Atlanta Kobalt Tools 500 cheat sheet / lineup

We are a little late posting this, thanks to Bike Week in Daytona Beach. This is the first time I haven't made it to an Atlanta race in the last 6 races. Last year I woke up to snow at the track!

Mark Martin, who was fastest in practice 1, won his first pole since Richmond in May 2001. This is a good thing for Mark being he is currently 34th in points. Will he finally break his loosing streak or will he blow another engine?

So far this year has been all about the engine problems. Last year it was all about the tires. Tony Stewart had his famous rant about Goodyear by calling them the most pathetic racing tire he has ever been on in his entire racing career and that they can’t build a tire worth a crap. Hopefully Goodyear got it together because last years Atlanta race was ridiculous.

Kolbalt Tools 500 lineup

1. #5 Mark Martin Chevrolet, Kellogg's / Carquest (fastest in practice 1)

2. #2 Kurt Busch Dodge, Miller Lite

3. #26 Jamie McMurray Ford, Irwin Industrial Tools

4. #42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet, Target

5. #16 Greg Biffle Ford, 3M

6. #11 Denny Hamlin Toyota, FedEx Ground

7. #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet, Lowe's / Kobalt Tools

8. #87 Joe Nemechek Toyota, NEMCO Motorsports

9. #18 Kyle Busch Toyota, M&M's

10. #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet, Reese's

11. #14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet, Office Depot / Old Spice

12. #39Ryan Newman Chevrolet, Haas Automation

13. #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge, Budweiser

14. #19 Elliott Sadler Dodge, Best Buy

15. #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet, Caterpillar

16. #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, National Guard Youth Challenge / DuPont

17. #83 Brian Vickers Toyota, Red Bull

18. #00 David Reutimann Toyota, Aaron's Dream Machine

19. #7 Robby Gordon Toyota, Jim Beam

20. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet, Amp Energy / National Guard

21. #33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet, BB&T

22. #28 Travis Kvapil Ford, Golden Corral

23. #1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet, Bass Pro Shops / Tracker

24. #55 Michael Waltrip Toyota, NAPA

25. #07 Casey Mears Chevrolet, DirecTV

26. #82 Scott Speed Toyota, Red Bull

27. #66 Dave Blaney Toyota, Prism Motorsports

28. #12 David Stremme Dodge, Penske Racing

29. #99 Carl Edwards Ford, Aflac

30. #17 Matt Kenseth Ford, Dewalt

31. #71 David Gilliland Chevrolet, Capital Window

32. #43 Reed Sorenson Dodge, Super 8

33. #98 Paul Menard Ford, Pittsburgh Paints / Menards

34. #47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota, Kingsford / Clorox / Little Debbie

35. #21 Bill Elliott Ford, Motorcraft

36. #77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge, Mobil

37. #8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet, Cub Cadet

38. #44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge, Charter Comm.

39. #6 David Ragan Ford, UPS

40. #96 Bobby Labonte Ford, Ask.com

41. #34 John Andretti Chevrolet, WindowWorld.com

42. #20 Joey Logano Toyota, The Home Depot

43. #09 Mike Bliss Dodge, Phoenix Racing

The 4 drivers who didn’t make it in were all Toyotas:

#35 Todd Bodine Toyota

#36 Scott Riggs Toyota, Red Bank Outfitters

#41 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota, All Sport

#64 Geoff Bodine Toyota, Gunselman Motorsports

In case you missed Tony’s Goodyear ranting: