Post-race report -- Atlanta
Event: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 (Race No, 4 of 36)
Venue: Atlanta Motor Speedway; Hampton, Ga.
Top-five finishers: Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard
Race recap: Kurt Busch took the lead on the first of two restarts that set up the finish of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta and pulled away on the second.
Busch, who led 129 of 341 laps on the day, took four tires on his final pit stop and restarted in fourth position, behind leaders Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray, who all took just two tires. When a seven-car accident jumbled the order before the drivers took the white flag, Busch powered to the top spot. On the ensuing restart eight laps later, Busch pulled away from his nearest contenders to win for the 21st time in his Sprint Cup career and the third time at Atlanta. Matt Kenseth was second, with Montoya third.
The race was highlighted by 31 lead changes among 13 drivers. Kasey Kahne led the most laps with 144, leading a fourth (Kahne)-fifth (Menard)-sixth (A.J. Allmendinger)-place finish for Richard Petty Motorsports.
Kevin Harvick overcame a balky car early in the race to finish ninth and hold onto his championship lead after four events. Harvick currently leads Kenseth by 26 points.
The Sprint Cup Series takes next weekend off, and picks up at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on March 21.
Companion event: Kevin Harvick led 100 of 130 laps to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta on Saturday. Todd Bodine finished fifth and took over the championship lead after two events.
