Adjusting themselves after a wild first race in Daytona, NASCAR drivers headed to Atlanta to either redeem themselves or continue keep up a good report on the track.
The race could be considered a “clean” one, the first half was a smooth ride without cautions; in the beginning Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson were two contenders fighting for first. Before the halfway point Kevin Harvick snatched the top spot – to have it taken by Martin Truex Jr. – but then claimed it once again soon after.
Two flags made a special appearance when waved for Matt Kenseth – a black flag penalized him over a mistake one member of his pit crew made while pitting. Drivers and their crew chief are required to respond to the black flag and pit within five laps of seeing it, but the crew remained confused and Kenseth himself did not see the black flag being waved on the stand. Kenseth’s crew chief was arguing their case over the black flag, and did not see the black and white flag that was even waved shortly afterwards – another warning that suspends a driver’s score “until further notice.” Kenseth was not scored for two laps because of that human mistake.
Everyone else had smooth sailing until Ryan Newman spun around with 10 laps to go. Being that the small accident was so late in the race, since there was not a green flag on the “final” lap, this race went into Overtime. After that green flag returned, Jimmie Johnson snagged first place, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch taking the next two spots.
This became a memorable race for Johnson in which he reached 76 wins and tied Dale Earnhardt (a former racer); Earnhardt Jr. congratulated his teammate on the win and in tying his father.
This year is already building up momentum for many drivers – just looking at the accomplishments and even errors during the first two weeks of NASCAR, fans have a whole lot to look forward to in the coming months.
