Kahne wins delayed Atlanta race
Kasey Kahne took his second career Nextel Cup victory as he won Monday's rain-delayed Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Kahne's victory was the first win for Dodge at the Atlanta circuit since 'King' Richard Petty won the event back in 1977, nearly 30 years ago.
Kahne took the lead just after three-quarter race distance and held it to the chequered flag, despite a late-race challenge from Mark Martin in a Ford.
The rest of the top five comprised of three Chevrolets, Dale Earnhardt Jr leading home Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, all three drivers getting a good result from a day when it didn't always look so good for them as many drivers in the field struggled with tyre problems.
Greg Biffle led the most laps, but tyre problems in the closing stages saw him drop down the order, his woes compounded when he ran out of fuel on the last lap to finish sixteenth.
Matt Kenseth and Robby Gordon had their own tales of woe. Both drivers were forced to pit under green early in the race with tyre problems, and had worked their way back in to the top five within sight of the chequered flag.
However, both drivers struck tyre trouble and again had to pit under green. Kenseth recovered to finish thirteenth, while Gordon ended up 28th after having to serve a penalty for speeding in the pits when he made his tyre stop.
A pleasing note was the debut of Bill Lester, the first black driver to race in NASCAR's top series since 1986. Though Lester's first race saw him finish 38th, he kept out of trouble and made it to the end of the race, albeit six laps down.
A welcome sight in the early laps was six-time Atlanta winner Bobby Labonte taking the lead in a Petty Enterprises Dodge. However, the dream didn't last long, with Labonte out on lap 56 with a blown engine.
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Kasey Kahne Dodge 325 2. Mark Martin Ford 325 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 325 4. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 325 5. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 325 6. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 325 7. Paul Menard Chevrolet 325 8. Kyle Petty Dodge 325 9. Dale Jarrett Ford 325 10. Reed Sorenson Dodge 325 11. Scott Riggs Dodge 325 12. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 325 13. Matt Kenseth Ford 325 14. Jamie McMurray Ford 325 15. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 325 16. Greg Biffle Ford 325 17. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 325 18. Ryan Newman Dodge 324 19. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 324 20. Michael Waltrip Dodge 324 21. Casey Mears Dodge 324 22. Terry Labonte Chevrolet 324 23. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 324 24. Ken Schrader Ford 324 25. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 324 26. Jeff Green Chevrolet 324 27. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 324 28. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 324 29. Elliott Sadler Ford 324 30. Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 323 31. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 323 32. Dave Blaney Dodge 323 33. David Stremme Dodge 322 34. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 322 35. Kevin Lepage Ford 322 36. Brent Sherman Dodge 322 37. Kurt Busch Dodge 321 38. Bill Lester Dodge 319 39. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 313 40. Carl Edwards Ford 313 41. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 235 42. Hermie Sadler Ford 166 43. Bobby Labonte Dodge 56
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