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March 19, 2007

A Race of Their Own
Bye Bye Busch Whackers-Atlanta-Race 5
By Dennis Michelsen
Once again a Busch race occurred and it is hard to tell there were some actual Busch drivers in the show! Twenty-six Cup regulars started the race in the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. The top fourteen finishers were all Nextel Cup regulars. Seventeen of the top twenty finishers also raced on Sunday in the Cup race. An even more troubling development is that very few independent Busch teams even showed up to compete. When the Car of Tomorrow becomes the car of everyday it will be interesting to see how many Cup drivers abandon the Busch series. If the tires stay the same become Cup and Busch we might still see a lot of teams do the crossover to test the tires. But in the meantime there is a race within a race every weekend. The accolades and big checks will go to the winner of the race, most likely to be a Cup driver. But in addition to the race winner there will also be a Bye Bye Busch Whacker winner every week! This week's winner was Sam Hornish Jr. This two-time IRL champion and last year's Indy 500 race winner is trying to get used to these stockcars. Hornish has been fast for single laps but this is the first time he has been able to bring the car home in one piece and he is the Bye Bye Busch Whacker winner of the Nicorette 300.

Bye Bye Busch Whackers Standings-Atlanta Motor Speedway
Nicorette 300

1. Sam Hornish Jr (Finished 15th)
2. Mike Wallace (17th)
3. Shane Huffman (19th)
4. Regan Smith (23rd)
5. Bobby Hamilton Jr (24th)
6. Brad Keselowski (25th)
7. Brent Sherman (26th)
8. Aric Almirola (27th)
9. Marcos Ambrose (28th)
10. Stephen Leicht (29th)

Bye Bye Busch Whackers Standings After Race 5