Click below to listen –>

photo credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images

“Yeah, it was a great battle for us,” Busch said. “Our Miller Lite Dodge was set up for being a utility-type car. What I mean by that is it was good on long runs, good in the middle runs and good on the short runs. We weren’t excellent in any area, but good overall…”

“I’m happy to bring it home for Steve (Addington, crew chief), this team. Overall win for Dodge early in the year means a lot to us, means a lot to the people up in Detroit.”

It marks the 21st career win for Busch in 332 races. It’s his first win and second top-10 finish so far this season.

“We need to have some more consistency, but we’ve had some off-the-wall things happen to us,” Busch said. “It’s a good gauge of, yeah, we’ve been competitive three out of the four races so far this year, and the race we weren’t as competitive as the others was our best finish. So that’s what a championship team does. We feel right now the right moves are being made, the right pit stops are being created. Who knows what the rest of the season has. But we look at the short track season coming up. We got Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix is in the mix. For us to win here at Atlanta, it is the last race for a wing on a mile-and-a-half, we’ve got to put this setup to rest or we’ll see how it blends in with the new spoiler and adjust from there. I think the new spoiler is going to throw a wrench into it and everyone is going to have to adjust once they get past Texas.”

It was a battle of the beers throughout much of the race with Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne swapping the lead. While Busch led 129 laps, Kahne led a race-high 144 laps. Kahne finished 4th.

photo credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

Matt Kenseth posted a runner-up finish. “Our day was really good. It was a really good, solid day for us,” Kenseth said. “I thought most of the day, a couple times we got off and didn’t have a very good car, made good adjustments, got it where — I don’t know, one run where maybe it was a second- or third-place car. Most of the time we were a third- to a fifth-place car. We really good pit stops, good adjustments. Got lucky. Got a couple good restarts at the end, and slid into second. Overall I thought we had a good car, top-five car. The guys had a lot of fun. We were real competitive, so it was a good time.” Kenseth moved up from 4th to 2nd in the point standings after posting the second-place finish.

Juan Pablo Montoya finished 3rd. “We kind of got lost in the middle of the race a little bit, made some changes. Didn’t make a lot of ground on the car, then we kind of understood where we needed to go,” Montoya said about his third-place run. “And it worked out pretty well.”

It wasn’t the usual suspects running in the top-10 over the closing laps. Paul Menard scored his best finish to date in the Sprint Cup Series after finishing 5th. Fellow Richard Petty Motorsports driver, A.J. Allmendinger finished 6th followed by Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and Scott Speed completed the top-10.

The entire complexion of the race changed when Carl Edwards intentionally got into the back of race winner Kurt Busch’s Penske Racing teammate, Brad Keselowski with 3 to go. Keselowski was running 6th at the time, while Edwards was 156 laps down. Edwards wrecked earlier in the day which sent him to the garage for repairs.

“To come back and just intentionally wreck someone, that’s not cool,” Keselowski said. “He could have killed someone in the grandstands.”

“I know Brad has made his career on being super-aggressive,” Edwards said. “We both had a part in it and it’s not his fault, but it’s just a little too aggressive overall, I think, for that early in the race and caused us to wreck.”

NASCAR immediately parked Carl Edwards and called him for a visit to the hauler.

“I can’t really speak on which way NASCAR’s gonna view it,” race winner Kurt Busch said. “But the way I view it is, hey, if NASCAR disciplines Edwards for it, that’s what they saw in their mind. If they don’t, that’s what they saw in their mind and that’s why they didn’t react. It’s not for me to judge how to penalize somebody.”

Keselowski ended up 36th, while Edwards placed 39th. The accident set up the first of two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish which ultimately added 16 more laps to the 325 lap race.

Tire wear issues plagued the Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. came back from 3 laps down to finish 15th. Jimmie Johnson finished 12th while Jeff Gordon ended his day 18th. Mark Martin blew a rear-tire forcing him to take a solo spin on lap 114, but the deal breaker happened when Martin was caught up in a 7-car accident on the second to last restart. Martin finished 33rd.

There were 11 cautions for 53 laps and 31 lead changes among 13 drivers: Kyle Busch 1-13; K. Kahne 14-35; Kyle Busch 36; J. Nemechek 37; K. Kahne 38-39; Kyle Busch 40-47; K. Kahne 48-79; D. Hamlin 80; E. Sadler 81; Kurt Busch 82-116; D. Gilliland 117; Kurt Busch 118-147; D. Hamlin 148-159; M. Bliss 160; D. Hamlin 161-171; J. Montoya 172-174; K. Kahne 175-211; D. Hamlin 212-213; J. Burton 214; B. Elliott 215; K. Kahne 216-225; Kurt Busch 226; K. Kahne 227-229; Kurt Busch 230-243; K. Kahne 244-276; P. Menard 277; D. Hamlin 278-283; K. Kahne 284-288; Kurt Busch 289-327; C. Bowyer 328-331; Kurt Busch 332-341

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

Kevin Harvick continues to lead the point standings by 26 points over 2nd place driver, Matt Kenseth.

The Sprint Cup Series will enjoy an off-week before heading to Bristol Motor Speedway in two weeks.

photo credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

“We just had a really fast truck,” Harvick said.

Harvick made the win look e-z in his E-Z Go Chevrolet as he led a race-high 100 of the race’s 130 laps to collect his third straight truck win. Harvick has won five of his last nine truck starts.

Kyle Busch scored a runner-up finish in his first outing for his new truck team, Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“We weren’t quite as fast as we would have liked to have been,” Busch said. “But we’re not sure if that came from our damage early in the race on Lap 1 or not. We still had a real decent effort, and I’m real proud of the way the KBM team ran today.”

There 6 cautions for 27 laps and 9 lead changes among 6 drivers: R. Hornaday Jr. 0; M. Crafton 1-10; R. Hornaday Jr. 11; K. Busch 12-14; K. Harvick 15-58; T. Bodine 59; K. Busch 60-64; S. Wallace 65-67; K. Busch 68-74; K. Harvick 75-130

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

photo credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

It’s his 9th career pole and first since April 2008 at Texas Motor Speedway. Earnhardt’s lap of 28.761 seconds at 192.761 mph was the fastest qualifying lap in the new Sprint Cup car (CoT).

“It’s good to be on the pole and I’m real proud of it,” Earnhardt said. “Getting a pole anywhere is good for our team. We’re so hungry to do well on Sunday.”

Earnhardt has yet to win a race from the pole, however starting up front isn’t as important at Atlanta than at other tracks. In 101 races, just 14 pole winners have gone on to win.

Kyle Busch will start Sunday’s race alongside Earnhardt on the front row. Juan Pablo Montoya will start third followed by Hendrick drivers, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Points leader Kevin Havick starts 35th while Jimmie Johnson qualified 16th.

46 drivers showed up to qualify for the 43 starting positions. Having to qualify on time, go-or-go homer Casey Mears lost an engine during cup practice. Mears has failed to make it into a race yet this season.

No other major events happened during the 90-minute practice session prior to time trials. Mark Martin’s lap of 189.409 mph was the fastest lap during the afternoon’s practice. Earnhardt was 10th quickest during the session.

For the entire starting line-up, click here.

TV coverage of the Kobalt Tools 500 begins Sunday at Noon on FOX.

Click below to listen

photo credit: Darrell Ingham/Getty Images for NASCAR

Last week at Las Vegas we saw a dominate Jeff Gordon lead all but 48 laps, before the #48 made a late race pass for the win. The two teammates could carry their momentum over to Atlanta, a track both of them know how to get around at.

Jeff Gordon has won 4 times there with 14 top-5’s and 23 top-10 finishes. Gordon boasts a 12.3 finishing average at AMS.

“I’m kind of hoping they peak early this year and that some of us can gain the momentum as we get to the Chase,” Gordon said about the #48 team. ‘It’s gonna make us all work really, really hard, you know. But who knows. They’re very good. You know, they haven’t had a lot of turnover in people and changes. They’re the team to beat.”

Gordon hasn’t been to victory lane at Atlanta since Oct. 27, 2003.

Jimmie Johnson has scored 3 wins, 9 top-5 and 11 top-10 finishes. His average finish of 10.7 is best of the other 42 drivers that will start Sunday’s race.

“It is a relief to know that we worked in the right areas over the off-season,” Johnson said referring to posting back-to-back over the past two races. “But, you know, Richmond is a long way away from right now. We need to keep collecting points, winning races, make the Chase, then get to work for what we’re really here for.”

Johnson’s last win at Atlanta Motor Speedway came on 10-28-07.

Both, Gordon and Johnson, are chasing their fifth series championship. Who will win it first? Early season indicators say it could be one of the bigger headlines throughout this season.

There have been five different race winners over the past five races at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

Kasey Kahne 9-6-09
Kurt Busch 3-8-09
Carl Edwards 10-26-08
Kyle Busch 3-9-08
Jimmie Johnson 10-28-07

We can’t rule out the early season RCR charge. For the past two weeks, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer are 1-2 in points.

“We can run with them and they know it,” Harvick said last weekend about the Hendrick teammates, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

Starting up front isn’t as important at Atlanta than at other tracks. In 101 races, just 14 pole winners have gone on to win.

Kurt Busch is the defending race winner.

TV coverage begins Sunday at Noon on FOX.

The Nationwide Series is off.

The Camping World Truck Series also run at Atlanta. Catch the race on Saturday at 2 on SPEED.

Click below to listen

photo credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Jeff Gordon lead all but 48 laps in Sunday’s race. Maybe it’s a bit ironic, because the #48 passed Gordon for the lead with 16 laps to go. Jimmie Johnson grabbed his second consecutive win.

“We’re excited,” Johnson said. “It’s early in the year. It is a relief to know that we worked in the right areas over the off-season. But, you know, Richmond is a long way away from right now. We need to keep collecting points, winning races, make the Chase, then get to work for what we’re really here for. It’s great. We don’t feel invincible, though. It was nice to go out there today and really earn this one, race Jeff that hard for the win. So, you know, I feel very good about things. But ‘invincible’ – far from that.”

Kevin Harvick passed Jeff Gordon over the closing laps to score a runner-up finish.

“It was a good day,” Harvick said. “For us, I put us behind on Friday when I smacked the wall there in practice. The guys did a great job fixing the car. We just got behind from that point and were able to make up ground today. That to me is the most promising thing we’ve been able to do the last two weeks, is go to the back and come to the front. It was tough to pass today. We were able to get the track position that we needed at the end of the race. Just came up one spot short.”

And what about the #24? Gordon had to settle with a third-place finish.

“The last couple laps?” Gordon asked. “I did everything I could, and it just took everything out of the right front tire. Took everything out of the right front tire, built the right front tire up so much I was just plowing it at the end. I knew when Jimmie got by me, we were probably going to lose second as well. While I ran a few laps that slowed Kevin down, where I ran in front of him on the bottom, I couldn’t maintain it. You know, we were just fading.”

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are both on their ‘Drive for 5′ this season. It could be the biggest headline we’ll watch when The Chase gets underway. We’ll have to wait and see.

Their Hendrick teammate, Mark Martin finished fourth followed by Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle – all finished in the top-10.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

There were 7 cautions for 29 laps and 18 lead changes among 9 drivers: Ku. Busch-pole, J. Gordon 1-52, Biffle 53-56, J. Gordon 57-89, Kenseth 90-98, J. Gordon 99-109, Speed 110-113, J. Gordon 114-160, Johnson 161, Harvick 162, Ky. Busch 163, Stewart 164-165, J. Gordon 166-213, Harvick 214, Stewart 215-219, J. Gordon 220-230, Bowyer 231-233, J. Gordon 234-250, Johnson 251-267

Kevin Harvick retains his points lead by 47 points over his RCR teammate, Clint Bowyer in second.

Atlanta is next on the schedule for the Sprint Cup Series this weekend.

photo credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

This time around, we saw the fastest car win. After leading the first 57 laps, Harvick had to overcome two very slow pit stops that sent him back in the field. “You look like a bunch of idiots on pit road,” Harvick said over the radio to his team after the first bad stop.

No problem for the two-time former series champion, he made it back out in front with 24 to go. Harvick led twice for a race-high 82 of the 200 laps.

“The car was really fast,” Harvick said in victory lane. “We’ve definitely got some work to do on pit road, but, fortunately, the car was fast enough. I get mad, and they (the crew) know how I am and what I expect of them. but you can only gripe about it so long, and then you have to go back and drive the car.”

Runner-up finisher Denny Hamlin led 29 laps, himself. Carl Edwards led twice for 28 laps and went home third. Polesitter Brad Keselowski finished fourth followed by Brian Vickers, Trevor Bayne, Justin Allgaier, Paul Menard, Greg Biffle and Steve Wallace completing the top-10.

It was frustration for Kyle Busch at his hometown track. Cameras caught him exiting the track alone after climbing from his car. He looked dominant throughout much of the race and was out in front on three occasions for a total of 43 laps. The troubles for Busch seemed to start during a pit stop after a caution on lap 119. His team was slow to get him back on the track and cost him the lead. While trying to make it back to the front, Busch bounced his #18 Toyota off the wall prompting him to tell his crew that he thought he was done. Busch backed up slightly and finished 16th.

And what about Danica Patrick?

She made her last NASCAR start until June so she can focus on driving in the IndyCar racing league. During the rain delay, Patrick seemed much more confident and relaxed than she has ever been before a NASCAR start while talking with media. As the story goes, she was asking Harvick for advice before the race.

photo credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

After starting 37th, Patrick was up on the wheel. She made it as high as third, before her day ended on lap 86. While racing beside the lapped car of Michael McDowell, the two collided.

“I guess I should have noticed the tape on his left-rear bumper. I probably shouldn’t have been near his left-rear bumper,” Patrick said. “Sure enough, he turned down and took us both out. What are you going to do? It was a real bummer because I was really hooked up out there because we had new tires on it and I was probably one of the quicker cars on the track.” Patrick finished 36th.

“I guess she was coming out on new tires, and the closing rate was so fast,” McDowell said. “I tried to give the outside, I saw her coming into it and I closed the door. It was completely 100 percent my fault. I hate it for everyone at JR Motorsports. Like I said, I take 100 percent responsibility.”

18 cars finished on the lead lap. There were 8 cautions for 39 laps and 14 lead changes among 10 drivers: Brad Keselowski 0; K. Harvick 1-57; K. Busch 58; G. Biffle 59; Brad Keselowski 60; C. Edwards 61-64; S. Riggs 65; J. Townley 66-75; K. Busch 76-85; B. Vickers 86; K. Busch 87-118; B. Gaughan 119-122; C. Edwards 123-146; D. Hamlin 147-175; K. Harvick 176-200

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

Carl Edwards continues to lead the point standings. He’s currently 41 points ahead of second-place driver, Brad Keselowski.

The Nationwide Series will be off until Bristol -- Saturday, March 20th.

photo credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

Busch set a new qualifying track record with his speed of 28.614 seconds, 188.719 mph -- beating his younger brother, Kyle’s previous best of 185.995 mph, set last year at this time.

“I’ve got the right guy in my camp,” Busch said referring to his team’s new crew chief, Steve Addington. “It seems like Steve Addington definitely has his game on here at this track. I just hope that bleeds over to Sunday. I would say we used a combination of what I was familiar with and what he liked. Right now, that’s our plan of attack each week.”

It’s the first pole for Kurt since September 2007 at Auto Club Speedway and his 11th career. “It feels really neat here in our hometown, Las Vegas,” said Busch.

On a side note, Addington is the former crew chief of Kurt’s younger brother. Kyle is the defending race winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Jeff Gordon will start beside Kurt on the front row. Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 3rd and 4th, respectively.

18 drivers broke the previous fastest qualifying record.

For the starting line-up for the Shelby American, click here.

TV coverage begins at 2 Sunday on FOX.