DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Evernham Team Takes Wild-Card Spot with Atlanta Win

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne has joined an elite group of drivers as a result of his victory last Monday in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Kahne's second career victory earned the Ray Evernham-owned No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team a spot in NASCAR's Winner's Circle Program, if Kahne enters, qualifies and competes in the remaining 32 races on the schedule this season beginning with Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Kahne joins the Winner's Circle Program as a "wild card," leaving one more "wild card" slot open to an additional race winner this season that is not already in the program.

The Winner's Circle Program, which starts each season with the top 10 winning drivers from the previous season, is designed to reward teams who have typified the best in NASCAR racing. Two "wild card" slots are available each year, making a total of 12 maximum spots open for the program in any season.

Teams are rewarded through prize money posted by each track running a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event. A total of $130,000 is posted by each track for the Winner's Circle participants for each of the races.

*from kaseykahne.com