Saturday, March 8 Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta, Georgia

Victory Lane celebrations for Matt Kenseth...

Kenseth Holds Harvick Off For Win
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Kyle Busch Dominates Race; Blows Tire With Less Than 30 To Go

HAMPTON, Ga. (March 8, 2008) -- Matt Kenseth may not have had the dominant car in Saturday's Nicorette 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but his No. 17 Ford was first to the finish line.

Benefitting from Kyle Busch's blown tire, which took the dominant car out of contention, Kenseth held off Kevin Harvick by .159 seconds during a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race three laps beyond its scheduled distance. The win was Kenseth's first of the year and 24th in the series.

Busch, who finished 24th, had led 153 of 170 laps when his right front tire exploded at the entry to Turn 1. Busch's No. 20 Toyota slammed into the outside wall, ending his chance to lead the championship standings in all three of NASCAR's top series entering Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 Sprint Cup race.


Kyle Busch had the dominant car of day, leading 153 of 170 laps before hitting the wall after blowing a right front tire with less than 30 laps to go...

"I knew Kyle opened the door for everybody," Kenseth said. "There was no way anybody was going to beat him on speed. But he kind of opened the door, and we were able to get to the front and take advantage of it."

Harvick, the 2006 champion, took the series lead by 25 points over 2007 champ Carl Edwards, who ran fourth. Jeff Burton was third and Bobby Labonte fifth. Brad Keselowski, Mike Bliss, Jason Leffler, Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann completed the top 10.

"I think we were better than the 17," Harvick said, "but he was better than we were for a couple of laps."

Harvick felt he lost the race in the pits on Lap 172, when a slow stop dropped him from first to sixth in the running order.

"We fell behind on that final pit stop and didn't have enough time to recover from it," Harvick said. "When you have opportunities like this, you've got to take advantage of them."

The demise of Busch's dominant car sparked the hopes of those who had been chasing him. After pit stops under the caution caused by Busch's accident, David Ragan restarted in the lead with 20 laps left in the 195-lap event.

Ragan's advantage was short-lived. On Lap 177, Burton surged into the lead, pulling the No. 17 Ford of Matt Kenseth with him. Burton, whose No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevy won the owners championship last year, held the lead until Kenseth claimed the top spot with a pass to the outside on Lap 186.

Three laps later, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled to the inside of Eric McClure's No. 24 Chevrolet, McClure spun and triggered a multicar crash that also destroyed the No. 41 Dodge of Bryan Clauson and crumpled the hood of Earnhardt's No. 5 Chevy.


Matt Kenseth leads Kevin Harvick to the checkered flag in the closing laps of the Nicorette 300...

Kenseth led Harvick to a restart with three laps left, but debris from David Ragan's car, which faltered approaching the line, brought a quick end to the green-flag condition. That set up the two-lap dash to the finish.

EDITOR'S NOTE: According to a post-race News Release issued by Kyle Busch's team, there had been no tire problems on the 20 car prior to the blow-out. “Goodyear is sending the right-front tire back to the lab and they’re going to do some advanced analysis on it,” said Dave Rogers, crew chief for the No. 20 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota. “Just looking at the tire out in the pit, they couldn’t determine why it failed. I can confirm that they checked our tires on the two previous pit stops. We had two 50-lap, green flag runs and our tires looked great. Goodyear confirmed that our tires looked as good, or better, than anybody’s. I think it showed on the long runs where we could just drive away from the field. Usually if you are abusing your tires, you can take off from the field early in the run and fade late in the run, but we didn’t see that here. I don’t know what happened. It just wasn’t our day.”

Complete Race Results click here

Post-Race Driver Point Standings click here

Nicorette 300 Lug Nuts
Matt Kenseth won the Nicorette 300, his 15th victory in 224 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. His last win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series was Texas (4/14/2007).

• This is Kenseth’s first victory and second top-10 finish in two races in 2008.
• This is Kenseth’s second victory and sixth top-10 finish in seven races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His previous best finish here was first in 2000.
• Kevin Harvick is the new leader in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings, leading Carl Edwards by 25 points.
• 11 different leaders set a new track record for the NASCAR Nationwide Series the previous record was 10 – two times (most recently 03/18/2006)

SNOW, Rain & Wind Changes Saturday Schedule

Snow showers, rain and strong wind is playing havoc with the Saturday schedule at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying has been cancelled and the two NASCAR Sprint Cup sessions have been combined for one session, set to start at approximately 1 p.m./AT.

The starting lineup for this afternoon's Nicorette 300 will be set by point standings.

At Noon/AT the temperature in Atlanta is 35 degrees (F) with a windchill of 23 degrees. The forecast high for the day is 39 degrees. Sunday's forecast calls for sunny skies and 55 degrees.

Just imagine...It's 54.5 degrees in Halifax...

Schedule/Broadcast Times*

Final Practice: Friday, March 7 (SPEED at 2 p.m./AT)

Qualifying: Saturday, March 8 (SPEED at 10 a.m/AT)

Pre-Race: Saturday, March 8 (ESPN2 & TSN-alt at 2:30 p.m./AT)

Race: Saturday, March 8 (ESPN2 & TSN-alt at 3 p.m./AT)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Nicorette 300
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Distance: 300.3 miles/195 laps
TV: ESPN2 & TSN-alt, 2:30 p.m./AT, 1:30 p.m./ET
Track Size: 1.54 miles
2007 Winner: Jeff Burton
2007 Pole: Kyle Busch
Schedule (local track time/ET): Friday—Practice 10:10-11:10 a.m.; Final Practice 1:05-2:50 p.m. Saturday—Qualifying, 9:15 a.m. (Impound).
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Track Map



Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Friday Practice click here Kyle Busch fastest...

Qualifying Order click here Saturday at 10 a.m./AT on SPEED...

Pre-Race Pit Stops

• Man On A Mission: Burton Seeks Third Consecutive Win At Atlanta... It’s hard to figure how Jeff Burton (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet) would be seeking redemption when he’s coming to Atlanta. After all, he’s won the last two races at the 1.54-mile track and is a strong favorite to become the first NASCAR Nationwide Series driver to win three straight there. But he was forced to shut down last week at Las Vegas where he was also the defending race winner. He was in second place before an expired engine forced him to retire on Lap 157, his first DNF since 2006. Needless to say—Burton, who along with Scott Wimmer, produced an owner championship last year for Richard Childress—is primed for this one. “Obviously, Las Vegas was disappointing,” he said. “(We were) fast all weekend, but we had some things go wrong that were out of our control. “(But) I don’t dwell on disappointment. I use it as an opportunity to learn and improve as a driver.”
• Keselowski Grins And Bears It Through Unlucky Times...JR Motorsports recorded its first series victory when Mark Martin won at Las Vegas last Saturday. Seemingly a cause for celebration by the owner, two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet) as the driver added to his all-time record for series wins (48). But the celebration was fairly subdued. Arguably the most respected driver in NASCAR, Martin inadvertently caused an accident with three laps to go that took out contenders Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Ford) and Martin’s teammate, Brad Keselowski (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet). Keselowski was in prime position to challenge for his first win, similar to his situation last summer in Memphis during a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. There, Keselowski, subbing for a suspended Ted Musgrave, was seemingly in control of things when another late-race incident took him out of contention. But Keselowski’s resolve remains firm. “Man, Carl and I ran each other hard, which is what you’re supposed to do,” he said. “That’s what this series is about. It’s about racing hard and going for wins. We were going for the win, both of us. I ran him hard, he ran me hard and (Martin) got in the back of him. “It is what it is, but we’re showing a lot of promise. We’re about there. It was about the happiest I could be wrecking out of a race.”
• The Director’s Take: Hitting Setups Critical At Atlanta Motor Speedway...“Handling will be a critical component during our race at Atlanta,” said Joe Balash, NASCAR Nationwide Series director of the series’ lone stop at the 1.54-mile track. “The way our mile-and-a-half tracks are configured allows teams to reach high speeds. Atlanta is truly one of those tracks where aerodynamics and the mechanical grip of coil binding come together. “Teams have to figure out their setups to get the biggest advantage. “They’ll focus on balancing the handling of the car, working to make their cars grip and handle through the corners and carry higher corner entry speed so as to not push through the center.”
• Kelly Bires (No. 47 Clorox Ford), a former Wisconsin high school wrestling state champion, has a good grip on the start to his season. Competing in his first full year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with JTG Racing, Bires, 23, has posted two top-15 finishes in the first three races. Consistency has been his key; according to Loop Data, nearly 80% of his laps last week at Las Vegas were in the top 15. Bires is not only coming off a stout performance but comes to a track where he has experience. He has raced at Atlanta twice in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition, finishing 19th in 2006 in his national series debut and 10th last year before moving to the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
• The NASCAR Nationwide Series has its share of Georgia natives represented at their home track this weekend....David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford - Unadilla) won the 2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and is one of four drivers competing full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He began racing at the quarter-mile track at AMS when he was 12 years old. Jeffrey Roth, the front tire carrier for Kevin Harvick’s No. 33 Chevrolet, is from Washington, Ga. Atreus Homes & Communities, sponsor of Rusty Wallace Racing’s Nos. 64 and 66 Chevrolets, is based in Atlanta as is Aaron’s Sales & Lease, sponsor of David Reutimann’s No. 99 Toyota.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Run First Atlanta Motor Speedway Nationwide Race in Nearly a Decade...Dale Earnhardt Jr. will race in the Saturday, March 8 Nicorette 300, the first Nationwide race he has entered at AMS since he drove the AC Delco Chevrolet to a third-place finish in 1999. Earnhardt Jr.’s first Nationwide Series start at AMS in 1998 resulted in a runner-up finish. He will make his 100th career Nationwide Series start this weekend. Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet in the event, owned by his company, JR Motorsports. Last weekend, Mark Martin piloted the No. 5 Chevrolet to victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, scoring JR Motorsports its first-ever Nationwide Series win.
• Nicorette 300 Nationwide Race to Feature 14 Sprint Cup Regulars...There will be 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars in the starting field for Saturday’s Nicorette 300, including Peachtree City Ga.’s Reed Sorenson in the No. 40 Fastenal car as well as Unadilla, Ga.’s David Ragan in the No. 6 Discount Tire car. Kasey Kahne is also scheduled to start the March 8 race and brings an impressive AMS Nationwide Series record with him, scoring five top-10 finishes in six starts. “Atlanta is one my favorite stops on the schedule,” Kahne said. “It’s wide and fast. The multiple grooves that it offers allow you move around on the track, searching for the best and fastest line. It’s a huge advantage to have those kinds of options as a driver.” Also entered in the Nicorette 300 are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, defending race winner Jeff Burton, Brian Vickers, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and David Reutimann.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.