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Carl Edwards' (car pulling away) Payback on Brad Keselowski (12) Sends the Latter Soaring Down the Front Stretch in the Closing Laps.

With a hundred laps remaining on the speedy Atlanta oval, race leader Kasey Kahne (9) wages combat against defending event champion Kurt Busch (2), and the pair dominate the point over the succeeding hour. After running through a series of service cycles that momentarily juggle the field, Ku. Busch emerges as the driver with the dominant machine and seemingly seems well on the path to scoring his second consecutive Spring Atlanta victory until Juan Pablo Montoya (42) dramatically surges his way back into the action with seven laps remaining. Momentum clearly seems to side with Montoya, who swiftly closes in on Busch’s rear bumper, yet with three circuits remaining, a long running spat between Carl Edwards (99) and Brad Keselowski (12) brings the pending finish to a jarring halt.

Edwards and Keselowski, perpetually furious with the other for aggressive driving between the pair in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide race series, again ignite their personal vendettas at Atlanta with roguish chops across each other bows. After Keselowski and Edwards spar with one another with three laps to go, Edwards pushes the spat too far by brazenly tipping the other in the left rear quarter panel. Keselowski breaks loose, and then to everyone’s surprise suddenly catches air. Keselowski soars skywards, turns over, and then smashes hard on his tin top back down on the track before flipping back onto his wheels. Keselowski emerges unhurt after the shunt and the recriminations begin; Keselowski correctly blames Edwards for the thuggish affair, while the latter only apologizes for the fact that his mugging nearly put Keselowski into the catchfence. NASCAR swiftly orders Edwards off the track along with a demand for him to stand tall before The Man in the management trailer.

On the ensuing restart (3 laps remaining due to a red flag condition), Paul Menard (96) and Clint Bowyer (33) lead the pack to the flag, yet with a dramatic flair, Ku. Busch, starting from P4, surges forward and pulls even with the lead pair on the Turn 1 entry. As the track narrows on exit, Busch stays in the gas and spurts forward with a clean getaway for the lead, yet close pursuer Jamie McMurray (1) breaks loose from behind moments later, collects Bowyer and Mark Martin (5), and scatters the field for another caution condition.

Green-White-Checker

The racing world moves closer to the screen as Busch and Montoya line up in the front row for the final dash to the flag, yet to everyone’s rapid disappointment, Montoya spins the tires on the restart, thus allowing Ku. Busch to again sprint away without a challenge. Matt Kenseth (17) tiptoes around the logjam caused by Montoya’s restart blunder and gives prompt chase for the trophy, yet Busch (2 Penske Dodge) easily brushes off all danger and swooshes through the tape for his second consecutive Spring Atlanta win.

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Kurt Busch Sprints Away in the Final Laps and Earns a Big Victory for Penske and Dodge at Atlanta.

Dutifully warming up the bleachers for the shivering fans at ever chilly Spring Atlanta, a late race caution sets up a Green-White-Checker finish at the expense of dominant racer Kurt Busch (2 Penske Racing Dodge), who loses the race lead on pit lane to hard charging Carl Edwards (99 Roush Fenway Ford). Most observers shake their heads in disappointment at the missed checkers’ opportunity for Penske, yet Busch reveals shades of his former championship form by easily powering past Edwards on the final circuit before deftly holding off late onrusher Jeff Gordon (24 Hendrick Chevrolet) and earning a much deserved victory for Penske South.