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Stewart takes Atlanta win

Tony Stewart took his second victory in the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup - yet the reigning title holder is not even a contender in this year's 10-race shoot-out

Stewart shot past Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the lead less than ten laps from the flag at Atlanta Motor Speedway, to record his fourth season win, with Jimmie Johnson finishing a close second.

For Johnson, second place was a blessing, as the early season favourite is now merely 26 points behind standings leader Matt Kenseth, who finished the race fourth - behind Earnhardt Jr.

The race was also kind to Denny Hamlin, the first rookie to make it into the Chase for the Cup, as he moved to third in the standings, just 65 points behind Kenseth.

Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Burton, an early points leader in the Chase, both stand on 84 points behind Kenseth, with just three rounds remaining.

Kevin Harvick, on the other hand, fell four places in the standings to sixth place - 121 points behind the leader.

Harvick, who yesterday took his eighth Busch series win in Memphis, suffered from handling problems with his cars throughout the race and finished 31st.

Another mover up the points standing was Jeff Gordon, who made up two spots and is now seventh. However, he lost ground on the points gap, dropping to 146 points behind Kenseth.

Pos  Driver                Make        Laps
 1.  Tony Stewart          Chevrolet   325
 2.  Jimmie Johnson        Chevrolet   325 Chase
 3.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Chevrolet   325 Chase
 4.  Matt Kenseth          Ford        325 Chase
 5.  Greg Biffle           Ford        325
 6.  Jeff Gordon           Chevrolet   325 Chase
 7.  Carl Edwards          Ford        325
 8.  Denny Hamlin          Chevrolet   325 Chase
 9.  Joe Nemechek          Chevrolet   325
10.  Robby Gordon          Chevrolet   325
11.  Dale Jarrett          Ford        325
12.  Bobby Labonte         Dodge       324
13.  Jeff Burton           Chevrolet   323 Chase
14.  Kurt Busch            Dodge       323 Chase
15.  David Gilliland       Ford        323
16.  J.J. Yeley            Chevrolet   323
17.  Kyle Petty            Dodge       323
18.  Dave Blaney           Dodge       323
19.  Brian Vickers         Chevrolet   323
20.  Sterling Marlin       Chevrolet   322
21.  Elliott Sadler        Dodge       322
22.  Scott Riggs           Dodge       322
23.  Jeff Green            Chevrolet   322
24.  Ken Schrader          Ford        322
25.  Clint Bowyer          Chevrolet   322
26.  Mike Bliss            Dodge       321
27.  Kyle Busch            Chevrolet   321
28.  Casey Mears           Dodge       321
29.  Reed Sorenson         Dodge       321
30.  Ryan Newman           Dodge       321
31.  Kevin Harvick         Chevrolet   321 Chase
32.  Travis Kvapil         Chevrolet   320
33.  Michael Waltrip       Dodge       319
34.  Tony Raines           Chevrolet   319
35.  Kenny Wallace         Chevrolet   319
36.  Mark Martin           Ford        309 Chase
37.  Martin Truex Jr.      Chevrolet   305
38.  Kasey Kahne           Dodge       255 Chase
39.  David Stremme         Dodge       246
40.  Jamie McMurray        Ford        244
41.  Bill Elliott          Dodge       146
42.  Todd Bodine           Chevrolet   144
43.  Kevin Lepage          Chevrolet   29
  .
The Chase for the Cup:

Pos  Driver               Change  Points
 1.  Matt Kenseth                 6008
 2.  Jimmie Johnson        +1     5982  - 26
 3.  Denny Hamlin          +1     5943  - 65
 4.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.    +2     5924  - 84
 5.  Jeff Burton                  5924  - 84
 6.  Kevin Harvick         -4     5887  -121
 7.  Jeff Gordon           +2     5862  -146
 8.  Mark Martin           -1     5807  -201
 9.  Kasey Kahne           -1     5798  -210
10.  Kyle Busch                   5759  -249

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