Things got crazy at the end of the Pep Boys Auto 507 today, Jimmie Johnson was at the right place at the right time (after a strong two-tire call by Chad Knauss)….and Johnson was rewarded with the win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Johnson ends up sweeping Atlanta (to go along with taking both races at Martinsville and Richmond) for his 8th win of the season and 31st of his Nextel Cup career. His third win at AMS was the 165th for Hendrick Motorsports (and their 16th this season). The take from the over $6.1M in posted awards was $349,661….and when you consider that JJ, Lowe’s, Hendrick Motorsports, Bruton Smith, and the France Family (and maybe a few others I’ve forgotten) are gonna match Johnson in giving the prize money to the Red Cross for relief efforts in California, it was a good day indeed. On another note, we sure had another boatload of empty seats again today! Reed Sorenson (3rd) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 4th at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Matt Kenseth (4th) had his best finish since he was 4th at Michigan in August. Brian Vickers (10th) had his best finish since he was 8th at California in September. Kyle Petty (13th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Bill Elliott (18th) had his best finish since he was 18th at Pocono in August. Dale Jarrett (19th) had his best finish since he was 11th when we were here last October. John Andretti (28th) had his best finish since he was 18th at Chicagoland in July. STREAKIN….Jeff Gordon has 5 Top-10’s in a row. Jimmie Johnson has 4 Top-5’s in the last 5 races. Clint Bowyer has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races. The Rookie Report: A. J. Allmendinger (16th) takes this award for the second time this season. He was followed by Paul Menard (27th), David Ragan (33rd), and Juan Pablo Montoya (34th). David Reutimann was a dnq this weekend. This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is Reed Sorenson (+29), followed by Kyle Petty (+26), Bill Elliott (+25), Jeff Burton (+23), Ricky Rudd (+21), and Clint Bowyer (+20). DOWN: The Big Dropper was David Stremme (-32), followed by Mark Martin (-31), Bobby Labonte (-30), David Gilliland (-29), Ryan Newman (-28 ), Greg Biffle (-21), and Dale Earnhardt Jr (-20). Team Ganassi takes both ends of the “Shaft” this week. A. J. Allmendinger led a lap today for the first time in his Nextel Cup career. He’s the 51st driver to lead a lap this season…we had 48 leaders last year and 51 in 2005. Jeff Gordon’s Chase lead has been trimmed to just 9 markers after today. It’ll take divine intervention for any driver not in the top three to win it all.(Stock Car Fans)(10-28-2007)
