Kobalt Tools 500 Notes & Quotes

Kobalt Tools 500

Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.

Encore: Kurt Busch won the AMS spring race for the second year in a row, giving Dodge its third straight victory at the track.

Inevitable: The “not one, not two, but a possible three green-white-checkered finishes” rule once again produced an untidy mess at the end, though a seven-car crash required only one do-over. Somehow the race inexplicably drifted 16 laps, 24.64 miles, past its scheduled distance.

In hot pursuit: Crossing the finish line in order behind Kurt Busch were Matt Kenseth in a Ford, Juan Pablo Montoya in a Chevrolet, and Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard and A.J. Allmendinger, all in Fords. Brian Vickers was seventh in a Toyota.

Disappointments: Jimmie Johnson 12^th? Really. Mark Martin was 33rd, Joey Logano 35^th, Carl Edwards 39^th and David Reutimann 40^th. And the pole winner? Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 15^th.

Notable numbers

            21 – Kurt Busch’s career victory total.

            5 – Drivers (Busch, Bobby Labonte, Benny Parsons, Jack Smith and Jeff Burton) with 21 career victories.

            9 – Consecutive seasons in which Kurt Busch has won at least one race.

            3 – Consecutive Dodge victories at this track.

            332 – Kurt Busch’s career Sprint Cup races.

            .063 – Busch’s career winning percentage.

Quotable quotes

            “Even with all the restarts at the end, I still think we had the car to beat, regardless.” – Kurt Busch.

            “The restarts were crazy … just a mess.” – Kasey Kahne.

            “I would’ve bet anything there’d be a wreck on the first one because you had so many people on different tires.” – Juan Pablo Montoya.

“Even at a big track like this where you can pass, track position is still big. We knew we probably weren’t going to hold off (drivers who had changed) four tires, but there was some excitement there at the end and we were in front of it.” – Paul Menard.