**NASCAR Atlanta Bass Pro MBNA 500 - Monday 10/27 1100 ET 800 PT on TNT**

Nascar.com ^ | 10/24/03

[NormsRevenge]

HotLanta!!! Looks Like RocketMan is refueled and ready to go... again!

NASCAR

Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sunday on NBC at Noon ET , 9am PT Sunday, October 26, 2003

Atlanta Motor Speedway
Since being purchased by Bruton Smith in 1990, Atlanta Motor Speedway has become an ultra-modern, multi-purpose venue that has raised the bar of excellence. Amenities include a nine-story office/condominium complex, improved parking, over 53,000 additional permanent seats, a road course, a four-color electronic message center, a new ticket office and gift shop.

Track Facts
Banking/Turns: 24 degrees
Distance: 1.54 mile
Shape: Oval

Support our Troops

---

God Bless Our Troops, Our Leaders and God Bless America!!!

[steveegg]

Thank you Norm for the 2-day thread, Admin Moderator for sticking the conclusion day/time on the title, and everyone for 2 days of fun. See you all next week.

[NormsRevenge]

Points Standings

---

Rank	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind	Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10
1	--	Matt Kenseth	4678	Leader	33	1	10	23
2	+1	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	4420	-258	33	1	12	20
3	-1	Kevin Harvick	4416	-262	33	1	10	17
4	+1	Jimmie Johnson	4412	-266	33	3	11	17
5	-1	Ryan Newman	4329	-349	33	8	15	20
6	--	Jeff Gordon	4202	-476	32	2	13	17
7	--	Tony Stewart	4151	-527	33	2	12	16
8	--	Bobby Labonte	4000	-678	33	1	11	15
9	+1	Bill Elliott	3845	-833	33	0	8	10
10	-1	Terry Labonte	3839	-839	33	1	4	9
11	--	Kurt Busch	3813	-865	33	4	8	13
12	+1	Jeff Burton	3700	-978	33	0	3	9
13	+1	Rusty Wallace	3693	-985	33	0	2	12
14	-2	Michael Waltrip	3687	-991	33	2	7	10
15	--	Jamie McMurray*	3642	-1036	33	0	5	12
16	--	Robby Gordon	3613	-1065	33	2	4	10
17	--	Mark Martin	3531	-1147	33	0	5	9
18	--	Greg Biffle*	3390	-1288	32	1	3	6
19	+1	Jeremy Mayfield	3377	-1301	33	0	3	10
20	+1	Ward Burton	3354	-1324	33	0	0	4
21	-2	Sterling Marlin	3347	-1331	33	0	0	9
22	--	Ricky Rudd	3296	-1382	33	0	4	5
23	--	Elliott Sadler	3222	-1456	33	0	2	9
24	--	Ricky Craven	3158	-1520	33	1	3	8
25	--	Joe Nemechek	3156	-1522	33	1	2	6
26	--	Dale Jarrett	3148	-1530	33	1	1	7
27	--	Johnny Benson	3107	-1571	33	0	1	3
28	--	Dave Blaney	2942	-1736	33	0	1	4
29	--	Jimmy Spencer	2933	-1745	32	0	1	4
30	--	Kenny Wallace	2806	-1872	33	0	0	1
31	--	Steve Park	2710	-1968	32	0	1	3
32	--	Todd Bodine	2634	-2044	32	0	0	1
33	--	Jeff Green	2455	-2223	28	0	0	1
34	--	Casey Mears*	2455	-2223	33	0	0	0
35	--	Tony Raines*	2392	-2286	32	0	0	0
36	--	Ken Schrader	2314	-2364	30	0	0	2
37	--	Kyle Petty	2289	-2389	31	0	0	0
38	--	John Andretti	2154	-2524	26	0	0	1
39	--	Mike Skinner	1914	-2764	25	0	0	0
40	--	Jack Sprague*	1284	-3394	18	0	0	0
41	--	Mike Wallace	1104	-3574	13	0	0	2
42	--	Larry Foyt*	955	-3723	17	0	0	0
43	--	Christian Fittipaldi	857	-3821	15	0	0	0
44	--	Jerry Nadeau	844	-3834	10	0	1	1
45	+1	Derrike Cope	788	-3890	17	0	0	0
46	-1	Jason Leffler	764	-3914	10	0	0	0
47	--	Kevin Lepage	632	-4046	8	0	0	0
48	+1	Hermie Sadler	373	-4305	9	0	0	0
49	-1	Johnny Sauter	356	-4322	5	0	0	0
50	--	Brett Bodine	308	-4370	6	0	0	0
51	+3	Scott Wimmer	249	-4429	3	0	0	0
52	-1	Scott Pruett	236	-4442	2	0	1	1
53	+6	Bobby Hamilton Jr.	203	-4475	2	0	0	0
54	-2	Boris Said	201	-4477	2	0	0	1
55	-2	Ron Fellows	200	-4478	2	0	0	1
56	-1	Buckshot Jones	160	-4518	2	0	0	0
57	-1	Jason Keller	152	-4526	2	0	0	0
58	-1	Johnny Miller	146	-4532	2	0	0	0
59	-1	David Green	125	-4553	2	0	0	0
60	--	Casey Atwood	113	-4565	2	0	0	0
61	--	Hideo Fukuyama*	98	-4580	2	0	0	0
62	+6	Brian Vickers	98	-4580	2	0	0	0
63	-1	PJ Jones	91	-4587	1	0	0	0
64	-1	Mike Bliss	85	-4593	1	0	0	0
65	-1	Paul Menard	76	-4602	1	0	0	0
66	-1	Jason Jarrett	76	-4602	1	0	0	0
67	-1	Ted Musgrave	70	-4608	1	0	0	0
68	-1	Morgan Shepherd	68	-4610	2	0	0	0
69	--	Geoffrey Bodine	46	-4632	1	0	0	0
70	--	Stacy Compton	39	-4639	1	0	0	0

* Denotes Rookie

[steveegg]

The only quote from Harvick, "It's over"

[AGreatPer]

I lost a lot of respect the way Harvick acted at the end of the race refusing to be interviewed.

Bet his sponsors will have something to say to him.

[NormsRevenge]

Fierce Allegiance wins the "When does Smoke go up in smoke?" contest (he simply had finish, while thecanuck threw in a victory.

---

So how many rounds does he have to buy All of us? :-)

[NormsRevenge]

Fin	St	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Pts/Bonus	Laps	Status
1	19	#24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	180/5	325	Running
2	24	#20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Home Depot	180/10	325	Running
3	9	#48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's	170/5	325	Running
4	5	#9	Bill Elliott	Dodge	Dodge Dealers	160/0	325	Running
5	2	#18	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	160/5	325	Running
6	3	#8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Budweiser	155/5	325	Running
7	15	#19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge	Dodge Dealers	146/0	325	Running
8	17	#97	Kurt Busch	Ford	Rubbermaid	147/5	325	Running
9	22	#7	Jimmy Spencer	Dodge	Sirius Satellite Radio	143/5	325	Running
10	8	#01	Joe Nemechek	Pontiac	U.S. Army	134/0	325	Running
11	37	#17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Smirnoff Ice/DeWalt	130/0	325	Running
12	31	#88	Dale Jarrett	Ford	The UPS Store	127/0	325	Running
13	29	#0	Ward Burton	Pontiac	NetZero HiSpeed	124/0	325	Running
14	12	#4	Kevin Lepage	Pontiac	Kodak Perfect Touch	126/5	325	Running
15	18	#42	Jamie McMurray *	Dodge	Havoline	118/0	324	Running
16	40	#40	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	Coors Light/St. Jude Hospital	115/0	324	Running
17	6	#38	Elliott Sadler	Ford	M&M's	117/5	324	Running
18	33	#74	Tony Raines *	Chevrolet	Staff America	114/5	324	Running
19	21	#2	Rusty Wallace	Dodge	Miller Lite	106/0	324	Running
20	10	#29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench Service	108/5	324	Running
21	16	#31	Robby Gordon	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless	100/0	324	Running
22	11	#1	John Andretti	Chevrolet	Pennzoil	97/0	324	Running
23	38	#99	Jeff Burton	Ford	CITGO	94/0	324	Running
24	30	#10	Johnny Benson	Pontiac	Valvoline	91/0	323	Running
25	25	#45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Georgia Pacific	88/0	323	Running
26	43	#49	Ken Schrader	Dodge	1-800-CALLATT	85/0	323	Running
27	36	#135	Bobby Hamilton Jr.	Ford	U.S. Marines/WaWa	82/0	323	Running
28	14	#41	Casey Mears *	Dodge	Target	79/0	321	Running
29	1	#12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	Mobil 1/ALLTEL	81/5	320	Running
30	28	#23	Kenny Wallace	Dodge	Stacker 2	73/0	320	Running
31	42	#21	Ricky Rudd	Ford	Motorcraft Quality Parts	70/0	319	Running
32	41	#22	Scott Wimmer	Dodge	Caterpillar	67/0	316	Running
33	32	#5	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Kellogg's/got milk?	64/0	316	Running
34	27	#16	Greg Biffle *	Ford	Grainger	61/0	314	Out of Race
35	26	#32	Ricky Craven	Pontiac	Tide	58/0	222	Out of Race
36	20	#30	Steve Park	Chevrolet	America Online	55/0	221	Out of Race
37	35	#77	Dave Blaney	Ford	Jasper Engines & Transmissions	52/0	201	Out of Race
38	13	#15	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet	NAPA Auto Parts	49/0	170	Out of Race
39	39	#6	Mark Martin	Ford	Viagra	46/0	159	Out of Race
40	23	#37	Derrike Cope	Chevrolet	PHM/Friendly Ice Cream	43/0	132	Out of Race
41	34	#02	Hermie Sadler	Chevrolet	Zapf Creation	40/0	77	Out of Race
42	7	#154	Todd Bodine	Ford	National Guard	37/0	44	Out of Race
43	4	#25	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet	UAW/Delphi	34/0	18	Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie

[steveegg]

Points race math (such as it is) -

• If Kenseth finishes 19th or better (or 21st and leads at least a lap every race), not even 3 straight dominating performances by Jr (poles, most laps led, and wins) can unseat him.
• The last person that has a chance as long as Kenseth makes the last 3 races is Newman. Even if Kenseth starts missing races, that only brings Flash and Smoke into the picture.

Oh well, there's always the Busch drivers' points race (David Green's lead is 13, and 49 points separate 1st and 5th).

[AGreatPer]

Thanks for running this Norm. Well done.

[NormsRevenge]

The only quote from Harvick, "It's over"

---

That's too bad, he could have at least said something good about his team and sponsors.

[steveegg]

I lost a lot of respect the way Harvick acted at the end of the race refusing to be interviewed.

Bet his sponsors will have something to say to him.

Big E was always accessable.

[NormsRevenge]

My pleasure & Thanks! :-)

Next week, Phoenix..

[Afronaut]

Did Jeff Gordon forget to turn off his traction control for that Burn out? If you saw it, did you notice the wheels? They started to spin then the drive cut out? Just what traction control is suppose to do. He blamed it on the engine that just won the race? Very suspicious.

Does the NBC crew have a huge memo that reads, No bad lip for JR? Clear as day Jr. wrecked the 12. After the in car and the side shot, Jr. spun him around.

Other than that, The #7 in 9th (thanks Jr. for the extra cash) After Jimmy make comments about NASCAR drivers low proceeds in the series (payout) he has been a ghost car on the TV broadcast. Today when they showed speeds at the line and he was running 10th the showed only up to the 9th place car and then cut back to the race. Pretty funny I never saw them do that before.

Atlanta is a great track. I would love to go and see one live.

[Fierce Allegiance]

From Jersey, dover isn't a bad ride, and a good track to watch from, Pocono is a short drive, too. New hampshire & martinsville are 2 more possibilities.
But for the real deal, i strongly suggest Daytona! The BIGTIME feeling is 100% there!

[Afronaut]

Been to Dover 5x's Pocono 3x's and Bristol Night race in the pits. Daytona is too big. Cant see any racing. With a scanner you can follow a run but 2.5 miles is just too big. It's like Pocono. I go there cause I buy outside and the traffic in early and out early is 1 1/2 hours door to door. Atlanta looks likes a great track to see the race.

I am going up to New Hampshire next year and to Richmond.

Dover is a great race live, on TV is loose too much.

[canyon]

Harvick is so high drama. He can be funny at times (off the track), but his high maintenance thing is annoying.

[Fierce Allegiance]

seems like half the pocono races i have been to you couldn't see the far turn due to haze/fog, and it didn't help they were mostly modified races. too damn small to see them that far away.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Well, part of my prediction came true, and my red letter rant; Jr came down on Ryan without clearance and put Ryan into the dirt. Atta boy, Jr.

[NormsRevenge]

Pontiac pulls out of NASCAR, GM will back only Chevrolet in 2004

October 28, 2003

Pontiac is pulling out of NASCAR.

The manufacturer that won two of the last three Winston Cup championships announced Tuesday it won't return in 2004 -- leaving Chevrolet as the only General Motors brand on the stock car circuit.

ADVERTISEMENT

Five full-time teams currently use Pontiacs, with Ricky Craven providing the only victory in 2003. In the manufacturer standings, Pontiac is a distant fourth, trailing leader Chevrolet by 127 points. Ford and Dodge also race in Winston Cup.

``The decision to withdraw from NASCAR was not an easy one,'' Lynn Myers, general manager of Pontiac-GMC, said in statement. ``Consistent with GM efforts to focus its racing programs, Chevrolet will carry the NASCAR banner while Pontiac can now devote resources to developing future racing and marketing programs.''

Pontiac won two of the past three Winston Cup championships, including Tony Stewart last season. Bobby Labonte did the trick in 2000.

But both of those Joe Gibbs Racing drivers switched to Chevrolet for 2003, and Stewart's run to the title was marred by his repeated complaints that Pontiac was aerodynamically inferior to the other three makes.

This year, Ford driver Matt Kenseth leads the standings by 258 points over Chevy driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Craven, Johnny Benson, Joe Nemechek, Kevin Lepage and Ward Burton drove Pontiacs in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which finished Monday because of rain during the weekend.

[tubebender]

Damn...After I told them to run the new GTO they do this...