JGR race report - Atlanta

Date: Oct. 29, 2006
Event: Bass Pro Shops 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Series Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Winner: Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing
JGR Finish: Tony Stewart (1st - Running, completed 325 of 325 laps); Denny Hamlin (8th - Running, completed 325 of 325 laps); J.J. Yeley (16th - Running, completed 323 of 325 laps)

HAMPTON, GA (October 29, 2006) - Tony Stewart led the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) contingent at Atlanta Motor Speedway by winning Sunday's Bass Pro Shops 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. For Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, it was his second win at Atlanta, his fourth this season and the 28th of his career. It also marked the 53rd Nextel Cup victory for JGR.

"This is pretty special because this is Home Depot's headquarters," said Stewart. "I look behind me and see this eight-foot tall trophy that we get to take home. I don't know how we are going to get it in the airplane but we will figure out something. Maybe we will have to ship that thing home; it is bigger than half my plane. It is cool.

"Our Home Depot Chevrolet was a good car all day. The No. 24 was really good early in the race but we didn't have the car as good as I thought we could get it. We were just about even with Jeff (Gordon) I hated to see that happen to him. I would have liked to race with him there at the end. Jimmie (Johnson) came on later in the race when the sun went down and so did Matt Kenseth. We did what we wanted to do. We got up front early and stayed up front all day. Jimmie Johnson is a good friend and came up and congratulated us which means a lot to us. Just to be here in Home Depot's back yard is special for us."

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Cup Chevrolet, finished eighth to become the highest finishing rookie for the 16th time in 2006.

J.J. Yeley, driver of the No. 18 VESIcare® (solifenacin succinate) Chevrolet, finished 16th.

Hamlin continues to lead the trio of JGR drivers in the championship point standings, as he is the lone JGR representative in the Chase for the Championship. Hamlin gained one spot to climb to third in points and is now only 65 markers behind series leader Matt Kenseth.

Stewart maintained his 11th-place point standing and holds a healthy 285-point lead over 12th-place Carl Edwards.

Yeley held steady at 29th in points and currently sits 200 points outside the top-25.

Hall of Fame Racing, which gets its engines, cars and technical support from JGR, finished 34th with Tony Raines at the wheel of the No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet.

Finishing second to Stewart was Jimmie Johnson, while Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth and Greg Biffle secured the rest of the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Edwards, Hamlin, Joe Nemechek and Robby Gordon comprised the rest of the top-10.

With only three races remaining, the next event on the Nextel Cup schedule is the Nov. 5 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race begins at 2:55 p.m. EST with live, high-definition coverage provided by NBC.