NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Kobalt Tools 500 Preview

03/3/09 6:28 PM CDT

From The Sports Network

Date: Sunday, March 8th
Site: Atlanta Motor Speedway; Hampton, Georgia
Track: 1.54-mile oval
Capacity: 124,000 (Grandstand)
Annual: 50th
Television: FOX
Announcers: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds
Radio: PRN/SIRIUS XM Satellite
Start Time: 2:15 p.m. (et)
Defending Champion: Kyle Busch
Runner-up: Tony Stewart
Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon (Finished 5th)
Laps: 325
Miles: 500.5
Qualifying Record: Geoffrey Bodine, 1997 (197.478 m.p.h.)
Race Record: Bobby Labonte, 1997 (159.904 m.p.h.)
Total Purse: $5,060,012 (2008 figures)
Payouts: 1st Place - $175,575; 2nd Place - $162,886; 3rd Place - $125,025

2008 Finish
-----------

Finish Driver Start Finish Driver Start
------ ------ ----- ------ ----- -----
1 Kyle Busch 6 6 Clint Bowyer 7
2 Tony Stewart 32 7 Kevin Harvick 8
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr 2 8 Matt Kenseth 38
4 Greg Biffle 13 9 Brian Vickers 35
5 Jeff Gordon 1 10 Jeff Burton 15

2008 Kobalt Tools 500 Facts and Figures
---------------------------------------

Average Speed: 140.975 m.p.h.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 33 minutes, 1 second
Margin of Victory: 2.066 seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 35 laps
Lead Changes: 26 among 9 drivers
Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon (185.251 m.p.h.)

Past Kobalt Tools 500 Winners (car) and Speed
---------------------------------------------

2008 -- Kyle Busch (Toyota) -- 140.975 m.p.h.
2007 -- Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet) -- 152.915 m.p.h.
2006 -- Kasey Kahne (Dodge) -- 144.098 m.p.h.
2005 -- Carl Edwards (Ford) -- 143.478 m.p.h.
2004 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr (Chevrolet) -- 158.679 m.p.h.
2003 -- Bobby Labonte (Chevrolet) -- 146.048 m.p.h.
2002 -- Tony Stewart (Pontiac) -- 148.443 m.p.h.
2001 -- Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet) -- 143.273 m.p.h.
2000 -- Dale Earnhardt (Chevrolet) -- 131.759 m.p.h.
1999 -- Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet) -- 143.284 m.p.h.
1998 -- Bobby Labonte (Pontiac) -- 139.501 m.p.h.
1997 -- Dale Jarrett (Ford) -- 132.731 m.p.h.
1996 -- Dale Earnhardt (Chevrolet) -- 161.298 m.p.h. (race record)
1995 -- Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet) -- 150.115 m.p.h.
1994 -- Ernie Irvan (Ford) -- 146.136 m.p.h.
1993 -- Morgan Shepherd (Ford) -- 150.442 m.p.h.
1992 -- Bill Elliott (Ford) -- 147.746 m.p.h.
1991 -- Ken Schrader (Chevrolet) -- 140.470 m.p.h.
1990 -- Dale Earnhardt (Chevrolet) -- 156.849 m.p.h.
1989 -- Darrell Waltrip (Chevrolet) -- 139.684 m.p.h.
1988 -- Dale Earnhardt (Chevrolet) -- 137.588 m.p.h.
1987 -- Ricky Rudd (Ford) -- 133.689 m.p.h.
1986 -- Morgan Shepherd (Buick) -- 132.126 m.p.h.
1985 -- Bill Elliott (Ford) -- 140.273 m.p.h.
1984 -- Benny Parsons (Chevrolet) -- 144.945 m.p.h.
1983 -- Cale Yarborough (Chevrolet) -- 137.643 m.p.h.
1982 -- Darrell Waltrip (Buick) -- 124.824 m.p.h.
1981 -- Cale Yarborough (Buick) -- 133.619 m.p.h.
1980 -- Dale Earnhardt (Chevrolet) -- 134.808 m.p.h.
1979 -- Buddy Baker (Oldsmobile) -- 135.136 m.p.h.
1978 -- Bobby Allison (Ford) -- 142.520 m.p.h.
1977 -- Richard Petty (Dodge) -- 144.093 m.p.h.
1976 -- David Pearson (Mercury) -- 128.904 m.p.h.
1975 -- Richard Petty (Dodge) -- 133.496 m.p.h.
1974 -- Cale Yarborough (Chevrolet) -- 136.910 m.p.h.
1973 -- David Pearson (Mercury) -- 139.351 m.p.h.
1972 -- Bobby Allison (Chevrolet) -- 128.214 m.p.h.
1971 -- A.J. Foyt (Mercury) -- 131.375 m.p.h.
1970 -- Bobby Allison (Dodge) -- 139.554 m.p.h.
1969 -- Cale Yarborough (Mercury) -- 132.191 m.p.h.
1968 -- Cale Yarborough (Mercury) -- 125.564 m.p.h.
1967 -- Cale Yarborough (Ford) -- 131.238 m.p.h.
1966 -- Jim Hurtubise (Plymouth) -- 131.266 m.p.h.
1965 -- Marvin Panch (Ford) -- 129.410 m.p.h.
1964 -- Fred Lorenzen (Ford) -- 132.959 m.p.h.
1963 -- Fred Lorenzen (Ford) -- 130.580 m.p.h.
1962 -- Fred Lorenzen (Ford) -- 101.983 m.p.h.
1961 -- Bob Burdick (Pontiac) -- 123.920 m.p.h.
1960 -- Bobby Johns (Pontiac) -- 108.408 m.p.h.

Note: Named changed from Atlanta 500 (1960-1980), Coca-Cola 500 (1981-1985),
Motorcraft 500 (1986-1993), Purolator 500 (1994-1996), PrimeStar 500
(1997-1998), Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 (1999), Atlanta 500
(2000-01), MBNA America 500 (2002), Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 (2003),
Golden Corral 500 (2004-06).

Past Kobalt Tools 500 Pole Winners (Finish)
-------------------------------------------

2008 -- Jeff Gordon -- 5th
2007 -- Ryan Newman -- 23rd
2006 -- Kasey Kahne -- Won
2005 -- Ryan Newman -- 14th
2004 -- Ryan Newman -- 5th
2003 -- Ryan Newman -- 10th
2002 -- Bill Elliott -- 35th
2001 -- Dale Jarrett -- 4th
2000 -- Dale Jarrett -- 36th
1999 -- Bobby Labonte -- 2nd
1998 -- John Andretti -- 20th
1997 -- Robby Gordon -- 14th
1996 -- Johnny Benson -- 38th
1995 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 4th
1994 -- Loy Allen -- 22nd
1993 -- Rusty Wallace -- 3rd
1992 -- Mark Martin -- 13th
1991 -- Alan Kulwicki -- 8th
1990 -- None -- Weather
1989 -- Alan Kulwicki -- 16th
1988 -- Geoff Bodine -- 33rd
1987 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 16th
1986 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 2nd
1985 -- Neil Bonnett -- 3rd
1984 -- Buddy Baker -- 23rd
1983 -- Geoff Bodine -- 41st
1982 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 28th
1981 -- Terry Labonte -- 19th
1980 -- Buddy Baker -- 7th
1979 -- Buddy Baker -- Won
1978 -- Cale Yarborough -- 4th
1977 -- Richard Petty -- Won
1976 -- Dave Marcis -- 32nd
1975 -- Richard Petty -- Won
1974 -- David Pearson -- 2nd
1973 -- None -- Weather
1972 -- Bobby Allison -- Won
1971 -- A.J. Foyt -- Won
1970 -- Cale Yarborough -- 2nd
1969 -- Charlie Glotzbach -- 33rd
1968 -- LeeRoy Yarborough -- 2nd
1967 -- Cale Yarborough -- Won
1966 -- Richard Petty -- 25th
1965 -- Marvin Panch -- Won
1964 -- Fred Lorenzon -- Won
1963 -- Junior Johnson -- 42nd
1962 -- Banjo Mathews -- 2nd
1961 -- Fireball Roberts -- 12th
1960 -- Fireball Roberts -- Won

Last Race Results
-----------------

Race: Shelby 427 (March 1st)
Site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Las Vegas, Nevada
Miles: 427
Laps: 285
Winner: Kyle Busch
Second: Clint Bowyer
Third: Jeff Burton
Fourth: David Reutimann
Fifth: Bobby Labonte
Pole Winner: Kyle Busch (Finished 1st)
Time of Race: 3 hours, 34 minutes, 37 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.411 second
Average Speed: 119.513 m.p.h.
Caution Flags: 14 for 66 laps
Lead Changes: 16 among 12 drivers
Lap Leaders: Ky. Busch-pole, Johnson 1-50, Edwards 51-52, Logano 53, Ky. Busch
54-55, R. Gordon 56, Johnson 57-75, Harvick 76-84, Biffle 85-124,
Kahne 125, Johnson 126-148, J. Gordon 149-165, Ku. Busch 166,
Burton 167-227, Ky. Busch 228-259, Bowyer 260-268, Ky. Busch
269-285.

Kobalt Tools 500 Entry List
---------------------------

Car Driver, Hometown Car/Name
--- ---------------- --------
00 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine
1 Martin Truex Jr (Mayetta, NJ) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops
2 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Dodge/Miller Lite
5 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Chevrolet/Kellogg's/CARQUEST
6 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/UPS
07 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/DirecTV
7 Robby Gordon (Orange, CA) Toyota/Jim Beam
8 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Chevrolet/Cub Cadet
09 Sterling Marlin (Columbia, TN) Chevrolet/Miccosukee Resorts
9 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Dodge/Budweiser
11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Ground
12 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Dodge/Penske Racing
14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Office Depot
16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M
17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/DeWalt
18 *Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's
19 Elliott Sadler (Emporia, VA) Dodge/Best Buy
20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Home Depot
21 Bill Elliott (Dawsonville, GA) Ford/Motorcraft
24 Jeff Gordon (Pittsboro, IN) Chevrolet/DuPont
26 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Ford/IRWIN
28 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Ford/Golden Corral
29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Reese's
31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar
33 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Chevrolet/BB&T
34 John Andretti (Indianapolis, IN) Chevrolet/Window World
35 Todd Bodine (Chemung, NY) Toyota/TBA
36 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Toyota/TBA
37 Tony Raines (LaPorte, IN) Dodge/Long John Silver's
39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Haas Automation
41 Jeremy Mayfield (Owensboro, KY) Toyota/All Sport Body Quencher
42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Columbia) Chevrolet/Target
43 Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) Dodge/Super 8
44 AJ Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Dodge/Lifelock
47 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Toyota/Kingsford/Clorox
48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's/KOBALT Tools
55 Michael Waltrip (Owensboro, KY) Toyota/NAPA
64 Geoffrey Bodine (Chemung, NY) Toyota/TBA
66 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Toyota/TBA
71 David Gilliland (Torrance, CA) Chevrolet/TRG Motorsports
77 Sam Hornish Jr (Defiance, OH) Dodge/Mobil 1
82 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Toyota/Red Bull
83 Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) Toyota/Red Bull
87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/TBA
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/AMP Energy/Nat'l Guard
96 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Ford/Ask.com
98 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Ford/Menards/Pittsburgh Paints
99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/AFLAC

* - Defending champion

Leading Contenders (Finish the last eight years)
------------------------------------------------

Driver 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Kyle Busch --- --- --- --- 12th 12th 32nd Won
Tony Stewart 27th Won 5th 7th 17th 5th 2nd 2nd
Dale Earnhardt Jr 15th 2nd 3rd Won 24th 3rd 14th 3rd
Greg Biffle --- --- 13th 8th 3rd 16th 41st 4th
Jeff Gordon 2nd 16th 2nd 10th 39th 4th 12th 5th
Clint Bowyer --- --- --- --- --- 27th 6th 6th
Kevin Harvick Won 39th 19th 32nd 21st 39th 25th 7th
Matt Kenseth 37th 4th 4th 6th 31st 13th 3rd 8th
Jeff Burton 30th 21st 33rd 20th 15th 25th 4th 10th
Kurt Busch 10th 11th 40th 12th 32nd 37th 11th 11th
Jimmie Johnson --- 3rd 32nd 4th 2nd 6th Won 13th
Ryan Newman --- 10th 10th 5th 14th 18th 23rd 14th
Denny Hamlin --- --- --- --- --- 31st 19th 15th
David Reutimann --- --- --- --- --- --- 40th 20th
Martin Truex Jr --- --- --- --- --- 19th 8th 21st
Mark Martin 41st 8th 42nd 14th 4th 2nd 10th 22nd
Kasey Kahne --- --- --- 3rd 5th Won 39th 28th
Carl Edwards --- --- --- --- Won 40th 7th 42nd

Mover of the Week
-----------------
Clint Bowyer - Started in 37th position and finished 2nd

Sports Network Selections
-------------------------
Pick to Win - Tony Stewart
Darkhorse - Mark Martin

Last Week's Pick to Win (Jeff Gordon) - Finished 6th
Last Week's Darkhorse (Denny Hamlin) - Finished 22nd

NOTES:
After three previous lackluster appearances, Kyle Busch raced to victory
last season, as he defeated Tony Stewart by just over two seconds. Busch, who
started sixth on the grid, led eight times for a race-high 173 laps. Pole
sitter Jeff Gordon placed fifth. Third-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr
battled throughout, leading six times for 62 laps, but lost the lead on lap
286 to Busch, who held the advantage for the final 40 circuits.

This week's race marks the 100th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Other notable
milestones this week has Bobby Labonte making his 550th Sprint Cup start and
Clint Bowyer seeking to extend his active running at the finish to 77, second
on the all-time list.

With a whopping 31 lead changes among 13 drivers, Jimmie Johnson was the last
driver standing in 2007, as he crossed the finish line ahead of Tony Stewart
for his 25th career Sprint Cup title. Johnson, who started third on the grid,
led for the first 36 laps, but it wasn't until lap 323 when he overtook
Stewart for the lead with just three laps remaining. Johnson led for a race-
high 135 laps, while Stewart led for 121. Pole sitter Ryan Newman finished
23rd. Only two drivers, Brian Vickers and Scott Riggs failed to finish the
race. Johnson swept both Atlanta races in 2007. Johnson's win total now stands
at 40.

Kasey Kahne defeated Mark Martin and the weather in 2006, to capture his
second career Sprint Cup title. After a 24-hour rain delay, Kahne crossed the
finish line 1.928 seconds ahead of Martin. Kahne, who started on the pole,
reclaimed the lead on lap 246 of the 345-lap event and never relinquished the
top spot. Kahne led for a total of 85 laps, while Greg Biffle, who placed 16th
led for 128 laps. The 2006 win was a springboard for Kahne, as he went on to
win six races.

Jeff Gordon has fond memories of Atlanta, as he recorded his first ever Sprint
Cup start back in 1992. In 33 career starts, Gordon owns four wins and 21
top-10 finishes. Since winning in October of 2007, Gordon has gone 44 races
without victory.

In 2005, Carl Edwards burst on the scene by capturing the previously named
Golden Corral 500, his first victory at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level, just one
day after he got his first Nationwide Series win. Edwards followed with yet
another Atlanta triumph in October's Sprint Cup event. When he won that year,
Edwards reclaimed the lead on the final lap to edge Jimmie Johnson by less
than a second. That margin of victory was tied for eighth on the list of
closest finishes since the advent of electronic timing in mid-season 1993.
With his win, Edwards became the first driver ever to post a Nationwide-Sprint
sweep at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Cale Yarborough won it a record six times, including three in a row from 1967
to 1969 while driving for the famed Wood Brothers. The 1967 race was
Yarborough's first superspeedway win. Yarborough was the last driver to win
this race in back-to-back seasons.

Ryan Newman has won the pole four times in the past six years and seven times
overall in Atlanta, but has yet to convert. In fact, his best finish is fifth
in 2004. The pole sitter has won this race 10 times and 14 overall in Atlanta,
more than any other starting spot.

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr captured the race as he took the lead on lap 310 of
325 and powered across the finish line 4.584 seconds ahead of runner-up Jeremy
Mayfield. Kevin Harvick, who took over Dale Earnhardt's car after the racing
legend died in an accident at Daytona in 2001, notched his first career NASCAR
Sprint Cup victory in March 2001 when he edged Jeff Gordon at this race.

Jimmie Johnson has performed quite well in Atlanta, posting three wins and ten
top-10 finishes in 15 races, with an average finish of 9.1. Tony Stewart, who
won this race in 2002, has finished second the past two years.

Over the years, there have been 99 Sprint Cup races at Atlanta Speedway, two
races per year except 1961, which had three. Originally called Atlanta
International Raceway, the track was then a 1.5 mile paved speedway. The track
was re-measured in 1970 to 1.522 miles and was renamed in 1990 to Atlanta
Motor Speedway. The layout was once again re-configured to 1.54-miles as the
track was reversed.

The fifth race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule will be at Bristol Motor
Speedway on March 22nd for the Food City 500, as Jeff Burton defends his
title.

03/1/09
Hometown Hero: Kyle Busch wins in Las Vegas
 

03/1/09
2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results/Schedule