Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus gambled on a two-tire stop late in the Pep Boys 500 at Atlanta en route to their eighth win of the 2007 season. Johnson evaded the exceedingly slow Denny Hamlin on the restart on lap 321, and was leading when the final caution came out during the green-white-checkered when Dale Earnhardt Jr lost a wheel and crashed into the outside wall, collecting Jamie McMurray.
Johnson now trails Jeff Gordon by a mere nine points in the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship standings. Clint Bowyer is 111 points behind Gordon.
1. (1) 24-Jeff Gordon: I think Jeff Gordon would have the Nextel Cup championship all but clinched already under the old format.
2. (2) 48-Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie Johnson is lucky and good. At Atlanta, he was a little more lucky.
3. (3) 07-Clint Bowyer: Clint Bowyer finished ahead of Jeff Gordon, but only gained four points. Still, Bowyer finished better than he ran, so he is one to look out for in the future.
4. (6) 99-Carl Edwards: Carl Edwards ended an eventful week with a second place finish at Atlanta.
5. (4) 20-Tony Stewart: Tony Stewart performed better in last year’s final 10 races when he was not chasing the championship.
6. (6) 5-Kyle Busch: Pit road issues plagued Kyle Busch and the 5 team.
7. (9) 2-Kurt Busch: Surprised that Kurt Busch and his team did not roll the dice and take two tires.
8. (7) 29-Kevin Harvick: Kevin Harvick has really struggled since the Chase for the Championship began.
9. (8) 11-Denny Hamlin: Well, we know that the 11 team did not put water in the gas tank to give Denny Hamlin an advantage.
10. (10) 1-Martin Truex Jr: There are few things worse than wrecking out of a race in which you had the dominant car.
11. (11) 31-Jeff Burton: Jeff Burton quietly sneaks in a top five finish at Atlanta.
12. (12) 17-Matt Kenseth: No, Carl Edwards did not fake as if he was going to throw Matt Kenseth out of the truck during driver introductions.
13. (14) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr: Wow, is there anything else that could possibly go wrong for Dale Earnhardt Jr and the 8 team?
14. (13) 12-Ryan Newman: Another miserable finish for Ryan Newman thanks to another engine failure.
15. (NR) 25-Casey Mears: Casey Mears nearly won the fall race at Texas two years ago while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
16. (NR) 9-Kasey Kahne: That was the best Kasey Kahne has performed all year, other than Bristol.
Past Suite 16 Rankings
UAW Daimler Chrysler 400, at Las Vegas
Goody's Orange Cool 500, at Martinsville
Subway Fresh Fit 500, at Phoenix
Crown Royal/Jim Stewart 400, at Richmond
Dodge Avenger 500, at Darlington
Citizens Bank 400, at Michigan
Toyota Save Mart 350, at Infineon
LENOX Industrial Tools 300, at New Hampshire
USG Sheetrock 400, at Chicagoland
All-State 400, at Indianapolis
Centurion Boats At The Glen, Watkins Glen
3M Performance 400, at Michigan
Sharp Aquos 500, at California
Chevy Rock & Roll 400, at Richmond
Sylvania 300, at New Hampshire
Bank Of America 500, at Lowe's
