The Speeding Bullets: Pep Boys Auto 500

This week's edition of The Speeding Bullets comes to you high up from Turn 3 of the Atlanta Motor Speedway with a panoramic view of all the racing action. Enjoy!

• Congratulations to Kasey Kahne on getting his second win of the 2009 season. He started from the shotgun position and stayed near the front most of the night. Kasey was the beneficiary of the late race debris caution which was just what he needed to set up his race-winning pass on Kevin Harvick. This victory pretty much solidifies Kahne's spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and will give him some extra breathing room during Saturday night's showdown in Richmond, Virginia...

• Kevin Harvick got a hard-earned second place finish on Sunday night. This team needed a confidence boost in the midst of what his been an incredibly disappointing season. Since Kevin is out of Chase contention though, his stout performance just feels like another loss because all he seeks is a trip to victory lane. He definitely had the car to beat all race long but totally got screwed over by NASCAR when they decided to throw the debris caution in order to tighten up the field. The yellow flag proved to be so devastating to him because Harvick seemed to have more of a long-run car whereas Kahne's short-run car propelled him to victory in the 11-lap shootout. Even though I was really rooting for Happy to break his painfully long winless streak, the final restart made it extra exciting to be in the stands...

• Juan Pablo Montoya came one step closer with a third-place finish to making his first ever Chase. He led quite a few laps throughout the evening and looked as if he might take the checkered flag. Montoya is racing top-notch every week and will sooner or later get that much-wanted victory on a NASCAR oval. With him being at eighth place in the standings, making the postseason is not a guarantee as anything can happen in a short track Saturday night. Juan just needs to not let the pressure get the best of him and make sure he continues to stay on top of his game...

• Even though Carl Edwards sits at a solid fifth place when it comes to points, this season continues to go more and more downhill for him. His 37th place finish this weekend gives me the opportunity to dog him once again; Atlanta is supposed to be one of his best tracks! I don't know whether it is being married or having the Aflac duck on the hood of his car every week, but something is obviously affecting his performance week in and week out. At some point, I hope being winless after 25 races will finally hit him hard in the head, so his old fire will return to the Sprint Cup Series...

• I want to wrap up this week's edition by talking about just how successful of an event this was for Atlanta Motor Speedway. I read an article in the newspaper saying that the track had the largest crowd it has seen in at least six years. Even with a tough economy, 116,000 fans hungry to get their racing fix filled the stands. The track owner said he took a huge risk by moving his second race from Halloween to Labor Day, a risk that paid off in a way that will be remembered for years to come. I found out an interesting fact the other day: my great-grandfather attended the first day race ever held at AMS, and my dad and I just attended the first ever night race there...
  

That's all I have for this week. The final race before the Chase cutoff is only three days away. Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers will be doing anything and everything to get inside the Top 12 in points and continue on in their quests for the 2009 Sprint Cup championship...