Unofficial Race Results
Bass Pro Shops 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
October 29, 2006
Race 33 of 36


Fin St Car Driver Make Sponsor Pts/Bonus Laps Status

1 11 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 190/10 325 Running
2 3 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 175/5 325 Running
3 6 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 170/5 325 Running
4 1 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 160/0 325 Running
5 13 #16 Greg Biffle Ford National Guard 155/0 325 Running
6 9 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont/Nicorette 155/5 325 Running
7 12 #99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 151/5 325 Running
8 4 #11 Denny Hamlin * Chevrolet FedExCup 142/0 325 Running
9 31 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 143/5 325 Running
10 29 #7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Jim Beam 134/0 325 Running
11 23 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 130/0 325 Running
12 20 #43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cascadian Farm/Cheerios 127/0 324 Running
13 5 #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 124/0 323 Running
14 16 #2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 121/0 323 Running
15 25 #38 David Gilliland Ford M&M's 118/0 323 Running
16 30 #18 J.J. Yeley * Chevrolet GSK/Astellas VESIcare 115/0 323 Running
17 37 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 112/0 323 Running
18 26 #22 Dave Blaney Dodge Caterpillar 109/0 323 Running
19 15 #25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC 106/0 323 Running
20 35 #14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Ginn Clubs & Resorts 103/0 322 Running
21 34 #19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 100/0 322 Running
22 19 #10 Scott Riggs Dodge Valvoline/Stanley Tools 97/0 322 Running
23 28 #66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Best Buy 94/0 322 Running
24 32 #21 Ken Schrader Ford Little Debbie 91/0 322 Running
25 18 #07 Clint Bowyer * Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 88/0 322 Running
26 41 #49 Mike Bliss Dodge WhatsOnline.com 85/0 321 Running
27 10 #5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg's 82/0 321 Running
28 14 #42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline 79/0 321 Running
29 24 #41 Reed Sorenson * Dodge Target 76/0 321 Running
30 17 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge Mobil 1 73/0 321 Running
31 2 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Reese's 75/5 321 Running
32 38 #32 Travis Kvapil Chevrolet Tide-Downy 67/0 320 Running
33 39 #55 Michael Waltrip Dodge NAPA Auto Parts 64/0 319 Running
34 27 #96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 61/0 319 Running
35 43 #178 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 58/0 319 Running
36 7 #6 Mark Martin Ford AAA 55/0 309 Out of Race
37 21 #1 Martin Truex Jr. * Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker 52/0 305 Running
38 8 #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge McDonald's / Dodge Dealers 49/0 255 Out of Race
39 33 #40 David Stremme * Dodge Coors Light 46/0 246 Out of Race
40 22 #26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 43/0 244 Running
41 36 #37 Bill Elliott Dodge Melling/Spring Mountain Farms 40/0 146 Out of Race
42 40 #4 Todd Bodine Chevrolet Hefty/Lucas Oil Products 37/0 144 Out of Race
43 42 #61 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet Oak Gloves/Smokey Bones 34/0 29 Out of Race


* Denotes Rookie

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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NASCAR.COM
October 29, 2006
06:39 PM EST (23:39 GMT)

Lap 325 -- CHECKERED FLAG: Tony Stewart wins the Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta.

Lap 324 -- WHITE FLAG: Clint Bowyer is in the wall but no caution.

Lap 322 -- Tony Stewart's lead is 1.092 seconds with two laps remaining.

Lap 320 -- Mike Bliss is smoking heavily around the track and is black-flagged.

Lap 318 -- Jimmie Johnson gets by Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second. Meanwhile, Clint Bowyer is off the pace and smoking.

Lap 314 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart goes by Dale Earnhardt Jr. around Turn 4 as Jimmie Johnson tries to pass Carl Edwards for third.

Lap 314 -- GREEN FLAG: Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets the race going again.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Tony Stewart
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Matt Kenseth

Lap 309 -- YELLOW FLAG: Big wreck in Turn 2, collecting several cars along with Chaser Mark Martin. Kenny Wallace got on the apron, everyone slowed down and hit each other.
Cars involved
• Mark Martin
• Dale Jarrett
• Sterling Marlin
• Casey Mears
• Kenny Wallace
• Jeff Green

Lap 309 -- GREEN FLAG: Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the field to green.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Carl Edwards
3. Tony Stewart
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Matt Kenseth

Lap 305 -- Tony Stewart dives onto pit road at the last second. Everyone follows except Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Tony Stewart wanted to be safe than sorry and gets four
• Matt Kenseth is off third and was coming no matter what
• Jimmie Johnson is off second
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he didn't feel like he needed to pit
• Mark Martin taps Clint Bowyer as they get on pit road
• Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards take two tires

Lap 304 -- YELLOW FLAG: Martin Truex Jr. smacks the wall and has damage to his right side because of a wheel bearing. Truex was running in the top 10 and had been all day.

Lap 296 -- Kevin Harvick gets loose just after the restart and gets swallowed by the field. Harvick runs 30th, four laps down.

Lap 295 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart leads the field to green.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Jeff Gordon

Lap 291 -- The leaders are on pit road for what will likely be their final stops:
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. is getting a round of wedge in the right-rear in 13.3
• Tony Stewart is off in 14.3 seconds and first
• Robby Gordon gets the free pass

Lap 290 -- YELLOW FLAG: Debris is on the backstretch.

Lap 288 -- Kevin Harvick is on pit road to get four tires for what will be his final pit stop.

Lap 281 -- Jeff Burton is on pit road to change tires. He slapped the wall and put a cut in his right-sides. He is now running 17th, the first car two laps down.

Lap 260 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart goes around Jimmie Johnson to take the top spot.

Lap 254 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson gets the race going again.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Tony Stewart
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Greg Biffle

Lap 252 -- Kasey Kahne and David Stremme are in the garage and have words with each other about the accident. Kahne took the blame over his radio.

Lap 248 -- YELLOW FLAG: Kasey Kahne gets into David Stremme and both slam into the wall with major damage.

Lap 247 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson leads the field to green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Tony Stewart
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Greg Biffle

Lap 245 -- The leaders are in for their stops:
• Kasey Kahne has a long stop and is out in 18.1 seconds
• Jimmie Johnson is off in 13.9 seconds and wins the race off
• Matt Kenseth is off second
• Casey Mears gets the free pass

Lap 244 -- YELLOW FLAG: Debris is on the track after Ryan Newman smacks the wall.

Lap 238 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jimmie Johnson finally catches Tony Stewart and goes by him as they work through lapped traffic.

Lap 232 -- Jimmie Johnson is within a second of leader Tony Stewart and continues to gain ground.

Lap 218 -- Jimmie Johnson moves around Matt Kenseth to take second position behind Tony Stewart.

Lap 209 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fallen from second to fourth and is passed by Kurt Busch, who runs two laps down. Earnhardt is very unhappy with his car after being strong early in runs all day.

Lap 201 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart leads the field to green.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Kasey Kahne

Lap 197 -- The leaders are on pit road:
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants his car to work better getting in and gets wedge and a track-bar adjustment
• Tony Stewart is out in 14.1 seconds with four and fuel and wins the race off pit road
• Matt Kenseth gets no changes because he thinks the car will be good when the sun goes down
• Joe Nemechek gets the free pass

Lap 196 -- YELLOW FLAG: Debris is in Turn 1.

Lap 187 -- Tony Stewart races side-by-side with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead, but Earnhardt maintains the top spot.

Lap 178 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. drives around Tony Stewart to take the point.

Lap 177 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart gets the race going again.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Jeff Burton
5. Matt Kenseth

Lap 175 -- Jeff Gordon pits five total times and restarts in 14th at the tail of the longest line (pitting early and speeding)

Lap 174 -- Jeff Gordon is in for his fourth pit stop as the team tries to repair the sheet-metal damage to their satisfaction.

Lap 170 -- Everyone hits pit road:
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets four tires and gas in 13.9 seconds
• Tony Stewart is out in 15.1 and first off pit road
• Matt Kenseth has a 14.6-second stop

Lap 169 -- YELLOW FLAG: Jeff Gordon spins in the turn after Jamie McMurray slammed into the rear of Gordon's car, forcing the caution. Gordon has some cosmetic damage, while McMurray's hood is crunched. Gordon heads to get repairs on pit road. McMurray goes behind the garage with reports that sun was in his eyes.

Lap 165 -- Seven of the top 10 are Chase drivers. Only Denny Hamlin (17th), Kevin Harvick (21st) and Kyle Busch (25th) are not in the top 10.

Lap 157 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart takes the lead as Jeff Gordon gets squeezed into the wall while trying to get around the lapped car of Joe Nemechek. The right-front fender is knocked in slightly.

Lap 146 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Gordon is back out front after Carl Edwards makes his stop and completes the cycle.
1. Jeff Gordon
2. Tony Stewart
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Jeff Burton

Lap 145 -- LEAD CHANGE: Carl Edwards gets the lead when Jeff Gordon makes his pit. Tony Stewart and Mark Martin are also in for their stops.

Lap 144 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives up third place to make some changes and get four new tires. Jeff Burton is also on pit road.

Lap 143 -- Kasey Kahne is on pit road and asks for changes. He says he's not risking anything this early in the race in terms of aggressive driving.

Lap 141 -- Clint Bowyer gives up his top-10 position to make his stop. Jimmie Johnson is also on pit road for a chassis adjustment in 14.6 seconds.

Lap 138 -- Denny Hamlin goes down a lap and is running 15th.

Lap 137 -- Kevin Harvick is on pit road to cure a tight racecar. He gets four tires and an air-pressure adjustment.

Lap 134 -- Kyle Busch is in and battling a very loose racecar. Jamie McMurray is also on pit road.

Lap 133 -- Matt Kenseth is on pit road for an early stop. His concern was tires so he did not burn them up too badly. His stop is 17.5 seconds because of an air hose that was in the way.

Lap 126 -- Bobby Labonte makes several stops to try and cure an overheating problem. He was running on the lead lap before the problem and is now running 41st.

Lap 125 -- Tony Stewart gets around Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second place.

Lap 114 -- LEAD CHANGE: Side-by-side racing results in Jeff Gordon making the inside stick and take the lead once again.

Lap 110 -- LEAD CHANGE: The change up front didn't last long, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. does the slide job and gets back around Jeff Gordon.

Lap 109 -- LEAD CHANGE: After running him down and racing side-by-side, Jeff Gordon takes the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and squeezes in front.

Lap 86 -- GREEN FLAG: Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the field to green.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Tony Stewart
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 82 -- The leaders head to pit road:
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes several adjustments and is out in 14.2 seconds
• Tony Stewart makes a 14.6-second stop
• Jeff Gordon is off third after a 14.1-second stop
• Clint Bowyer and Casey Mears have quick stops and crack the top-10
• Matt Kenseth has a slow stop because he slid through his box and had to back up. Denny Hamlin, behind him, does the same.

Lap 81 -- YELLOW FLAG: Debris is in Turn 2.

Lap 76 -- After leading early in the race, Kevin Harvick is running 18th, one lap down. He is chasing Joe Nemechek to be in position for the free pass in case of a caution. He says his car is "wrecking loose."

Lap 64 -- Jeff Gordon gets around Tony Stewart for second place.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Tony Stewart
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 61 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is on a different pit cycle because of his unscheduled stop, inherits the lead when Joe Nemechek finally makes his stop. Second-place Tony Stewart is 9.392 seconds back.

Lap 58 -- LEAD CHANGE: Joe Nemechek inherits the lead when Jimmie Johnson comes in and slides to a stop on his worn tires. Jeff Burton is also in for a stop.


Lap 57 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jimmie Johnson inherits the lead when Jeff Gordon comes to pit road. Denny Hamlin is also in his pits for a chassis adjustment and four tires.

Lap 56 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart gives the lead to Jeff Gordon. Stewart makes his pit stop and gets an air-pressure adjustment.

Lap 55 -- Kevin Harvick is in to fix a tight racecar. He barely misses Travis Kvapil on pit road. Mark Martin is also in to try and tighten his car.

Lap 50 -- Ryan Newman is on pit road for his stop. Matt Kenseth follows him after falling back to 10th.

Lap 49 -- Kasey Kahne is on pit road for an early pit stop. The car is loose, and the crew pulls a spring rubber from the right-rear. He had felt a vibration late in his run. Turns out his tire was worn beyond the chords.

Lap 46 -- Martin Truex Jr. is running fourth and catching the leaders. He started 21st. He said this car is the best he has had and feels he has a chance to win the race.

Lap 30 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on pit road for an unscheduled stop. He is reporting a bad vibration. He thought it was a left-rear tire going down. The pit stop forces him to lose a lap.

Lap 27 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart runs down Dale Earnhardt Jr. and goes around him with ease.

Lap 10 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. catches Kevin Harvick and goes by him on the high side to take the top spot.

Lap 7 -- GREEN FLAG: Kevin Harvick gets the race going again.
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Denny Hamlin

Lap 5 -- None of the leaders pit, but most of the drivers from 28th on back come in for fuel and tires.

Lap 4 -- YELLOW FLAG: Kyle Busch loses it in Turn 3 in the high groove and spins around. He makes slight contact with Brian Vickers as he slides down the track. Busch was running eighth.

Lap 1 -- Kevin Harvick motors on the outside line to get around Matt Kenseth and lead the first lap.

3:08 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick get the Bass Pro Shops 500 under way.

3:04 p.m. -- Robby Gordon, Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott will be dropping to the back of the field.

3:01 p.m. -- Cars are on the track.


2:59 p.m. -- Dave Burns rides around Atlanta with six-time AMS winner Bobby Labonte in this week's "Wally's World."

2:58 p.m. -- Bass Pro Shops conservationists representatives, led by Bill Dance, give the command: "Gentlemen, start your engines!"

2:51 p.m. -- DecembeRadio performs the national anthem.

2:50 p.m. -- Invocation by Bill Brannon, chaplain of AMS.

2:47 p.m. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's not sure how he plans to be more aggressive, but that after Martinsville's mistake, he has to race really hard to make up the hole he's in.

2:44 p.m. -- Kasey Kahne is driving the same car that has taken him to five of his six victories this season. His comment: "It's a perfect day for racing."

2:41 p.m. -- Jeff Burton says the title hunt is a four-race championship and that anybody has a chance at the title.

2:36 p.m. -- Kevin Harvick says too much is made of him continuing to drive the Busch Series and jeopardizing his Cup title chances. He says he made commitments early in the season and plans to stick to them.

2:34 p.m. -- Jimmie Johnson says his team is the same as being in the fourth quarter and down by a field goal. And he's got a shot.

2:30 p.m. -- NBC is on the air with it's pre-race coverage from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

12:55 p.m. -- Unlike qualifying on Friday, it's clear, blue skies over Atlanta. The Bass Pro Shops 500 is less than two hours away

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS Wins Bass Pro Shops 500
Team Chevy Is One, Two, Three With Jimmie Johnson And Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Finishing 2nd & 3rd
GM Racing Communications, Press Release


DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS, FINISHED 3RD, AND JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS, FINISHED 2ND:

DALE EARNHARDT JR.:

ON THE RACE:

"We had a real good car at the start of the race. It was really fast on new tires and really slow on old tires. But we could get a big enough lead there that at the end of the run we could kind of siphon back to third and be okay once the caution came out and the pit stops were ready to be made.
"We tried to adjust on the car in the middle of the race to try to fix the long run set-up and we took away the speed that the car had at the start of the run, but we were able to kind of maintain better. There at the end, Tony (Stewart) and the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) were just really, really good and we weren't quite as good. Me and Matt (Kenseth) had a great battle and me and him had really competitive cars with each other and that's where we kind of ended up."

WAS THE SUNSET A PROBLEM AT THE END OF THE DAY?

"Yeah, the sun sets down over in Turn 2 so it's kind of cool. Like at California it sets at the end of the straightaway, which is a mother."

JIMMIE JOHNSON:

ON THE RACE:

"It was a good race for us. We struggled at the beginning of the race. We ran decent on track position, but I wasn't a threat for the win. I ran with the No. 8 (Earnhardt Jr.,) and the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the No. 20 (Tony Stewart). We kept working on the car all day long. When the sun went down I think it helped me out a little bit and I became a little more competitive and was able to race with Tony and race him for the win. So it was a great night for us."

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOU MOOD RELATIVE TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP? ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC NOW BECAUSE YOU'RE CLOSER THAN YOU'VE BEEN THE LAST 2 YEARS?

"I'm certainly optimistic. I'm closer than I've eve been, number-wise, to the lead in the Chase. So I'm very excited about that. There is still a lot of racing left and the points are so close that you can't afford to have a problem or anything. So I'm excited. I'm optimistic. I'm looking forward to the tracks we have coming up. I think all three of them are good for us. We'll just race hard and see what happens."

DO YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A TREND WHERE ONE OR MORE OF THE MOST POPULAR DRIVERS IS GOING TO BE OUT OF THE CHASE?

DALE EARNHARDT JR: "Well, obviously you're not going to see the same 10 in the Chase every year. So that means somebody's got to sit out. Tony was in the Chase without much of a worry at one point in the season and then he had a couple of bad runs and it just took him out of the Chase. I was in that situation at one point. It's tough to get in the Chase. It's tough to get in there. It's unfortunate for Tony, but they're making the best of it. Obviously have the bragging rights with all the points and wins that they've gotten during the Chase races they love kind of making their points. So I'm sure they're having a good time with this."

JIMMIE JOHNSON: "I'll just add to that and say the sport is really tough and there are more than 10 teams that are capable of winning the championship. Last year Junior didn't make it and Jeff (Gordon) wasn't in it. This year it's Tony (Stewart). I think it says a lot for our sport and the competition that's out there. It's what we've all wanted is to have 15 or 20 cars that are capable of winning a race in the championship and we have it."

WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU SAW THE LEADERS DIVE ONTO PIT ROAD AND YOU WERE STUCK OUT THERE. HAD YOU DECIDED TO STAY OUT? WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE?

DALE EARNHARDT JR: "Well I was thinking surely we weren't going to pit. But everybody's looking like they were going to pit so I pulled way up the track trying to be like, 'Yo, everybody, no. Up here. Don't pit.' (laughter). And they just went on. And I wasn't in any position to go to pit road. I'd have tore the left front off the car if I had drove off the race track at that angle.
"So I was sitting there thinking I guess I'm going to have to do this by myself. I wish I had got tires. I wanted to get tires if the leaders had gotten tires. It was a long race and maybe I just, you know, the duration of the race kind of got to my decision-making process a little bit. I wasn't in any position to get to pit road. So I started thinking too, you know, during practice if you come in and make a change and go back out, you can run pretty close to what you ran on new tires for a lap or two.

"So I obviously wasn't as good as Tony or Jimmie and didn't think we would be able to hold them off and hadn't anticipated holding them off. I just wanted to at least finish fourth or better where I was when I was thinking about pitting in the first place."

YOU APPEARED TO MAKE A HARD LEFT TURN AND FOLLOW THE NO. 20 DOWN PIT ROAD. WERE YOU GOING TO DO WHAT THE NO. 20 DID, OR WERE YOU GOING TO COME IN ANYWAY?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: "I think we were all trying to look around and see who was going to pit and who wasn't going to pit. I got confused and thought the No. 31 was still on the lead lap so I saw the No. 8 and the No 31 up; Tony wasn't all the way committed to the bottom and I could see the guys behind me thinking and wondering what was going to go on. And then when I saw Tony hit pit road, the rest of the guys in my mirror behind me were moving in that direction as well. And I barely got on pit road. Luckily I didn't clip the end of the cone that's parked down there in the end. I almost hit that thing and I almost hit the back of the No. 20. So luckily I got on. I just about threw it away getting to pit road because it was such a last minute decision."

WHAT IS YOUR GUT TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: "I feel great about it. But I'm sure every team feels that way though. I'm sure Junior feels he's got a great shot. He's close, mathematically. Matt (Kenseth) is coming up to some good tracks. I think that everybody is in a good spot. I don't think anybody is really worried about not performing. It's just going to come down to luck and maybe who can outscore one another on the track."

YOU SEEM TO HAVE THREE SEASONS THIS YEAR WITH 17 TOP-10'S IN THE FIRST 21 RACES AND THEN YOU WON A BUNCH OF RACES WITHOUT A TOP FIVE AND THEN IN THE LAST FIVES WEEKS YOU'VE REALLY PICKED IT UP. WHAT'S BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TURNAROUND?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: "We typically are slow in August for whatever reason and this year we were able to win the Brickyard. I felt like we were more competitive in that month or two in the summer than in other years. I don't know why. Maybe it's just tracks that don't fit me, or the team. As we get into the final 10 races, these area all good tracks for me. That would have more to do with it than anything. We as a team, don't pick certain parts of the season to try to perform better. Obviously, if we can hold onto anything we want to save it for the final 10. But making the final 10 is a challenge all it's own. I think it's more about the tracks and our style than anything."

SHOULD THERE BE AN EXEMPTION FOR A GUY WHO IS DOING REALLY WELL BUT DIDN'T MAKE THE CHASE, BE ELEVATED TO THE CHASE? RIGHT NOW, TONY STEWART WOULD BE 2ND:

JIMMIE JOHNSON: "There's got to be a number. There's got to be an ending point. It's top 10. It's what it is. If you ask Tony, he wouldn't have been in a position to win the championship anyway - even on the old point system. I've been lucky enough to be in the Chase, so it's easy for me to sit here and say there should only be 10 cars. But I feel there's got to be a cutoff somewhere. I think 10 cars is more than fair and more than enough to give the fans a shot to watch a good Chase for the Championship. It's kind of how it is. If you're in 11th and didn't make the Chase, you wouldn't have been able to win the championship anyway. It stinks that you can't advance up to the top five. That argument has been battled for years. But it's just how it is." DALE EARNHARDT JR: "I have to agree. If those are the type of things that are going on, I'd have a hard time getting up and going to work on Sunday. If they was half-way through the Chase and they said oh hey, we're going to let this guy in and kick this guy out. Making the Chase is not only an opportunity to go for the championship, but it's an opportunity to stand on stage at the end of the season at the Waldorf Astoria and I think that's something that Kyle Busch is really looking forward to. To take that away from him or from anybody for that matter and hand it to someone else over a span of what they've done for five races would be ludicrous."

ON THE SUN SETTING, WAS IT A PROBLEM?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: "I think the glare was better in this race than what we have in the spring race with the sun's position. This was easier. In the spring race, it's not as bad as California as Junior pointed. The sun sets far enough around the corner that the billboards pick it up, but in California you're staring right at it."

DALE EARNHARDT JR: "I had a close call. The No. 24 blew the right front I guess going into Turn 1 or hit the wall or whatever. I saw it happen and we were on old tires so I just couldn't really just drive down the race track because I barely missed him and the guy behind me didn't see him. So it was like I pulled out and was going down the interstate and there was a parked car in front him and he ran right into the back of Jeff. It looked like a hell of a wreck but I guess Jeff was able to repair his car.

"It was Jaime McMurray who plowed right into the back of him. So that was a close call."

ON GOING TO TEXAS NEXT WEEK:

JIMMIE JOHNSON: "It's been a decent track for us. We've been learning some things on the 1.5-miles lately and have been a lot more competitive. So, I'm excited going there. Hopefully we can get up there and race for the win. But of the three tracks remaining, I guess I'm not really sure on Phoenix and Texas. But I feel really strong about Homestead. Coming into Martinsville and Atlanta, I felt like we were going to be competitive for the win. Going into Phoenix and Texas, I feel like we'll be competitive for a top five."

DALE EARNHARDT JR.: "I'm looking forward to going to Texas, obviously. We've had a lot of success there with wins. But if I could have a moment to point out an issue with that race track in the center of Turns 1 and 2, the tunnel that goes under the race track - the earth that goes over the top of the tunnel is eroded a little due to rain and compacted a little bit. And there's a huge massive bump up the track in Turn 1 and 2. And we'll never be able to run two and three wide through there as that bump gets worse every year. If they could repair that, that would be awesome. But it's a fun race track. It's starting to age a little bit. In Turns 3 and 4 you can run three wide move around a little bit and it's a lot of fun. But with the springs we're running in these cars now, you're basically forced to run at the bottom in Turns 1 and 2 with the bump you have."

ON GOING TO HOMESTEAD:

DALE EARNHARDT JR. "I don't know how many of you covered the test, but if I could have Martin's car (Truex Jr.), I'd be feeling pretty good about it. It was really fast. We just have to look at what they did. My car was okay, but his was really fast and very comfortable. I'd like to get up underneath his car and look around and see what he's got in there so I can compare it to what I have and we'll probably be able to do that. I ran okay in the test, but we need to do a little bit more work to be able to compete."

RACE WINNERS TONY STEWART AND GREG ZIPADELLI, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT MONTE CARLO SS

ON THE RACE: "I'm really happy. This is an important race for us with Home Depot's headquarters here in Atlanta and also Coca-Cola, so this is always a big weekend for us. Last night we had an event at Bob Nardelli's house (CEO of Home Depot) and a cookout for all the team guys. We were able to give him his 2005 Nextel Cup Series trophy that finally came in. So it's just been a big week. Obviously winning the IROC championship yesterday was huge. Even before that in Happy Hour, the car was really good. Zippy and I were talking about the lap times and how consistent they were. We were really optimistic. I told Bob Nardelli we had a top three car. It was just a matter of how the weather was going to be different today and how the track was going to change during the race.
"So when the green flag dropped today, the car drove exactly like it did at the end of Happy Hour yesterday. That's real uncommon. I was encouraged at that point that we had something good to work with. It was just a matter of fine-tuning all day. I don't think we ever made any big adjustments. We just kept making small adjustments all day and trying different combinations to find exactly what the car liked to do in long runs. We got up front early and held good track position all day. The guys had good pit stops. At the end, track position was going to be really huge because everybody was really fast at the end with the cool temperatures. I was really proud of my guys and of Zippy most of all for making the call to come in and get four tires. He let me know that we had lost six tenths of a second between our first lap and our 10th lap on our 10-lap run before the caution came out. We needed to come in and get tires. I just didn't know how many he was going to put on. He made an awesome call putting four tires on. The No. 99 car was the only on that beat us out and he took two. We got by him before the caution came out.

"That gave us a buffer between us and Jimmie (Johnson) that let me focus more on the No. 8 car. I pretty much knew all day where he was going to go on the restart so I knew he was going to give me the bottom and I got a really good run through Turns 1 and 2 and got underneath him on the backstretch and it was just a matter of making sure I could get clear of him before we got to Turn 3 because if he tucked down on the right rear, it was going to make us really loose. So I just tried to drive it in really hard for one lap and know that I was sacrificing the tires; but I just needed to clear him.

"Then it was just a matter of running our pace at that point and watching for the next couple of laps and Junior was still in second but we were pulling away. So it was just a matter of pacing ourselves. Being Atlanta, you can really hurt your tires early if you try to overrun them too soon. So it was just a matter of running the pace we needed to run to keep the interval that we had."

ON THE RACE:

ZIPPY: "Well like Tony said, with this being Home Depot's headquarters and with Bob and his family here it was a great weekend and a great win for us. And with our relationship with Bass Pro Shops, we couldn't ask for a better day. Everybody did a great job this weekend. This is the car that we won Kansas with. We brought it here and now we'll take it to Texas. It's been a good car. We unloaded and we were good. We didn't make a lot of changes all weekend. It was a fun weekend. The pressure was off because we unloaded and we were so good. The pit stops were awesome when they counted. We made some aggressive adjustments on the first stop because I wanted to see how the car would react. We had to put it all back and by the end of the night we were able to put it all back to just the way we were after the first stop when it was too free. It was a great car and a great job by Tony of keeping track of the tires and the tire-wear and that's what it took was protecting that track position. We stayed in the top three or four all day and staying in position and that's what we were able to do."

ON THE DEBRIS CAUTION FOR THE PIECE OF ROLL BAR PADDING

TONY STEWART: "Well, it's better than them throwing lead out, I guess. I guess at least if you hit it, it's not going to hurt anything. That's somebody that just needed a caution. That's not unheard of. There has been roll bar padding laying on race tracks for probably 50 years now. So that's a quick way to get a caution. It was on the race track and was a legitimate caution. It would just be nice to know who threw it out. How many laps were left?"

ZIPPY: "I think it was about 30 (laps) to go. We were all going to have to stop at 25 to go and take tires and fuel."

WHEN GORDON AND EARNHARDT JR. DIDN'T MAKE THE CHASE LAST YEAR, THEY USED THIS TIME TO GET READY FOR THIS YEAR. IS THAT YOUR APPROACH?

TONY STEWART: "We're strictly just trying to win races. We come out with a new car next year with the Impala SS and the flying brick next year with the Car of Tomorrow (laughter). So we've got two totally new cars to run next year. I can't believe I said that out loud. I was thinking it. That thing ought to be interesting. We've got two new cars anyway. The way technology changes, it would be lovely to say that what we're learning right now is stuff we'll be able to use right away next year, but it changes so fast that for us, it's just a matter of going out and winning races. We couldn't script this weekend better. It's been an awesome weekend for us."

IS THIS LIKE SUMMER VACATION?

TONY STEWART: "It's just that the nice thing is you don't have to worry about points. I didn't worry about anybody but ourselves. I'm sure Kenseth and Junior and those guys were thinking about where the other guys in the Chase were in relationship to them tonight. It just takes the pressure off of us and lets us go back to doing what we do best and that's just going out and trying to win races. So, at this point in the Chase, those guys are singling out who is closest to them and trying to figure out what they've got to do to go to Homestead and try to win the Cup. We don't have to worry about that. We're strictly just worried about what it took to win tonight and do a good job for Home Depot and Coke and Bass Pro."

ON SOMEONE'S CALCULATION THAT HE WOULD BE SECOND IN POINTS NOW IF HE WAS IN THE CHASE:

TONY STEWART: "But we aren't in the Chase, so it doesn't matter does it? It isn't any more frustrating because after Richmond was over, we just weren't in the Chase. The focus changed at that point. Please, do not start trying to turn and twist this thing and make it a media frenzy on would of's, could of's, should of's and all that. Leave it the way it is. It is what it is. Don't make a circus because of it. If we were in the Chase, we would not have been able to do what we did at Kansas City. Tonight would have been the same night but Kansas City might have turned out totally different because we would not have been able to take that chance. We wouldn't have gotten as many points probably.
"We just missed the Chase, guys. Once we missed the Chase in Richmond, that was it. The guys that are racing for the championship are racing for the championship. There is a lot of pressure on those guys. Sometimes it gets you off your game a little bit, sometimes it forces you to be a little more conservative and sometimes because of the pressure, you make mistakes. Those guys are in a totally different situation than we are. It is easier for us to just go out and try and win races. It is not frustrating at all to me that we have gotten more points than these guys. We are out there to win each race. Those guys are in a totally different situation. It is just two totally different scenarios right now."

ON NOT HAVING PRESSURE AND YOU RUNNING WELL VERSUS GUYS IN THE CHASE UNDER PRESSURE AND HAVING PROBLEMS:

TONY STEWART: "I can't speak for those guys obviously but I think we have been working really, really hard to get caught up to Richard Childress Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing in the things they have caught on to again this fall.
"A similar situation last year, minus RCR, we got kind of behind a little bit in the middle of the summer so Zippy and the engineering staff at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) did an awesome job. When we went to Homestead, we learned a lot, I think some of the things we learned there, we used here and we will use at Texas, Phoenix and obviously at Homestead. It is stuff we can use this year, but it is one of those things we just have to do our homework just like everybody else does. It shows you how important it is to find something.

"You look at RCR and where they were last year. About mid-point in the summer they really got on stride and really started running well. Not just one of the cars; but all three cars are good. They obviously found something that worked. It is like I talked about earlier. Technology in this sport is in a constant state of change. What is good right now might not be good in February. It is up to us, even as good as we were last fall and last summer, you can get behind very easily. Winning the championship helps you get behind because you think you are on top and you believe you are doing everything right. But everything goes through the cycle of technology and change, you have to fight really hard to stay up on what is going on."

ON LOOKING AT CHASE FROM WHERE THEY SIT:

ZIPPY - "You see Jimmie Johnson doing a great job rebounding from the issues he had earlier. You see a rookie Denny Hamlin and that team not as good as they would have wanted tonight, but doing a very good job to recover and get a top-10. They are obviously the underdogs but I think they have shown week in and week out that they can run up there and that is who I am rooting for. Other than that, it is kind of confusing to look around and see who is there one week and then who is not there the next week. I guess that is just the way it is this year. We have seen that in the past, it is going to come down to Homestead and that is going to be the interesting thing."

ON FAKING COMING DOWN PIT ROAD UNDER CAUTION LATE IN THE RACE:

TONY STEWART - "My plan was to come in, I just didn't want to show them until the last minute that I was coming in. We have been caught in situations where I have had to make a split second decision and most the time I made the wrong one being on the race track so, we knew we were able to set the tone for what everybody else was doing. If we caught somebody out, that was somebody that was going to be a wounded duck, on the restart after that. It paid off for us, I am not sure I really faked anybody out but, I would say Junior's strategy was to stay out no matter what we did. It almost caused Jimmie Johnson a penalty because he almost missed getting inside the cones. To a certain degree it paid off."

ON BEING EASIER TO CLIMB FENCE WITH WORKOUT REGIME HE IS UNDER:

TONY STEWART- "Didn't you see how short of time it took me to get up there? I thought I got up there pretty dang gone quick for a semi-fat kid, I am not as fat as I used to be. (David) Poole already put me on probation for the eating team. I have to be careful about what I do from here out, I could lose my membership and team status with Poole. On nights like to night, 500 miles is a long race and especially when the pace is fast as it is. We are running 29.5 seconds around here and that is pretty fast for a mile and a half track. To run that pace and run it all night, when I got out of the car, you saw how fast I got up there. I thought I got up there pretty quick. If you go stand underneath it, it isn't as easy of a climb as it looks. To do what we did, I feel like I feel good. Obviously adrenaline is a big factor in it too but on a night like tonight when you have everything go your way in front of your sponsors and some of your best friends, it is a nice night."

ON HAVING MORE FUN NOT BEING IN THE CHASE:

TONY STEWART- "As a team we knew it wasn't the end of the world. When it happened, we were obviously devastated; but when you look at the season we had and the adversity that we overcame, to just be in a position to where we could race to get in the Chase and stay in the Chase, that was a pretty big accomplishment for us. It didn't work out our way, it didn't work out for two of the biggest names in NASCAR last year. It is just part of the sport, it shows how competitive the series is and when we didn't get in, it wasn't the end of the world; we just switched our focus. We didn't have the goal of trying to win a championship anymore, so it was to do what we did tonight, which was go out and try to win races. It hasn't changed the focus and attitude of our team. The smiles on the faces of those guys showed that. We are happy because the plan we set out for the remaining 10 races, we are on schedule with. We won two races. Last year we didn't win any races when we were in the Chase.
"At least since the Chase has started, we have won two races. I think that is a good accomplishment for our team. We have won four races this year. I think we have a lot to be proud of."

ON HAVING A FAVORITE TO WIN THE TITLE:

TONY STEWART- "Honestly I don't even know what the points are after tonight. Like Zippy said, the No. 48 team is doing a great job. Jimmie and Chad are doing an awesome job. I am really proud of our teammate, Denny Hamlin. I don't know where everybody is right now. The thing that is exciting for me that I think there are seven teams that have never won a championship before and it really exciting to know that there is a good shot that one of these teams, that have never won one can get their first. I know what that meant to me, and I would be excited if one of those teams that has never won a championship won it. Not that I am rooting against the three teams and drivers that are in the Chase that have won a championship, but to see one of these guys get their first, that is something that would be really cool."

ON KNOWING IF YOU COULD PASS ANYBODY:

TONY STEWART- "No, not necessarily. Track position was very important. When Dale, Jr. went by us, on that one run, we had a hard time staying with him and up to that point, we had been a stronger car than he was. I think it was a situation where you had to be really patient and not overdrive the car at the front of the run, and get in a situation where you started building a lot of heat in the right front tire and getting the air pressure up. You kind of had to let guys go when they got in front of you like that. It wasn't a deal where you could just pull the pin and drive by guys. As fast as we were running tonight, it made the aero side of it even worse. I was so happy with our guys on our pit stops tonight. We only lost one position in the pits the whole day, it was one of those early stops Zippy was talking about. For us being able to maintain track position was huge. My car was best when it was out front in clean air it just really drove well. So having that track position was huge."

ON GETTING THE MONSTER TROPHY BACK TO COLUMBUS INDIANA:

"The plan has been set that as we speak, they are disassembling the trophy and put it in the cases and put it in the hauler. It will go back to Joe Gibbs Racing and be reassembled and leave it there on display until I built my new log home in Indiana. Then we will disassembly, transport and reassemble. A lot of work, but shoot, I would rather have lot work carrying something that cool around. That is a cool trophy. If you look around at all the trophies we get in the Nextel Cup Series, Bass Pro Shops has one to have some of the coolest trophies in the history of the sport."

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