Kurt Busch sits in his car in Victory Lane after winning during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Article by Jeff Owens, scenedaily.com
Picking the winners and losers from Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta is easy – there were plenty of both.
The bizarre race featured several surprise finishers in the top 10 and many contenders falling by the wayside due to tire problems and wild wrecks.
In the end, it produced one of the most interesting races of the season.
Here’s a look at who won and who lost in the fourth Sprint Cup race of the season.
WINNERS
Kurt Busch – He dominated at times and then pulled off a spectacular power move to regain the lead on the first green-white-checkered restart. New partnership with crew chief Steve Addington could lead to big things.
Matt Kenseth – Speaking of new driver/crew chief combinations, Todd Parrott already has Kenseth second in points after runnerup finish.
Juan Pablo Montoya – Needed a good finish after two bad-luck weeks; had a chance to win on final restart.
Paul Menard – Fifth-place finish was no fluke; he hung around the top 10 all day.
AJ Allmendinger – Sixth-place finish gave Richard Petty Motorsports three cars in the top six. Switch to Ford paid off big at fast track.
Kevin Harvick – Looked like he was destined for a poor finish all day, but rallied for a top-10 to maintain points lead.
Scott Speed – Scored his second career top-10 to crack the top 12 in points; might be the season’s most improved driver.
