Beccas Pace Lap

Atlanta Motor Speedway -- 03/8/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Friday Mar 6 2009 9:42pm

Becca's Pace Lap: Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

• Front Row: Mark Martin (P1), Kurt Busch (P2)

• Pole Qualifying Speed: 187.045 miles per hour

• Highest Starting Rookie: Scott Speed - starts 26th

• To the Rear: No one at present.

Fastest Qualifier by Manufacturer::
Chevy: Mark Martin (1st)
Dodge: Kurt Busch (2nd)
Ford: Jamie McMurray (3rd)
Toyota: Denny Hamlin (6th)

• Outside the Top 35 Who Made the Field:
A.J. Allmendinger
Dave Blaney
Mike Bliss
Bill Elliott
David Gilliland
Travis Kvapil
Joe Nemechek
Tony Stewart

• Outside the Top 35 Who Missed the Cut:
Todd Bodine
Geoff Bodine
Jeremy Mayfield
Scott Riggs

• Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy, 73°F, SW winds at 10-15 mph

• Race Notes:

Last year's race winner: Kyle Busch (March race)

Most recent winner here: Carl Edwards (October race)

Mark Martin had the fastest car in both practice and qualifying on Friday, scoring his first pole since Richmond in 2001.

This is the second straight week that Kurt Busch has qualified on the outside pole.

Heading into Atlanta, Jeff Gordon and David Reutimann are the only drivers with top-15 finishes in all three races of 2009. Gordon is first in points and Reutimann is fifth.

This is the first time Kobalt Tools is sponsoring the spring race at Atlanta. They are also sponsoring Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 car this week. Kobalt Tools are sold primarily through Johnson’s primary sponsor Lowe’s.

It is the 50th Anniversary of Atlanta Motor Speedway and Sunday will be the 100th Cup race here.

Will tires be an issue again at Atlanta as they have been in the past? Many drivers have complained of a serious of lack of grip so far this week. Goodyear is using a new tire combination at Atlanta based in part on an offseason tire test with Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish and Scott Speed. Goodyear made construction changes on both sides of the car for improved handling and brought a softer left-side compound, which was supposed to improve grip – but so far the reviews are not particularly favorable.

• Quotes of the Week:

“Oh, we're going to have issues. But I don't know if they're issues with wear. It's called grip, just trying to get a hold of the race track. You know, they did this tire test here in December and I heard the track temp was like 50 degrees. It's over 90 today and it will cool down a little bit for qualifying, but there just really was not much grip out there at all. I was surprised, because I kept hearing this tire was supposed to have more grip in it.” – Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24, on the lack of grip in practice and qualifying Friday.

“I feel like a rookie. I really, really do. Not only did the lap scare me and I felt like I ran out of talent up off of turn four, there was no possible way I could hold my foot on the floor and not hit the wall with the back end first up off of turn four. It was really fun. I live to scare myself like that, that is part of it. But I continued to be nervous all the way through the rest of qualifying, much like I used back in the early '90s when we were lucky enough to get poles back then.` – Mark Martin, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5, after earning the pole for this Sunday’s race.

• Current oddsmakers' favorite:

Kyle Busch +500

• Long shots to watch:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. +2200

Jeff Burton +3000

Clint Bowyer +4000

* All information current at press time

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User	Comment
NapaFave55	The race was a wonderful celebration of the 50th anniversay of the Atlanta Motor Speedway. No matter the winner, the track is one of the most fun places to go if only with its location being just 30 miles outside of Atlanta.
OGr8ty8	Tony Stewart is a very popular race driver. Being teamed with Home Depot was a huge success and he has had a fair number of wins over the last few years. I know when I went to the July Daytona race a couple of years ago, he won and it was exciting. Now with his own team and a new primary sponsor, I think we`ll hear a lot out of him in the future.
RaceFan88	I think when someone popular is not winning, the media and fans have to find a reason for it. He is having some good finishes and I think he is doing well into his second year with Hendrick. I look forward to his future wins.
browmlee59	I think that Dale Jr. is havng problems on the track because of what happened between him and Teresa. Maybe he has that on his mind instead of the race. He was doing so good before all that happened. But he seems to be happy when they interview him.
jamming	Did I miss something? When did Dale Earnhardt Jr. become such a long shot and why? I know he`s not his old man but the +2200 is rather sad, don`t you think?
2nd Place	The same thing could be said of Tony Stewart. When he first started racing people were talking big about him too, nothing ever came of it and now you never hear anything about him. How do drivers like these manage to keep racing without the publicity that is lifeblood to their sponsors?
FastTrack	I wonder why we never hear see anything from Joe Nemechek? I remember when he started racing and he had such high hopes to be a superstar and yet you never hear much about him. Any one here a fan of his?
Karlee	I know I`m a late comer to this news, I often have to TiVo the best of my racing, and just saw this quote from Martin. It`s sad to see such insecurity, I wonder if he went into Atlanta feeling more confident?
Cal	Is it possible that Kyle is a favorite among those that are setting up the odds? I have seen it with other places, but they might be going in a direction we will find out about later too. Always, a toss up to confuse us all.
ryder_29	It just takes a lot of skills to win the race. I noticed Tony Stewart is not included in any of the above. He shouldn`t join the race instead so he wouldn`t complain about the Goodyear tire problems.
jade06	I can`t wait for the Atlanta Motor Speedway race. Why is Kyle Busch the only current oddsmakers` favorite? What about the others? Kyle Busch should be placed at the rear pole since he drives faster than his other opponents.