"Bubble Boys" Proving Their Worth

There were a lot of questions going into Atlanta concerning drivers on the chase bubble. A number of pundits had a watchful eye on Kasey Kahne as one who may fall out of the top 12 by the time the checkered flag waved at Richmond.

Kahne thickens the plot with a victory in the Pep Boys 500, his second of the 2009 season. With the win, the driver who hasn’t seen the chase since 2006 vaults to 6th in the points standings.

Kahne wasn’t the only “boy on the bubble” getting it done. Juan Pablo Montoya finished 3rd- just behind Kevin Harvick as he improves his standing to 8th in the season’s points. Mark Martin keeps up the youngsters by notching a 5th place finish, his points position unchanged.

Give a call to Greg Biffle for taking 10th. At various points throughout the night, Biffle was shown outside the top 12. The Biff now sits 68 points to the good and just one behind the 10th place Martin. Teammate Matt Kenseth appeared to be on his way to falling out. Kenseth and the Killer Bees fought back for a 12th place finish and he leads Brian Vickers in the battle for 12th by 20 points.

Speaking of Vickers, he was one of several drivers in trouble throughout the evening. The same axle problem that put Jimmie Johnson out of contention foiled Vickers, but the “83″ crew was able to correct his problems and help Vickers stay in contention with a 6th place finish.

How about Kevin Harvick? The cagey veteran has had a nightmare of a season, complete with headlines of a rift with owner Richard Childress and a possible move, among other places, to Stewart- Haas Racing. Like Kyle Busch two weeks, there was a meeting of the minds and there are smiles in the “29″ camp. What a story line it would have been had Harvick won on the same track he got his first victory in his third cup start on what was Dale Earnhardt’s team three weeks after the Intimidator passed in 2001.

While realistically out of the chase, David Reutimann fought his way to a 4th place finish. Rounding out the top 10 was Denny Hamlin in 6th Jeff Gordon in 8th and Ryan Newman in 9th. For Hamlin, in continues his formidable stretch run surge. Suffice it to say, Gordon and Newman benefited from a good finish after wavering fortunes over the past several weeks.

While Kenseth easily earns the “Rocky Balboa Award” for clawing his way into the top 15, calls also go out to Tony Stewart for salvaging an 11th place finish on a night where his car was nowhere near its best. Smoke’s misery had plenty of company as Johnson, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards were all waylaid by the winds of foul fortune. Those bobbles propel Jeff Gordon into second in the points, Johnson slips to third, while Hamlin now sits in fourth. For Edwards, suddenly he’s only 105 points to the good, putting a little more pressure on him. Kurt Busch falls to seventh, one point behind the race winner.

Early in the race, Kyle Busch looked be getting the run he was looking for. He struggled with his car all night and wound up 13th. Shrub falls to 14th in the points, but only stands 37 points out of the chase, leaving a lot riding on Saturday’s race at Richmond.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. again had strong runs, but fell way back at the end to finish 17th. Robby Gordon and David Stremme also looked good at moments.

No news was good news for Erik Darnell in his Cup debut. He ran 30th. If you think about it, his race was better than Jeff Gordon’s debut at AMS back in 1992. Another intriguing sidebar was how Bobby Labonte and David Gilliland would fair in their new rides. Labonte piloted the “71″ to an 18th. The man he replaced- Gilliland- finished 19th. Very odd, very odd.

For my part this Atlanta race was the best I’d seen at AMS in some time. There’s no question the action is better than what fans would have seen at Auto Club and the crowd as about as good as this track has had in some time.

Numerous drivers whose hopes hung in the balance showed a lot on this evening- particularly Kahne and Montoya. It sets up what may very well be a dramatic race at Richmond, an entirely different type of track at 3/4 of a mile.

As “Farmer Ted” said in Sixteen Candles: “This…..is getting good.”

Happy Labor Day to all who keep America running and God bless our men and women who protect us- in the Armed Forces, and those protectors at home in law enforcement and emergency response.

Thank you.

PHOTO CREDITS- Kasey Kahne by Jason Smith/ Getty Images for NASCAR. Kevin Harvick in traffic and Atlanta Motor Speedway grandstands by Todd Warshaw for Getty Images/ NASCAR.