acegear
Moderator
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 973
Location: Enumclaw, WA
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 Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:41 pm Post subject: Edwards Takes the Double in Atlanta |
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Following up his 1st Busch Series win the day earlier, Carl Edwards staged a spectacular last lap pass of Jimmie Johnson to complete the first ever Busch Series/Nextel Cup double at Atlanta Motor Speedway and all this in his rookie season in both series.
Ryan Newman would start the day in the pole and lead the first lap. However, the first lap didn't last long as Casey Mears bumped from behind and lost control taking out Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Travis Kvapil, Robby Gordon, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch and Shane Hmiel. The red flag was brought out to clean up the mess, delaying the race for over 10 minutes.
Once the race went green again, the cars that were left were in the long haul. Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte would eventually rejoin the race, but would only finish 39th and 37th respectively. Newman would give up the lead soon after the restart and finish 14th.
The big story of the race though was the amazing finish by rookie Carl Edwards. Leading the race with 25 laps to go, and being in the top-5 most of the race, Carl Edwards relinquished the lead to a hard charging Jimmie Johnson. However, Edwards would have Johnson firmly in his sites until the end. Edwards made a move with 5 laps to go but all he accomplished was to bake the tires. The prospect of Edwards having a chance for the win were slim to none.
On turn 2 of the final lap Edwards got a great run on Johnson, holding Johnsons bumper until turns 3 and 4. Johnson took the high groove but Edwards went even higher, hugging the wall and even tapping Johnson as he moved by to take the checkered flag by less than half a car length. With the win, Edwards becomes only the 11th driver to have wins in all 3 NASCAR series and the first to complete the Busch/Nextel Cup sweep in Atlanta.
FINISHING ORDER
1 4 #99 Carl Edwards Ford Scotts 185/5 325 Running $165,450
2 3 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 180/10 325 Running $173,241
3 6 #16 Greg Biffle Ford Post-it/National Guard 170/5 325 Running $121,800
4 12 #6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 165/5 325 Running $105,150
5 5 #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 155/0 325 Running $115,875
6 8 #25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC/ditech.com 150/0 325 Running $85,325
7 37 #15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 146/0 325 Running $109,689
8 27 #07 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Snap-On Tools/Jack Daniel's 147/5 325 Running $83,625
9 17 #10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Valvoline 138/0 325 Running $100,983
10 11 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford Combos 134/0 325 Running $123,066
11 13 #42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco/Havoline 130/0 325 Running $82,500
12 42 #5 Kyle Busch * Chevrolet Kellogg's 127/0 325 Running $87,175
13 14 #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 124/0 325 Running $99,470
14 1 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 126/5 325 Running $120,266
15 38 #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 118/0 325 Running $99,120
16 39 #40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 115/0 325 Running $99,633
17 9 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 112/0 325 Running $115,861
18 16 #0 Mike Bliss Chevrolet NetZero Best Buy 109/0 324 Running $70,815
19 15 #41 Casey Mears Dodge Nicorette Fresh Mint Gum 106/0 324 Running $94,648
20 33 #22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Caterpillar 103/0 324 Running $94,348
21 36 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 100/0 324 Running $106,826
22 18 #91 Bill Elliott Dodge Visteon 97/0 324 Running $66,510
23 34 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 99/5 323 Running $104,618
24 35 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 91/0 323 Running $113,518
25 10 #11 Jason Leffler Chevrolet FedEx Express 88/0 323 Running $66,285
26 28 #49 Ken Schrader Dodge Red Baron Frozen Pizza 85/0 323 Running $68,735
27 32 #2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 82/0 322 Running $99,553
28 40 #43 Jeff Green Dodge Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories 79/0 321 Running $96,806
29 22 #50 Jimmy Spencer Dodge U.S. Micro Corporation 76/0 314 Running $65,160
30 29 #37 Kevin Lepage Dodge Carter's Royal Dispos-all 73/0 314 Running $65,535
31 23 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford Trex Decking & Railing 70/0 311 Running $112,896
32 24 #97 Kurt Busch Ford Sharpie/IRWIN Industrial Tools 67/0 304 Running $117,310
33 31 #21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 64/0 300 Running $92,984
34 26 #7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Harrah's 61/0 290 Engine $64,775
35 7 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet CENTRIX Financial 58/0 280 Engine $84,398
36 41 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia-Pacific/Brawny 55/0 271 Engine $74,252
37 19 #18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 52/0 266 Accident $99,245
38 2 #32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet Tide 49/0 245 Running $65,385
39 25 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 46/0 214 Accident $113,326
40 30 #4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Lucas Oil Products 43/0 113 Engine $64,540
41 43 #175 Mike Garvey Dodge Jani-King/KGB Swim Wear 40/0 15 Vibration $64,500
42 20 #77 Travis Kvapil * Dodge Kodak/Jasper Engines 37/0 0 Accident $72,460
43 21 #108 Shane Hmiel Chevrolet Win Fuel 34/0 0 Accident $63,883
* Denotes Rookie
CONTINGENCY AWARDS
Bud Pole:
Ryan Newman,#12, ALLTEL, Dodge
Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge:
Elliott Sadler,#38, Combos, Ford
Commit Lozenges "Commit to Win":
Jimmie Johnson,#48, Lowe's, Chevrolet
EA Sports Move of the Race:
Carl Edwards,#99, Scotts, Ford
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap:
Jimmie Johnson,#48, Lowe's, Chevrolet
MBNA Mid-race Leader:
Greg Biffle,#16, Post-it/National Guard, Ford
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race:
Michael Waltrip,#15, NAPA Auto Parts, Chevrolet
Raybestos Rookie of the Race:
Kyle Busch,#5, Kellogg's, Chevrolet
Sunoco Diamond Performance:
Carl Edwards,#99, Scotts, Ford
USG Improving the Finish Award:
Kyle Busch,#5, Kellogg's, Chevrolet
WIX Filters Lap Leader:
Jimmie Johnson,#48, Lowe's, Chevrolet
Carl Edwards nips Jimmie Johnson at the line
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A win is a win, and second place is never good enough |
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