that’s what he did. And the journey Kahne took to get to Victory Lane was long and winding, but ultimately rewarding after the driver notched his first win of 2014 and punched his postseason ticket following two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. “You’re a badass!,” spotter Kevin Hamlin said. “Nice job.” Watch Kahne’s highlights here.
2. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. A late call for two tires gave Kenseth the best chance to win. And although the veteran couldn’t quite hold off Kasey Kahne, he’s getting closer to his first win of 2014. He finished third last week and second Sunday. Oh, and he clinched a berth in the Chase Grid, too. Watch the final laps here.
3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin consistently gained ground on pit road and his pit crew rated the highest of the night, according to RaceView data. His average crew time (11.8 seconds), average driver time (24.3 seconds) and average total time (36.1 seconds) on pit road all ranked first for the night. To get live data during pit stops and post-race rankings, subscribe to RaceView.
4. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson’s car wasn’t ridiculously fast, but it was good. The strategy was sound, as always, and “Six-Time” avoided the trouble that befell so many of Sunday’s front-runners for his second consecutive fourth-place finish. The driver and crew chief Chad Knaus were also a delight over the radio. To subscribe to RaceView and get uncensored in-race audio, click here.
5. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. This was a weird race for Edwards. During the race’s first caution, he had to come in for a new transponder but was awarded his spot in the field back. Then late, he was involved in a wreck on the first attempt at a green-white-checkered restart. But there was Edwards, barreling down the track and securing his sixth top-five of the year by the end of the night.
6. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Danica Patrick said the race felt like “700 miles.” All good things come to those who wait. Patrick restarted fourth with two laps to go and wound up sixth, a career-best effort. “I was starting to think holy (expletive), we can win here,” she crowed to her team in celebration. To see her highlights, click here.
7. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman notched his first top-10 in nearly a month, which was crucial to his postseason chances after Kasey Kahne won for the first time in 2014. He was able to do so by being the best closer of the race — he moved up 12 positions over the final 33 laps.
8. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson slid through his pit box early and lost critical positioning. During a long run at the midway point, he fell from fifth to 12th. Yet there was this rookie up front by the end, recording his 11th top-10 of the year and sixth top-12 in his past seven starts. On RaceView, crew chief Chris Heroy called out that a ladybug had landed on his visor — isn’t that supposed to bring good luck? To subscribe to RaceView, click here.
9. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola was one of two drivers to gain more than 10 positions on the track over the final 10 percent of the race — in this case, 33 laps. It led to a finish that should give his team a jolt with the Chase starting in two weeks.
10. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Despite smacking Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Lap 269 and nearly getting sent off the track, Biffle recovered. The same can be said about his season. The veteran now has five consecutive top-10s after finishing 10th for the third consecutive race. He’s currently the final driver in the Chase Grid. To see his highlights, click here.
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Tony Stewart’s disintegrated tire on Lap 173 strewed debris all over the track. Some of hit Junior’s Chevrolet, and it ruined his chance of winning — but not his night. Earnhardt had to come down pit road multiple times to fix his grille, but managed to stay on the lead lap. Click here to see Junior’s highlights.
12. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. McMurray and teammate Kyle Larson continue to have strong cars. And they’ve gotten good finishes out of them, too. After all, it was Chip Ganassi Racing — not Team Penske — as the two-car team to place both its drivers in the top 12.
13. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. The ‘Outlaw’ led more than 20 laps (22 total) for the fifth time this year, and his Chevrolet was in top form … at least until he blew a right rear tire around the midway point. His No. 41 hit the outside wall hard, knocking a chunk of the vehicle off and forcing Busch to play catch-up all night. To see his highlights, click here.
14. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Certainly, Marcos Ambrose’ engine blowing up wasn’t good for the No. 9 team. It was for Logano and Co., however. The lengthy time it took to clean the track allowed Logano to get his mind cleared. “Probably a good thing we had this caution,” he told crew chief Todd Gordon. “I needed a chill pill.” A more calm and cool Logano took the track, and he remained in a zen-like mode … all the way up to a wreck on the first attempt at a green-white-checkered restarted, that ruined his chance at winning. To get in-race audio, subscribe to RaceView.
15. Brian Vickers, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers’ worst finish at Atlanta over the past six races was due to a speeding penalty on pit road. That happened with fewer than 50 laps remaining, and it sent the driver well outside the top 10 — where he had been running.
16. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Near the midway point, Busch broke loose and smacked Tony Stewart, who got into the wall. Just before the white flag dropped, he ran Martin Truex Jr. into the wall and later barreled into his car once the caution flag came out. It’s been a rough month for ‘Rowdy’ and company. Click here to see Sunday’s highlights.
17. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. A spate of bad luck continued for Gordon, who has started in the top 10 for four consecutive races yet has just one top-15 to show for it. Sunday’s showing, in which he started ninth and drove up to second early, was marred by a blown right front tire on Lap 78. He lost a lap getting repairs, then another after he had to come back down. Somehow getting back on the lead lap is a victory in its own right.
18. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. The only surefire way the No. 27 team could crash the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was by winning one of the final two regular-season races. It’s why crew chief Slugger Labbe called for two tires on a pit stop before the first green-white-checkered restart, and Menard restarted second. He couldn’t find his grip, though, and cars stacked up behind him, eventually leading to a wreck.
19. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. For a while, it looked like Harvick had nine lives Sunday — fascinating, of course, because the driver claims he nearly ran over a cat (or was it a squirrel?). Harvick consistently made up for lost time on pit road and led a whopping 195 laps before slamming the fence in a multicar incident on the penultimate restart.
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Much like he did last season, Stenhouse is finding some consistency late in the year. While a 20th-place effort isn’t a reason to celebrate, it’s his fifth consecutive top-20 performance. That is easily his longest streak of the year.
21. Michael Annett, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Annett’s 21st-place finish was his best showing in the past seven races, and he was the highest finisher for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Finishing one lap down on such a long race after two consecutive weeks of DNFs is a boon for this team.
22. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, German Racing. If nothing else, Mears is consistent. His average career finish at Atlanta is 22.5. His finish last year was 22nd. His finish this year? 22nd.
23. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. For the second time in four races, Truex had a run-in with Kyle Busch. This one happened on Lap 324, with Busch essentially dumping Truex. The Furniture Row Racing driver leaned into Busch’s car to talk to him after the race, but it didn’t get physical. “The 18 will come on your outside,” crew chief Todd Berrier said over the radio after the incident. “Getting pissy in my ear, cut it out, we’ll take care of it in our own way.” Click here to get in-race audio and telemetry.
24. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon’s rookie season isn’t over — there are 11 more races, after all — but his chance of advancing to the postseason based off points is kaput. It’s simple at Richmond — winning is the only way into the Chase Grid.
25. Ty Dillon, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport Racing. Not a bad finish for the NASCAR Nationwide Series regular in his first career Sprint Cup start. We’re willing to bet he wished to be flipped with the person who finished 24th, though. Let’s just say there was an extra incentive.
26. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier’s 26th-place run wasn’t his worst showing of late. But when you take away races in which he was knocked out early due to a crash, Sunday was his worst finish since Indianapolis.
27. David Ragan, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Ragan was consistent Sunday, and actually ended up as one of the night’s biggest gainers. Considering he started 38th, 27th wasn’t a bad showing for the No. 34 team.
28. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. For the sixth time this year, Gilliland and teammate David Ragan finished in consecutive order. Like his teammate, the driver of the No. 38 gained incremental positions throughout the night.
29. Reed Sorenson, No. 36 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. For the fifth consecutive race, Sorenson finished inside the top 30 — although just barely at Atlanta. Before this stretch, he had five top-30s in the first 20 races.
30. Cole Whitt, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. Whitt was whistled for speeding late in Sunday’s event, the result of which sent him back down pit road for a pass-through penalty in what would be his second consecutive 30th-place finish. Denny Hamlin also called him out on the radio for not signaling to pit, causing a stack-up.
31. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Racing. What is it about quirky intermediate tracks that has Cassill boosting his game? He hasn’t done well on the “cookie-cutter” 1.5-mile tracks, but his effort at Atlanta (1.54 miles) mirrored his above-expectations finish at Darlington (1.37 miles) earlier this year.
32. J.J. Yeley, No. 32 Ford, GO Fas Racing. Driving the No. 32 car, Yeley finished 32nd for his second-best finish of the season.
33. Josh Wise, No. 98 Chevrolet, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise found his name being mentioned at the end of Sunday’s race, although it was not in the manner he would have preferred. Brad Keselowski’s hopes were dashed after he smacked Wise late while cars tried to figure out their pit strategy.
34. Brett Moffitt, No. 66 Toyota, Jay Robinson Racing. These races are supposed to be learning experiences for the 22-year-old Moffitt, so ideally he learned something he can use for the future when he was caught speeding on pit road.
35. Alex Bowman, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Bowman finished just ahead of rookie teammate Ryan Truex. Those two were the only drivers to complete exactly 326 (of 335) laps.
36. Ryan Truex, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. Truex brought out the caution Lap 116 when he took a spin. Other than that, it was a relatively quiet night for the No. 83 team.
37. Joe Nemechek, No. 77 Ford, Randy Humphrey Racing. Sunday was Nemechek’s 13th start in 25 races this year (he failed to qualify for five others) and it fell in line with his stats. His average finish this year is 36.3.
38. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. If there was ever a time to subscribe to RaceView for uncensored audio, it was when Bowyer realized something was seriously wrong with his vehicle. Expletives flew as the driver took his car behind the wall with a busted gear shifter. He returned to the track 22 laps down — and in real danger of missing out on the postseason after Kasey Kahne’s win. Subscribe to RaceView here.
39. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. “We’re here to win,” Keselowski told his team over the radio before the race. “That’s all that really matters right now.” Those hopes all but ended when pitting following a Lap 209 caution, Keselowski severely overshot his stall. He came in second, and was out in 16th place. He explained over RaceView: “I couldn’t see it, I’m sorry. It’s so dark out here.” Things got worse later, and a wreck with a lapped car sent Keselowski to the garage for good after 296 laps. For in-driver audio during races, subscribe to RaceView here.
40. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Tires were twice a problem for Allmendinger and his team. Blowing a right tire on Lap 38 put him a lap down, and he blew another tire later and had to go behind the wall. It was a cruel blow to the one-car JTG Daugherty organization, which had pieced together three consecutive top-15s — including a win at Watkins Glen.
41. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. In his first race in nearly a month following a tragic sprint car accident, Stewart’s car was among the best in the field early. He gained five spots in the first two laps and was running in the top five early. Trouble started on Lap 122 when contact from Kyle Busch put the No. 14 into the wall, and a blown right front tire ended his night for good on Lap 173. “Sorry guys,” Stewart said in driving his battered Chevy behind the wall. “You deserved better.” See Stewart’s highlights here.
42. Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Ambrose has had good runs at Atlanta, but Sunday wasn’t one of them. His No. 9 Ford blew an engine on Lap 123, ending his night. The Australian driver’s slim hopes of advancing into the postseason on points alone are done. He must win next week.
43. Mike Bliss, No. 37 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Sunday served as the third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start of the season for the 49-year-old. He had previously finished 43rd at New Hampshire and 41st at Kentucky.