Mark Martin won his second straight pole Friday with a lap of 125.773 mph around Bristol Motor Speedway, giving him the top starting spot in consecutive races for the first time in 20 years.  Two weeks ago in Atlanta, the 50-year-old Martin became the second oldest driver in NASCAR history to win the pole. That pole had been Martin's first since May 5, 2001, at Richmond.

Mark Martin Pic Credit:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=8&I=nascar-cup/2009/bri/nascarcup-2009-bri-as-0053.jpg&FS=NASCAR-CUP&SN=1_64.235.98.12:57944&S=NASCAR-CUP

"It's the (No.) 5 car," Martin said in giving all the credit to his Hendrick Motorsports crew. "We have learned so much through each individual event that man, I feel good. We unloaded here rolling."

Ryan Newman qualified second.  He was second fastest in practice, and posted a lap at 125.740 to just miss knocking Martin from the pole.  Three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson was third with a lap at 125.453.  Greg Biffle qualified fourth and Kasey Kahne was fifth. He was followed by David Reutimann, Reed Sorenson and Dave Blaney. Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 10.

Dave Blaney?  There's a surprise.  Way to go Dave!

Jimmie Johnson Pic Credit:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=7&I=nascar-cup/2009/bri/nascarcup-2009-bri-as-0052.jpg&FS=NASCAR-CUP&SN=1_64.235.98.12:62359&S=NASCAR-CUP

Story Source:  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hqJk1kboFhLrvtqD-TwTn96OxKjgD972ANP80

I'm going to keep this post SHORT N' SWEET. There are drivers/teams that deserve to be recognized for there efforts at Atlanta for finishing in the top 15. This weeks SHOUT OUT goes to the following teams:

picture source:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?I=nascar-cup/2009/atl/nascarcup-2009-atl-as-0163.jpg

1. KURT BUSCH #2 --- Kurt Busch was the class of the field and didn't have much competition most of the race. Despite Kurt Busch's best attempt at wrecking the car numerous times into the outside wall he still won the race. Congratulations to Kurt Busch and Penske Racing.

2. KEVIN HARVICK #29 --- Kevin Harvick did a fantastic job bringing home a 4th place finish. After going a lap down early with an loose handling race car, he got his lap back and kept picking guys off one by one. Harvick was the 2nd biggest surprise in the RCR camp.

3. BRIAN VICKERS #83 --- Brian had a great race finishing in 5th. Perhaps we are seeing a more mature Vickers. In the past, he was to aggressive for his own good. It will be interesting to see if Brian Vickers can continue this hot streak. Time will tell if the coming races if Vickers is maturing or if these finishes are the product of his crew chief Ryan Pemberton.

picture source:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=11&I=nascar-cup/2009/atl/nascarcup-2009-atl-as-0086.jpg&FS=NASCAR-CUP&SN=1_64.235.98.12:73800&S=NASCAR-CUP

4. CLINT BOWYER #33 --- Clint is doing a masterful job for RCR and his new team. Clint Bowyer had another great finish by finishing 6th. Clint is by far the #1 biggest surprise in the RCR camp. Everyone questioned what Richard Childress was thinking by putting Bowyer in the new ride with no points. Goes to show how much we know!

See my story source for more on Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and A. J. Allmendinger.

story source:  http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/RAYCETHYME/186203

Where the heck were all the Fox bloggers today?  No comments on two posts.  I would take it personal, but I know you guys were just somewhere else, especially you NASCAR bloggers.  Frever3fan has a top ten blog with 3 comments (two of them mine) and is the only one of you that blogged today.

Avatar credits:  BS - you guys know where I got 'em from.

Don't get me wrong, his subject matter is worthy, like I said Rick Crawford is my favorite Truck Driver this year.  I even blogged on him myself.  And I might again if any of you were around here to read it.  But the next time several of us want to take a vacation, we need to make sure someone stays here to man the boards.  TEAMWORK MEN (and women) !  TEAMWORK!  We need some TEAMWORK around here.

Now pay attention!

Pic credit:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=3&I=nascar-cup/2009/atl/nascarcup-2009-atl-as-0003.jpg&FS=NASCAR-CUP&SN=1_64.235.98.12:64543&S=NASCAR-CUP

Jamie McMurray is a serious contender.

After their first and second place qualifying runs pole winner Mark Martin and runner up Kurt Busch were kind of shaking in their shoes.  Martin admitted he didn't have enough talent to keep his foot in it during the lap and Busch made similar comments.  But third place qualifier Jamie McMurray wasn't shaking.

"I wasn't on the pole, so maybe I should have been shaking more," said McMurray, whose No. 26 Ford posted a 186.309-mph speed.  It wasn't that thrilling a lap"

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-03-06-atlanta-qualifying-mark-martin_N.htm

Pic credit:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=22&I=nascar-cup/2009/atl/nascarcup-2009-atl-as-0022.jpg&FS=NASCAR-CUP&SN=1_64.235.98.12:21660&S=NASCAR-CUP

McMurray ran his qualifying lap in 29.76 seconds.

It is McMurray's second top-10 start at Atlanta Motor Speedway and second second top ten start this season.

"I don't know if it's the tire that Goodyear has brought here, but when we unloaded in practice I thought that we were two or three seconds off the pace and it ended up we were like fifth-quick for most of practice. The cars just drive really odd. They're really free getting in the corner and then once the car gets loaded up, it seems like it gets real tight. Now in qualifying trim it's a little bit different because it just has so much grip and you put all that tape on the grille and it's night time, so it will be an interesting race on Sunday."

Source:  http://fanzonesports.net/nascar/2009/03/martin-on-the-pole-at-atlanta/

Pic credit:  http://www.ciastockphoto.com/stock/stockimage.php?image_id=20090306ge1885&event_id=257

So if the cars have lots of grip again in qualifying trim should we expect engine problems again from too many rpm's being turned?

"I know that Doug Yates and Jack Roush have worked really hard throughout this week to ensure that we're not gonna have any problems. The biggest issue we had at Vegas is that the track was a lot faster and the gear ratio that we had, the pace just didn't slow down. We turned 9300 RPMs at Fontana and then we went to Vegas the next week and we turned 9800 the entire run, so all of the issues that we had was just because our engines are built to run 9600 and when you run them 9800 for 400 miles parts are gonna break. But I don't think we're gonna see a problem here. They've tweaked on them a little bit and I think made them a little more durable and we're not gonna see the RPMs here."

Source:  http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=103815&newlang=&topic=11&catid=21

Pic cdedit:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=23&I=nascar-cup/2009/atl/nascarcup-2009-atl-as-0023.jpg&FS=NASCAR-CUP&SN=1_64.235.98.12:21660&S=NASCAR-CUP

Despite my desire to help fuel a tire controversy with too much grip creating too many rpms, and other writers as well,  (they wouldn't do that would they?  Naw, of course not.)  apparently the tires grip will drop off and rpms will not be an issue.  Kurt Busch had this to say after his qualifying lap.

Pic credit:  http://www.ciastockphoto.com/stock/stockimage.php?image_id=20090306ge1848&event_id=257

McMurray added this regarding how "odd" his car is driving.

"We did the typical start to the weekend where you do race runs and then just make a couple qualifying runs at the end, but for some reason the cars are turning really good off the wall. I almost kind of feel loose getting down at the corner and then when you get to the white line they get super tight and then they're really loose off. I know that last year here the first race the cars were really a challenge to drive and I would guess that you'll hear a lot of guys complaining on Sunday that their cars are gonna be a challenge."

Story credit:  http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=103815&newlang=&topic=11&catid=21

So we have a tire that doesn't handle worth a darn controversy huh?  AHA!

LA.  Los Angeles?  No.  Louisiana?  No.  Lower Alabama.

Photo credit:  http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/12/bellingrathgardens.jpg

I guess you have to be or at least have been an Alabaman to know that one.  Even Southern Middle Tennesseans don't hear that one growing up less than 45 miles from the Alabama line.

LA, lower Alabama, Gulf Shores, Mobile.  LA, proved too much for the man.  Not this LA.  Not this man.  LA's Rick Crawford has been a successful Truck Series driver for years.  Last year he finished seventh in the points race.

Today he takes on Atlanta Motor Speedway.  And don't count him out of your list of possible winners.  He has won at Daytona.  He can win in Atlanta.

Photo credit:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=21&I=nascar-truck/2009/day/nascartrk-2009-day-eg-0212.jpg&FS=NASCAR-TRUCK&SN=1_64.235.98.12:42259&S=NASCAR-TRUCK

Crawford scored his third career Camping World Truck Series pole at Atlanta in 2005, setting the track record with a speed of 182.735 mph (30.339 seconds). In 299 career Camping World Truck Series starts, Crawford has posted 150 top-10 finishes.

That's finishing in the Top 10 over 50% of the time folks.  Pretty Remarkable.

Photo Credit:  http://www.motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp?N=106&I=nascar-truck/2009/day/nascartrk-2009-day-eg-0160.jpg&FS=NASCAR-TRUCK&SN=1_64.235.98.12:67906&S=NASCAR-TRUCK

"Atlanta is one of the fastest tracks on the Camping World Truck Series schedule, and it usually provides some of the most exciting racing for the fans." Crawford said.  "We're taking the same truck we raced at California, but we've made some changes to the truck that we hope will make it handle better on the speedways. The team that runs around there wide open the longest is going to be the one to beat. "

Story source:  http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/NCTS_09/articles/000002/000200.htm

Wide open?  This one is going to be fun to watch.

After experiencing tire issues during the 2008 Kobalt Tools 500, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company will return to Atlanta Motor Speedway with a much-improved tire design for the 2009 edition. Goodyear tested in January to ensure a better tire for the Kobalt Tools 500. 

Logo credit: http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/events/kobalttools500/

"I am extremely happy with the tire that Goodyear has brought here to test," said Greg Biffle following the January tire test.  The old tire [in March of 2008] lost grip running on the bottom after five to eight laps.

Story source:  Goodyear Tire Outlook for Kobalt Tools 500:  http://www.jayski.com/next/2009/4ams2009.htm#goodyear

Pic credit:  http://www.racegoodyear.com/fanzone/1024x768/phx_1537.jpg

I am not sure this is a good thing.  Neither is Roush Fenway Racing and their Yates partners.  While we trust that NASCAR's gear ratio options will work better than they did at Vegas, it appears the table may be set for problems similar to what happened last weekend. 

Apparently, Goodyear's new left side tire in Las Vegas contributed to the higher speeds at Vegas.  As I understand it, the new left side tire at Vegas had tougher sidewalls that made it more durable and it didn't drop off as fast.  The Atlanta left side tire is using a new compound to keep it from dropping off as fast.  So it sounds like another Vegas situation with engines turning higher rpms for longer times than expected potentially creating problems. 

pic credit:  http://www.roushfenway.com/

Roushies are hoping that we have the safer configuration of gear ratio this week.  Although there could be some differences in house.  Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle qualified well, (Jamie starts third) while the other Roush cars qualified further back.  Safer rather than sorry?  As a Jamie fan I am hoping the difference is somewhere else in the setup.

Roush fans can take some consolation in the fact that last weeks blown engines in the Roush camp were for three different reasons.  Therefore there is no specific problem to be concerned with regarding the Yates power plants.