From the March, 2007 issue of Stock Car Insider

Johnson Earns Back to Back Win! - SCI March 19th Issue

Next stop on the Nextel Cup Schedule is Bristol Motor Speedway

Next week NASCAR heads to the fastest 1/2 mile track on the planet, Bristol Motor Speedway, for the Food City 500. The 2007 Food City 500 is a milestone for Bristol; it marks the 50th consecutive sellout dating back to 1982. More importantly, next week's race will feature the much awaited Car of Tomorrow (COT). After hearing about the COT for over a year now, fans are anxious to see what impact the new design will have on the race track.

One impact the COT will have became evident in the test sessions run at Bristol earlier in March. The COT is much slower. Only two drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, over a 3-day span were able to crack 122 mph. Qualifying speeds in years before usually topped 128mph. Slower speeds will leave us all questioning whether Bristol is still the fastest 1/2 mile around.

Thank goodness the popularity of races at Bristol is not based on speed. For the uninitiated, a Bristol race is like watching a cock fight. Throw 43 cars driven by fiery drivers into a 1/2 mile - high banked track, and watch the drama unfold. And typically, the drama spreads beyond the track (remember Jeff Gordon's pseudo assault on Matt Kenseth after Kenseth wrecked Gordon on the final lap last year?).

Of the current drivers who have raced more than 2 races at Bristol, Denny Hamlin has had the most success. In 2 starts, Hamlin has an average finish of 10th place. Of course, COT could change everything.

Other drivers to note:

Kevin Harvick - Average finish of 11th
Matt Kenseth - Average finish of 11th
Greg Biffle - Average finish of 11th
Jeff Gordon - Average finish of 12th

Next Week's Schedule:

Nextel Cup: @ Bristol Motor Speedway (all times EST)
03/23/07 - 03:45pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Food City 500 Qualifying
03/24/07 - 12:50pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Food City 500 Practice
03/25/07 - 02:00pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Food City 500

Busch Series: @ Bristol Motor Speedway
03/23/07 - 02:20pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Sharpie MINI 300 Practice
03/24/07 - 11:10am NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Sharpie MINI 300 Qualifying
03/24/07 - 03:00pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Sharpie MINI 300

Craftsman Truck Series off until March 31st at Martinsville Speedway

See complete 2007 NASCAR Schedule

Johnson Captures Consecutive Win at Atlanta!

It was a battle of the home improvement warehouse stores coming off of turn 2 with three to go when Lowe's finally pulled ahead for good to win the race. The trailing Home Depot got beat in its own backyard of Atlanta! The Home Depot corporate execs were crying in Atlanta while the Lowe's execs were passionately cheering in Mooresville, NC like college kids cheering for their school's basketball team in mid-March.

While the real battle for top warehouse rages on Wall-Street, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart put in on display every Sunday. Over the last 10 races extending back into 2006, Jimmie Johnson has an average finish of 6th. Tony Stewart's average over that same period is 10th. If we exclude the abysmal performances by both drivers at Daytona this year, their averages jump to 2nd and 7th respectively.

While it is clear both drivers and teams are two of the best in NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson's win at Atlanta, his second of the year, indicates his team has not lost its edge after winning the championship. The Lowe's #48 team is still in top form, and will most likely be competitors for the 2008 championship come November.

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Montoya Gets Best Cup Finish Ever at Atlanta

I found it comical watching Juan Pablo Montoya in the closing laps of the Kobalt Tools 500 yesterday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. There is no doubt that Juan desperately wanted to win his first race in NASCAR's top level. So much so that he found it necessary to coach seasoned Cup drivers Jeff Gordon and Robbie Gordon to back off.

In the closing laps, the Gordons were competing for the 'lucky dog' spot with Montoya stuck in the middle and racing in 4th position. Juan could be seen waving his hand out the window at both drivers as he rode in the high line. Of course neither Gordon could care less about Montoya's hand signals. Both were trying desperately to salvage a decent finish after suffering major setbacks earlier in the race.

Despite Juan's signaling of others around him to be cautious, he had no problem turning up the juice on the final run of the race. After a strong restart which carried Montoya past Dale Earnhardt Jr, Juan was set to make a run on Jimmie Johnson for 2nd place. The run was cut short as Montoya carried too far on the exit of turn 2 and scraped the wall with 10 laps remaining. The minor brush was enough to send Montoya back to 5th place where he finished the race.

There is no doubt that the Columbian born driver is a talent and is catching on quick in the world of NASCAR. It will be interested to see at what level Montoya is consistently competing come September.

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Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway Recap

There is no doubt the smaller 18 gallon fuel cell mandated by NASCAR for the 2007 Nextel Cup races in Atlanta played a huge factor in yesterday's race. The smaller cell meant more pit stops to cover the 500 mile race.

Just ask Jeff Gordon what affect more pit stops had on his outcome. After having what was one of the strongest if not the strongest car on the track at Atlanta, Gordon's crew had to contend with a broken piece of sheet metal every time they changed the right front tire in the pits. On Jeff's second to last pit stop, the sheet metal won and the #24 car found itself a lap down. Jeff was able to rebound and salvage a 12th place finish.

His Hendrick teammate, Jimmie Johnson, was seemingly immune to trouble at Atlanta. The reigning champion picked up his second win of the season by passing rival Tony Stewart with three laps to go. The win moved Johnson to 4th in points, 28 behind leader Mark Martin.

Other top drivers faired as follows:

After starting the season horribly at Daytona, Tony Stewart has clicked off 3 straight top 10's in a row. Atlanta was the first time this season that Stewart had a chance to win. The former champion simply did not have enough to hold off Johnson at the end and finished in 2nd place.

The darling of NASCAR, Kasey Kahne, is still struggling. After finishing in 39th place at Atlanta, Kahne's average finish is 30th. The #9 Dodge team finds itself a long way from the success it had last year.

Mr. Consistency, Mark Martin, finished in 10th place and posted his 4th top 10 of the 2007 season. The semi-retired driver sits in first place, 8 points in front of Jeff Gordon. Unfortunately, Mark's run will end next week at Bristol where he plans to watch the race from his home.

Juan Pablo Montoya is proving that he is a fast learner when it comes to oval track racing. The former F1 star finished in 8th place in Saturday's Busch race, and topped that with a 5th place finish in Sunday's Cup race.

See complete 2007 NASCAR Schedule