Starting 10th place Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet won the 55th Annual Oral-B USA 500, his 17th victory in 385 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his first victory and 10th Top 10 finish in 2014 & this is his 3rd win with his 9th Top 10 finish in 18 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This win gave Kahne the win needed to make the Chase for the Cup, which makes all 4 Hendrick Motosports cars make the chase for 2014.
2nd Place Car 20 Matt Kenseth Home Depot Husky Toyota starting from 5th place posted his 15th top-10 finish in 26 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is his 16th top-10 finish in 2014. 3rd Place Car 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Toyota starting from 17th place posted his sixth top-10 finish in 15 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
4th Place Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet starting from 16th place followed by 5th place Car 99 Carl Edwards Subway Ford starting from 11th place. 6th Place Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet starting from 27th place, her 6th place finish is the highest by a female at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The previous record was held by Janet Guthrie (10th, 03/19/78). 7th Place Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet starting from 4th place followed by 8th Place Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet starting from 3rd place was the highest finishing rookie. 9th Place Car 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford starting from 7th place & lastly in the Top 10 was Car 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Fire Ant Killer Ford in 10th place starting from 18th place.
The race had action with 10 Cautions for 56 Laps, 1st Caution on lap 39 for Debris in Turn 3. 2nd Caution on lap 79 for Car 24 Jeff Gordon Panasonic Chevrolet crash Turns 3 and 4. 3rd Caution on lap 118 for Car 83 Ryan Truex Burger King Spin Turn 4. 4th Caution on lap 125 for Fluid on the track from Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford. 5th Caution on lap 173 for Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Crash Turn 2. 6th Caution on lap 210 for Debris on the backstretch. 7th Caution on lap 259 for Debris on the backstretch. 8th Caution on lap 298 for Car 2 Brad Keselowski Alliance Truck Parts Ford, Car 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Toyota, Car 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet Crash on the frontstretch. 9th Caution on lap 325 Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota & Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. World Vision Chevrolet Turns 1 and 2
10th Caution on lap 330 for Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford, Car 27 Paul Menard Duracell/Menards Chevrolet, Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet Crash on the frontstretch.
Lots of pressure to lead this race 21 Lead Changes among 6 drivers: Lap Leaders: K. Harvick 1-80; D. Hamlin 81-84; K. Harvick 85; D. Hamlin 86-107; K. Harvick 108-118; D. Hamlin 119-122; M. Kenseth 123-135; Kurt Busch 136-157; M. Kenseth 158-164; K. Harvick 165-170; B. Keselowski 171-173; D. Hamlin 174; M. Kenseth 175-182; K. Harvick 183-210; M. Kenseth 211-227; K. Harvick 228-258; D. Hamlin 259-260; K. Harvick 261-298; D. Hamlin 299-302; K. Kahne 303-325; M. Kenseth 326-333; K. Kahne 334-335. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Harvick 7 times for 195 laps; M. Kenseth 5 times for 53 laps; D. Hamlin 6 times for 37 laps; K. Kahne 2 times for 25 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 22 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 3 laps.
Top 16 in Points: J. Gordon – 872; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 851; M. Kenseth – 794; J. Logano – 791; B. Keselowski – 782; J. Johnson – 766; C. Edwards – 755; K. Harvick – 748; R. Newman – 747; G. Biffle – 728; K. Kahne – 708; C. Bowyer – 705; K. Larson # – 704; P. Menard – 675; A. Dillon # – 674; J. Mcmurray – 666.
It was an exciting race with Kahne passing Matt Kenseth on the 2nd attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win for the 1st time this year at the 1.54-mile speedway. The race ended 10 laps beyond its scheduled distance of 325 laps & with a close finish with a Margin of Victory 0.574 Seconds. Here is a link the to the final laps: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/videos/2014/8/31/sprint-cup-series-atlanta-motor-speedway-kasey-kahne-wins-earns-chase-birth.html
This was Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet return to racing for the 1st time since the fatal sprint car accident August 9 at Canandaigua. Not a good night for Stewart with a 41st place finish due to being involved in 2 incidents 1 on lap 123 & lap 173.
After this race Kenseth and Kahne are locked into the Chase, Top 16 in Points: J. Gordon – 872; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 851; M. Kenseth – 794; J. Logano – 791; B. Keselowski – 782; J. Johnson – 766; C. Edwards – 755; K. Harvick – 748; R. Newman – 747; G. Biffle – 728; K. Kahne – 708; C. Bowyer – 705; K. Larson # – 704; P. Menard – 675; A. Dillon # – 674; J. Mcmurray – 666.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 25
Unofficial Race Results for the 55Th Annual Oral-B Usa 500 – Sunday, August 31, 2014
Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA – 1.54 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 335 Laps – 515.9 Miles
Finishing Position Starting Position Car # Driver Team Laps Status
1. 10. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet 335 Running
2. 5. Car 20 Matt Kenseth Home Depot Husky Toyota 335 Running
3. 17. Car 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Toyota 335 Running
4. 16. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 335 Running
5. 11. Car 99 Carl Edwards Subway Ford 335 Running
6. 27. Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 335 Running
7. 4. Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 335 Running
8. 3. Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 335 Running
9. 7. Car 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford 335 Running
10. 18. Car 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Fire Ant Killer Ford 335 Running
11. 20. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevrolet 335 Running
12. 15. Car 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet 335 Running
13. 22. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 335 Running
14. 14. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 335 Running
15. 19. Car 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 335 Running
16. 8. Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 335 Running
17. 9. Car 24 Jeff Gordon Panasonic Chevrolet 335 Running
18. 33. Car 27 Paul Menard Duracell/Menards Chevrolet 335 Running
19. 1. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 335 Running
20. 26. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 334 Running
21. 25. Car 7 Michael Annett St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/Pilot Chevrolet 334 Running
22. 24. Car 13 Casey Mears Geico Chevrolet 334 Running
23. 6. Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. World Vision Chevrolet 334 Running
24. 13. Car 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet 334 Running
25. 29. Car 33 Ty Dillon Realtree/Rheem Chevrolet 332 Running
26. 31. Car 51 Justin Allgaier Auto-Owners Insurance Chevrolet 332 Running
27. 38. Car 34 David Ragan Farm Rich Ford 331 Running
28. 37. Car 38 David Gilliland Love’s Ford 330 Running
29. 43. Car 36 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 330 Running
30. 40. Car 26 Cole Whitt Rinnai Toyota 329 Running
31. 42. Car 40 Landon Cassill Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet 329 Running
32. 41. Car 32 JJ Yeley Southern Pride Trucking Inc. Ford 328 Running
33. 36. Car 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 328 Running
34. 35. Car 66 Brett Moffitt Royal Teak Collection Toyota 327 Running
35. 30. Car 23 Alex Bowman Dr Pepper Toyota 326 Running
36. 39. Car 83 Ryan Truex Burger King Toyota 326 Running
37. 34. Car 77 Joe Nemechek Fochler Veterans Law Ford 324 Running
38. 21. Car 15 Clint Bowyer SpeedDigital.com Toyota 314 Running
39. 2. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Alliance Truck Parts Ford 296 Accident
40. 23. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Hungry Jack Chevrolet 258 Vibration
41. 12. Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 170 Accident
42. 32. Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 122 Engine
43. 28. Car 37 Mike Bliss Accell Construction Inc. Chevrolet 23 Vibration
Race Comments:
Kasey Kahne won the Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his 17th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, no cars dropped to the rear of the field. Failed to Qualify: (1) 95 Michael McDowell.
Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 55 Mins, 22 Secs. Average Speed: 131.514 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.574 Seconds Caution Flags: 10 for 56 laps: Lead Changes: 21 among 6
3M Lap Leader: Kevin Harvick, #4 195 Laps
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Kevin Harvick, #4 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, #5
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Matt Kenseth, #20
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Jimmie Johnson, #48 C. Knaus, 0.293 secs Sherwin-Williams
Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson, #42 Sunoco
Rookie of the Race: Kyle Larson, #42
Next Race: Sep. 6, 2014 – Richmond International Raceway