JGR Race Report - Atlanta
Date: Oct. 28, 2007
Event: Atlanta 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
JGR Finish: Denny Hamlin (Started 18th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 328 of 329 laps in a green/white/checkered finish)
Tony Stewart (Started 30th, Finished 30th / Running, completed 323 of 329 laps in a green/white/checkered finish)
J.J. Yeley (Started 22nd, Finished 35th / Running, completed 275 of 329 laps in a green/white/checkered finish)
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Chevrolet, led the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) contingent at Atlanta Motor Speedway by finishing 24th in Sunday’s Atlanta 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. Hamlin was leading with six laps to go, but his gas tank ran dry on the lap 322 restart. His engine sputtered, and with the rest of the field bearing down on him, he was hit from behind. Hamlin limped his damaged race car around the 1.54-mile oval to avoid being tagged with a DNF (Did Not Finish).
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for JGR, finished 30th. After battling handling issues all day that put him two laps down, Stewart went another four laps down after he was forced to come to pit road when his oil pressure gauge read zero. The unscheduled, green flag pit stop on lap 195 – which yielded only a faulty gauge – sealed Stewart’s uncharacteristic run at Atlanta.
Stewart and Hamlin are JGR’s representatives in this year’s 12-driver Chase for the Nextel Cup. Stewart’s 30th-place finish dropped him one spot to fifth in the standings. The two-time Nextel Cup champion is now 322 points behind series leader Jeff Gordon. Hamlin, meanwhile, dropped two spots to 10th in points, 424 markers arrears Gordon.
J.J. Yeley, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for JGR, finished 35th after a punctured a right rear tire slapped his car into the turn three wall. Yeley was forced to pull into the garage area for extensive repairs and finished 54 laps down. He did, however, maintain his 21st position in points.
Jimmie Johnson won the Atlanta 500 to score his 31st career Nextel Cup victory, his eighth this season and his third at Atlanta. Carl Edwards, Reed Sorenson, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-five. Clint Bowyer, Gordon, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were 14 caution periods for 55 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 329-lap race, which was extended four laps past its scheduled 325-lap distance by a green/white/checkered finish.
Only three races remain this season, with the next event on the Nextel Cup schedule being the Nov. 4 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EST with live, high-definition coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 3 p.m.
