Image via WikipediaTony Stewart pulled away from Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson to pick up the victory in Sunday night's Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was Stewart's first victory in 31 races dating back to October 2009 at Kansas. It was Stewart's third win at the track and the 38th of his career. Stewart led eight times for a race-high 176 laps, including the final 25.Edwards beat Stewart out of the pits after the seventh caution of the night on Lap 295 (of 325), but Stewart quickly got by him after the restart. Stewart had trouble on restarts all night spinning his tires, but held on and pulled away on the final restart, which came out for debris from a collision caused by Ryan Newman getting into Kasey Kahne which put him into Kurt Busch on Lap 302.
Carl Edwards finished 1.316 seconds behind Stewart with Johnson right behind. Jeff Burton went a lap down early, but rallied to finish a distant fourth. Kyle Busch overcame a terrible pit stop on Lap 49 to finish fifth. Busch was clocked too fast entering pit road, then his rear tire changer had issues with the gun, leaving him with a loose wheel which he had to make an unscheduled stop to fix. (Race results)
Kahne ran up front most of the night, but the contact by Newman brought on a flat tire that ended his chance of making the Chase. Kahne retaliated with a minor bump to Newman after he got back on the track. Earlier, on Lap 152, Newman got into Greg Biffle and knocked him into Elliott Sadler. Kasey Kahne had a flat tire on Lap 178 that extinguished his slim hopes of making the Chase. Denny Hamlin had a strong car through the early part of the race, but blew his engine on Lap 143 and finished last.
Eight more drivers clinched spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, joining Kevin Harvick and Johnson, who clinched last weekend at Bristol. With only Saturday night's race at Richmond left before the Chase begins, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer have a virtual lock on the final two spots in the Chase. Biffle only needs to show up at Richmond and finish 42nd or better to clinch his spot. If Ryan Newman, who moved into 13th position after finishing eighth at Atlanta, picks up the maximum 195 points at Richmond by winning and leading the most laps, Bowyer only needs to finish 28th or better.
Other than that battle to clinch the final two spots in the Chase, the point standings are meaningless. After Richmond, the points will be reset with each driver receiving 5000 points plus ten bonus points for each win. This is the way the Chase points work out as of now:
1. Jimmie Johnson 5050
2. Denny Hamlin 5050
3. Kevin Harvick 5030
4. Kyle Busch 5030
5. Kurt Busch 5020
6. Tony Stewart 5010
7. Greg Biffle 5010
8. Jeff Gordon 5000
9. Carl Edwards 5000
10. Jeff Burton 5000
11. Matt Kenseth 5000
12. Clint Bowyer 5000
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