Pep Boys Auto 500 Race Review

Atlanta Motor Speedway -- 10/26/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Monday Oct 27 2008 12:06am

Carl Edwards won the battle at Atlanta Sunday, but Jimmie Johnson is one step closer to winning the war.

Heading into the Atlanta race, Johnson had a 149-point lead over Greg Biffle in 2nd, 152 over Jeff Burton in 3rd, and 198 over Carl Edwards in 4th. Biffle and Burton were the only drivers within a one-race point range of Johnson, since 161 is the maximum number of points that can be gained in one race.

Edwards won Atlanta but did not lead the most laps. Johnson finished 2nd, Biffle 10th and Burton 18th.

The win boosted Carl two spots in the nascar standings to 2nd, with Biffle now 3rd and Burton 4th. But Johnson's lead over 2nd-place (Edwards) grew to 183 points - that's 34 points more than he had over 2nd-place (Biffle) entering Atlanta, and his biggest points lead of the Chase.

In addition, Johnson put both Edwards and Biffle below the 161-point threshold, meaning neither driver can overtake him in the nascar standings in just one race - and there are only three races to go in '08.

In terms of the Atlanta race itself, Matt Kenseth led five times for a race-high 128 laps, though he finished 4th overall. Edwards led 98, Denny Hamlin 56, Jimmie Johnson 28, and Kurt Busch 12.

Johnson started the race on the pole thanks to another qualifying rain-out, and led the first 20 laps, though he only led one other time after that. Having the first pit stall proved to be advantageous throughout the race, but Johnson got tagged for speeding on pit road and served a pass-through penalty, putting him as far back as 29th at one point and a lap down. He got the lucky dog pass, however, and got back on the lead lap.

Edwards and Kenseth looked strong throughout the mid part of the race, but it was Denny Hamlin who took the lead on lap 254 (of 325) when he got off pit road just ahead of Kenseth. Denny would lead the next 56 laps and looked like a potential race winner until a series of late race cautions bunched the field. Edwards then powered past Hamlin on a lap 310 restart when Hamlin spun his wheels.

Edwards quickly put enough distance on Hamlin and the rest of the field to eliminate any challenge for the lead. The only drama at the point was watching Johnson, who pitted for four tires on the final caution, move from 11th place to 2nd in the closing laps.

Credit for the effectiveness of the pit strategy goes to Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus, who had observed how much times were falling off after several laps on older tires.

Finishing behind Edwards, Johnson, Hamlin and Kenseth were Kyle Busch (5), Kurt Busch (6), Jamie McMurray (7), David Ragan (8), Jeff Gordon (9), and Biffle (10).

This week the circuit heads to Texas where Carl Edwards won in the spring, but where the winner last fall was … Jimmie Johnson.