All News Dale Earnhardt Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jarrett Jeremy Mayfield Kasey Kahne Matt Kenseth Ryan Newman Scott Wimmer Terry Labonte Tony Stewart

Atlanta Race Notes:

March 14, 2004 at 12:00 AM
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Golden Corral 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, scoring his 11th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory in his 151st career start. His last victory came at Daytona, three races ago.
    * This is Earnhardt Jr’s., fifth non-restrictor plate victory. Earnhardt Jr. has scored victories at Phoenix, Dover Richmond and Texas. His other six victories came at Talladega (four) and Daytona (two).
    * This is Earnhardt Jr’s., first victory in 10 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
    * Earnhardt Jr., scored his sixth straight top-10 finish at Atlanta.
    * Earnhardt Jr., joins Matt Kenseth, each with two victories in 2004.
    * Earnhardt Jr., became the fifth different winner in as many races at Atlanta.
    * Matt Kenseth remained the point leader by 82 over second-place Tony Stewart.
    * This was the second victory for Chevrolet in 2004. Ford also has two victories this season.
    Notebook Items:
    * Jeremy Mayfield (second) scored his first top-10 finish in 2004. It marked his fifth top-10 finish in 17 races at Atlanta and his best finish since he finished second at Dover last September.
    * Rookie Kasey Kahne (third) scored his third top-five finish in as many races.
    * It is the fourth straight race in 2004 that a rookie has finished in the top three. Scott Wimmer finished third at Daytona. Kahne finished second at Rockingham, second at Las Vegas and third at Atlanta.
    * Jimmy Johnson (fourth) scored his second top-10 finish in 2004. It was his third top-five finish in six races at Atlanta.
    * Ryan Newman (fifth) scored his second top-10 finish in 2004. It was his fourth top-10 finish and best finish in five races at Atlanta
    * Matt Kenseth (sixth) scored his fourth top-10 finish in 2004, the only driver to do so. This was his fifth top-10 finish in nine races at Atlanta.
    * Tony Stewart (seventh) scored his third top-10 finish in 2004. This was his sixth top-10 finish in 11 races at Atlanta – all in the last six races.
    * Dale Jarrett (ninth) scored his second top-10 finish in 2004. This was Jarrett’s best finish since he finished seventh at Bristol last August.
    * Terry Labonte (24th) has been running at the finish in the last 46 straight races, a streak that began at Charlotte in October 2002.
    * The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Leader Bonus will be worth $20,000 at Darlington Raceway.(NASCAR Statistical Services)(3-14-2004)