HAMPTON, Ga. — Tony Stewart can take it easy the next couple of weekends. Same for Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
The real action can be found further down the Sprint Cup standings.
With two races left until the Chase for the Championship, there’s quite a battle shaping up for those last couple of spots in the 12-driver playoff. So, excuse Matt Kenseth for seeming preoccupied. Cut Kasey Kahne a break if he’s not in a talkative mood. Even Greg Biffle, relatively secure with the eighth spot in the standings, is feeling a bit on edge.
“Certainly there’s a lot of pressure,” Biffle said Saturday, standing outside his hauler after practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I don’t think we can play it safe.”
Some of this will get sorted out tonight in the Pep Boys Auto 500, when NASCAR holds its first scheduled race entirely under the lights at the high-speed, 1.54-mile trioval south of Atlanta, a track that’s notoriously hard on tires and tends to separate the best drivers from the pretenders.
As usual, there are subplots all around. Carl Edwards is fifth and looking good for the Chase, but he was hobbling around the garage on crutches after breaking his right foot playing Frisbee.
He’ll be racing, of course, because this is no time to get out of the car.
“I hate to say it, but I probably won’t be doing back flips for six to eight months if I win,” quipped Edwards, referring to his signature celebration off the roof of his car.
His rivals couldn’t resist the chance to have a little fun.
“At least say you were playing rugby or football, or scaling a mountain or something. But playing Frisbee?” Biffle said, managing a smile in a stressful time.
In Saturday’s qualifying, Martin Truex Jr. won his second pole of the season with a lap of 184.149 mph.
Truex, 23rd in the Sprint Cup standings, is an outsider in the late-season competition for one of the Chase spots.
“I think the urgency is just that the year is coming to an end,” Truex said. “It’s been a tough year. We’ve had some great runs. We’ve worked really hard and really don’t have a lot to show for it. I sure would like to get to victory lane before the season is out.”
Harvick edges Earnhardt.
Kevin Harvick led most of the race and then passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. with two laps left to regain the lead and win the Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Harvick and Kyle Busch each went into the pits for gas and four tires with 14 laps remaining while Earnhardt and Brian Keselowski stayed on the track, gambling they had enough gas to finish the race.
Earnhardt and Keselowski had enough gas, but were still passed by Harvick and Busch, who finished second.
Skinner wins truck race
NEWTON, Iowa — Mike Skinner pulled away after a late restart to win the first Camping World Trucks Series race at Iowa Speedway.
Skinner, a two-time winner this year, was running away from the field when the yellow flag came out because of debris with seven laps to go. They restarted with four laps remaining and Skinner pulled away to win by 1.370 seconds.
Aric Almirola was second and Colin Braun finished third. Series leader Ron Hornaday Jr. was fourth.
NHRA qualifying is set
CLERMONT, Ind. — Larry Dixon (top fuel), Robert Hight (funny car), Mike Edwards (pro stock) and Hector Arana (pro stock motorcycle) maintained their No. 1 qualifying positions at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the final NHRA race of the regular season.
Following the event, the top 10 teams in each pro category will compete in the six-race Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.
The Associated Press
Today’s races
NASCAR SPRINT CUP Pep Boys Auto 500
Site: Hampton, Ga.
TV: ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (oval, 1.54 miles)
Race distance: 500.5 miles, 325 laps
Next race: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 on Saturday, Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va.
On the Net: www.nascar.com
Driver standings
1. Tony Stewart, 3,564 points
2. Jimmie Johnson, 3,344
3. Jeff Gordon, 3,310
4. Denny Hamlin, 3,141
5. Carl Edwards, 3,110
6. Kurt Busch, 3,103
7. Ryan Newman, 2,995
8. Greg Biffle, 2,986
9. Juan Pablo Montoya, 2,975
10. Mark Martin, 2,971
11. Kasey Kahne, 2,963
12. Matt Kenseth, 2,945
13. Kyle Busch, 2,911
14. Brian Vickers, 2,906
15. Clint Bowyer, 2,833
16. David Reutimann, 2,785
17. Marcos Ambrose, 2,639
18. Jeff Burton, 2,568
19. Joey Logano, 2,487
20. Casey Mears, 2,478
NHRA
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Site: Clermont, Ind.
TV: ESPN2, 10:30 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.
Track: O’Reilly Raceway Park
Next race: NHRA Carolinas Nationals on Sept. 18-20, zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C.
On the Net: www.nhra.com
