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NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

RACING & TESTING

Kurt Busch Wins Kobalt Tools 500

March 7, 2010

HAMPTON, Ga. (March 7, 2010) — Kurt Busch won two races Sunday: the Kobalt Tools 500 and the Carl Edwards 25.

In a race that went 16 laps—nearly 25 miles—past its scheduled distance, after Edwards retaliated against Brad Keselowski for an incident earlier in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch took advantage of a strong restart to grab the lead during the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag restart and crossed the finish line .482 seconds ahead of runner-up Matt Kenseth.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who was closing in on Busch near the end of the regulation 325 laps, finished third but lost his chance to battle for the victory when Edwards hit Keselowski’s No. 12 Dodge on the frontstretch and sent it flying on Lap 323.

Keselowski’s car landed on its roof in the tri-oval, righted itself and slid into the Turn 1 wall. After extensive clean-up, NASCAR restarted the race on Lap 332—without Edwards, who was black-flagged on Lap 326—with Busch assuming the lead from Clint Bowyer, who had taken the point on a two-tire pit stop under caution on Lap 324.

Before Busch could take the white flag, however, a seven-car pileup in Turn 3 caused the 11th caution of the race and set up the second try at the green-white-checkered.

Edwards’ aggression toward Keselowski was payback for a Lap 40 wreck in Turn 2, where Edwards felt Keselowski didn’t give him enough room.

“Brad knows the deal between him and I,” said Edwards, who returned to the track on Lap 191 after losing 150 laps in the garage. “The scary part was that his car went airborne, which was not at all what I expected.

“At the end of the day, we come out to race, and people got to have respect for one another. I have a lot of respect for people’s safety, and I wish that wouldn’t have gone like it did, but I’m glad he’s OK. We’ll just go on and race some more, and maybe him and I won’t have any more incidents together—that’d be the best thing.”

The wreck, with Keselowski running sixth at the time, was eerily similar to a collision involving the two drivers last April at Talladega, where Keselowski held his line at the bottom of the track and won the race after Edwards No. 99 Ford flew into the catch fence, injuring eight spectators.

“He cut down on me on a restart, and I lifted (off the accelerator), and I couldn’t lift fast enough for him,” Keselowski said of the Lap 40 wreck. “I lifted for him to let him in, but I was there. I don’t know what more you could do.

“I apologized to him, but there’s nothing I could do in that situation, and to come back and just intentionally wreck someone—that’s not cool. It could have killed somebody in the grandstands. I know that it’s a little ironic that it’s got me saying that, but at least I didn’t do it intentionally when it happened.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to it. They have the ball. If they’re going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we will hurt someone, either in the cars or in the grandstand.”

Busch claimed the 21st victory of his career and his first with crew chief Steve Addington, who joined Penske Racing during the offseason after guiding Busch’s brother, Kyle, to 12 victories in 2008 and 2009 with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“With Steve Addington, all of his new ideas, I never knew how we could mesh them together and how soon we were able to do it,” Busch said. “Even on those restarts at the end, I just felt like we had the car to beat.”

Fourth-place finisher Kasey Kahne led the most laps (144), but his car tightened at the end of the race. Paul Menard ran fifth and AJ Allmendinger sixth, giving Richard Petty Motorsports a 4-5-6 finish, the organization’s best result since announcing a switch from Dodge to Ford late last year.

Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and Scott Speed completed the top 10.

Notes: Dale Earnhardt Jr. regained two lost laps during the last two cautions and finished 15th. He’s 13th in the Cup standings, seven points out of 12th, the last Chase-eligible position. … Harvick retained the points lead by 26 over Kenseth and 59 over Biffle.

QUALIFICATIONS

Time Trial Results

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, March 05, 2010 @ 07:33 PM Eastern

Track Qualifying Record: Geoff Bodine 11/16/97

Driver Date Time Speed

KOBALT TOOLS 500

28.074 197.478

1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 28.761 192.761 0.000 0.000

2 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota 28.833 192.280 0.072 0.072

3 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 28.859 192.106 0.098 0.026

4 5 Mark Martin Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 28.903 191.814 0.142 0.044

5 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet 28.909 191.774 0.148 0.006

6 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford 28.922 191.688 0.161 0.013

7 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevrolet 28.943 191.549 0.182 0.021

8 19 Elliott Sadler Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 28.960 191.436 0.199 0.017

9 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 28.998 191.186 0.237 0.038

10 99 Carl Edwards Scotts Ford 29.013 191.087 0.252 0.015

11 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 29.018 191.054 0.257 0.005

12 47 Marcos Ambrose Lance/Tom's Toyota 29.036 190.935 0.275 0.018

13 16 Greg Biffle U.S. Census Ford 29.049 190.850 0.288 0.013

14 17 Matt Kenseth Valvoline Ford 29.058 190.791 0.297 0.009

15 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot Chevrolet 29.073 190.692 0.312 0.015

16 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet 29.081 190.640 0.320 0.008

17 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 29.091 190.574 0.330 0.010

18 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet 29.093 190.561 0.332 0.002

19 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota 29.095 190.548 0.334 0.002

20 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 29.114 190.424 0.353 0.019

21 * 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet Chevrolet 29.138 190.267 0.377 0.024

22 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 29.145 190.221 0.384 0.007

23 98 Paul Menard CertainTeed/Menards Ford 29.181 189.987 0.420 0.036

24 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 29.192 189.915 0.431 0.011

25 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy/Insignia Ford 29.201 189.857 0.440 0.009

26 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 29.210 189.798 0.449 0.009

27 * 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota 29.242 189.590 0.481 0.032

28 12 Brad Keselowski Mopar/FLO TV Dodge Dodge 29.245 189.571 0.484 0.003

29 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 29.304 189.189 0.543 0.059

30 * 36 Mike Bliss Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet 29.311 189.144 0.550 0.007

31 * 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 29.316 189.112 0.555 0.005

32 * 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 29.321 189.079 0.560 0.005

33 * 87 Joe Nemechek FrontRowJoe.com Toyota 29.324 189.060 0.563 0.003

34 * 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 29.330 189.021 0.569 0.006

35 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 29.331 189.015 0.570 0.001

36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 29.338 188.970 0.577 0.007

37 * 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota 29.371 188.758 0.610 0.033

38 38 David Gilliland Charter Air Transport/Taco Bell Ford 29.436 188.341 0.675 0.065

39 * 09 Aric Almirola Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 29.479 188.066 0.718 0.043

40 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 29.496 187.958 0.735 0.017

41 * 90 Casey Mears Keyed-Up Motorsports Chevrolet 29.540 187.678 0.779 0.044

42 7 Robby Gordon Warner Music Nashville/Blake Shelton Toyota 29.742 186.403 0.981 0.202

43 * 46 Terry Cook # Whitney Motorsports Dodge 29.787 186.121 1.026 0.045

44 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford 29.898 185.430 1.137 0.111 OP

45 37 Kevin Conway # Extenze Ford 29.998 184.812 1.237 0.100 OP

46 26 Boris Said Sacred Power/Southern Pride Trucking Ford 30.309 182.916 1.548 0.311 OP

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed -Fastest -Next

*Required

RACING REPORTS

NASCAR Race Number 4

Unofficial Race Results for the Kobalt Tools 500 - Sunday, March 7, 2010

Atlanta Motor Speedway - Hampton, GA - 1.54 Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 341 Laps - 525.14 Miles - Purse: $4,965,089

Leader

1 11 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 341 190 5 133.3 $176,498 Running 6 129

2 14 17 Matt Kenseth Valvoline Ford 341 170 107.9 $170,151 Running

3 3 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 341 170 5 118.0 $149,306 Running 1 3

4 6 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford 341 170 10 138.1 $146,890 Running 8 144

5 23 98 Paul Menard CertainTeed/Menards Ford 341 160 5 88.7 $100,750 Running 1 1

6 25 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy/Insignia Ford 341 150 99.9 $120,926 Running

7 26 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 341 146 89.6 $117,623 Running

8 13 16 Greg Biffle U.S. Census Ford 341 142 94.3 $88,525 Running

9 35 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 341 138 66.7 $127,776 Running

10 32 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 341 134 71.2 $97,398 Running

11 12 47 Marcos Ambrose Lance/Tom's Toyota 341 130 84.9 $106,973 Running

12 16 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet 341 127 103.6 $128,178 Running

13 15 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot Chevrolet 341 124 99.3 $114,198 Running

14 38 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 341 121 53.0 $84,925 Running

15 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 341 118 88.0 $92,425 Running

16 34 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 341 120 5 56.3 $73,575 Running 1 1

17 7 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevrolet 341 112 67.3 $103,604 Running

18 5 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet 341 109 97.2 $119,426 Running

19 8 19 Elliott Sadler Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 341 111 5 60.4 $83,450 Running 1 1

20 22 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 341 108 5 75.1 $111,815 Running 1 1

21 20 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 341 105 5 106.4 $91,200 Running 5 32

22 21 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet Chevrolet 341 97 54.0 $74,575 Running

23 18 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet 341 99 5 64.3 $83,225 Running 1 4

24 30 36 Mike Bliss Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet 341 96 5 49.4 $70,775 Running 1 1

25 2 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota 341 93 5 72.8 $125,556 Running 3 22

26 37 38 David Gilliland Charter Air Transport/Taco Bell Ford 341 90 5 54.6 $92,710 Running 1 1

27 19 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota 341 82 79.9 $79,275 Running

28 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 340 79 62.7 $81,025 Running

29 24 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 340 76 63.1 $107,479 Running

30 40 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford 339 73 39.3 $74,200 Running

31 41 37 Kevin Conway # Extenze Ford 334 70 30.5 $88,698 Running

32 42 26 Boris Said Sacred Power/Southern Pride Trucking Ford 333 67 31.5 $77,525 Running

33 4 5 Mark Martin Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 331 64 58.5 $90,650 Accident

34 31 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 329 61 33.2 $69,375 Running

35 29 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 323 58 43.0 $105,580 Running

36 28 12 Brad Keselowski Mopar/FLO TV Dodge Dodge 322 55 76.5 $96,065 Accident

37 17 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 211 52 53.1 $77,270 Running

38 33 87 Joe Nemechek FrontRowJoe.com Toyota 175 54 5 37.6 $69,235 Clutch 1 1

39 10 99 Carl Edwards Scotts Ford 170 46 53.0 $105,023 Parked

40 9 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 167 43 63.9 $99,566 Overheating

41 27 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota 48 40 31.9 $69,115 Brakes

42 43 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota 37 37 28.4 $69,065 Transmission

43 39 7 Robby Gordon Warner Music Nashville/Blake Shelton Toyota 3 34 25.3 $80,702 Accident

Before an estimated crowd of 85,000, Kurt Busch won the Kobalt Tools 500, his 21st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. To start the race, the following

cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 16 (backup car); Nos. 14, 39 (engine change).

Race Comments:

Failed to Qualify: (3) 09 Aric Almirola, 90 Casey Mears, 46 Terry Cook #.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 59 Mins, 59 Secs. Average Speed: Margin of Victory:

11 for 53 laps: Laps: 5-8 (#7 accident turn 1 [None]); 36-39 (Debris [13]); 41-43 (#12, 20, 99 accident 1 [33]); 80-83 (Debris [33]); 116-119 (#5 spun

frontstretch [71]); 159-164 (#20 accident turn 2 [78]); 226-229 (Debris [1]); 289-292 (Debris [38]); 294-298 (#13, 19 accident frontstretch [5]); 324-331 (#12,

99 accident frontstretch [11]); 333-339 (#1, 5, 11, 18, 33, 38, 56 accident turn 4 [39]).

Caution Flags:

31 among 13 drivers: Kyle Busch 1-13; K. Kahne 14-35; Kyle Busch 36; J. Nemechek 37; K. Kahne 38-39; Kyle Busch 40-47; K. Kahne 48-79; D. Hamlin

80; E. Sadler 81; Kurt Busch 82-116; D. Gilliland 117; Kurt Busch 118-147; D. Hamlin 148-159; M. Bliss 160; D. Hamlin 161-171; J. Montoya 172-174; K.

Kahne 175-211; D. Hamlin 212-213; J. Burton 214; B. Elliott 215; K. Kahne 216-225; Kurt Busch 226; K. Kahne 227-229; Kurt Busch 230-243; K. Kahne

244-276; P. Menard 277; D. Hamlin 278-283; K. Kahne 284-288; Kurt Busch 289-327; C. Bowyer 328-331; Kurt Busch 332-341.

Lead Changes:

(1) K. Harvick 644;(2) M. Kenseth 618;(3) G. Biffle 585;(4) J. Johnson 570;(5) C. Bowyer 558;(6) J. Burton 538;(7) M. Martin 521;(8) T. Stewart 510;(9) P.

Menard 505;(10) Kurt Busch 502;(11) J. Gordon 482;(12) S. Speed 482.

Top 12 Driver Points:

131.294 MPH 0.482 Seconds

Next Race: Mar. 21, 2010 - Bristol Motor Speedway

Coors Light Pole Award: Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 192.761 mph DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race: Juan Pablo Montoya, #42 crew chief Brian Pattie

Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap: Kyle Busch, #18 187.215 mph, Lap 2 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Kasey Kahne, #9

Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race: Kurt Busch, #2 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Paul Menard, #98 (R. Labbe, 0.140 sec)

O’Reilly Auto Parts Position Improvement Award: Kevin Harvick, #29 26 places Raybestos Rookie of the Race: Kevin Conway, #37

Sunoco Diamond Performance: Kurt Busch, #2 Tissot Pit Road Precision: Martin Truex Jr, #56 349.623 seconds

WIX Filters Lap Leader: Kasey Kahne, #9 144 Laps

NEWS & NOTES

SCHEDULES

2010 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
Date       Site
Feb. 6     Daytona International Speedway (Budweiser Shootout At Daytona *)
Feb. 14   Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 21   Auto Club Speedway
Feb. 28   Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 7  Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 21 Bristol Motor Speedway
March 28 Martinsville Speedway
April 10   Phoenix International Raceway
April 18   Texas Motor Speedway
April 25   Talladega Superspeedway
May 1     Richmond International Raceway
May 8     Darlington Raceway
May 16   Dover International Speedway
May 22   Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race *)
May 30   Lowe’s Motor Speedway
June 6    Pocono Raceway
June 13   Michigan International Speedway
June 20   Infineon Raceway
June 27   New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 3      Daytona International Speedway
July 10    Chicagoland Speedway
July 25    Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug. 1     Pocono Raceway
Aug. 8     Watkins Glen International
Aug. 15   Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 21   Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 5   Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 11  Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 19  New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 26  Dover International Speedway
Oct. 3     Kansas Speedway
Oct. 10   Auto Club Speedway
Oct. 16   Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Oct. 24   Martinsville Speedway
Oct. 31   Talladega Superspeedway
Nov. 7    Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 14   Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 21   Homestead-Miami Speedway
* – Denotes non-point event.