HAMPTON, Ga. - Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman, preseason favorites to contend for the Nextel Cup championship but major disappointments through three races, vaulted back into the upper echelon in points on Sunday with top-five finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Both gained 10 standings places.
Johnson, 19th in points after wrecking into 41st place at Rockingham and finishing 16th at Las Vegas, finished fourth to improve to ninth in the standings. Newman finished fifth and jumped to 11th in points. It could have been even better. Newman led three times for 43 laps, but gave up the lead on Lap 304 and was unable to chase down eventual winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he waited to pit after the rest of the leaders.
"We really needed to gain some points toward the championship," Johnson said. "We needed a decent finish. We needed a little bit of luck."
Johnson and Newman finished second and sixth, respectively, in points last season. Staying near the top early is extra important this season, with NASCAR implementing a change in the way the champion is determined by pitting the top 10 drivers and anyone else within 400 points of the leader in a "Chase for the Championship."
BUMPED: For the third time, Tony Stewart led more than 100 laps at Atlanta. For the second straight time he failed to win. Stewart was dominant early and led a race-high 127 laps, but began to fade midway through because of handling problems.
He lost his lead after the front fender of his No. 20 Chevrolet struck Earnhardt's left rear on Lap 178. Late-arriving clouds also cooled the track, presenting a new handling variable.
"We just got tight for some reason," crew chief Greg Zipadelli said. "Either we put a (bad) set of tires on or the track changed."
Stewart led a race-best 109 laps in the 2003 fall race but was second to Jeff Gordon. Stewart led 143 in winning the 2002 spring race.
WHAT HAPPENED: Bobby Labonte has won six times at Atlanta, five since the track was reconfigured in November 1997, but was 18th Sunday, two laps down. "We were loose from the beginning of the race and never could get the car to do what we wanted it to do," he said. "We've had a lot of success in Atlanta in the past, but we've also had some bad days, too."
LAPS: Casey Mears' career-high perch of 10th in points was lost to engine problems on Lap 302. He was in the top 10 much of the race and lead twice for 37 laps. He slipped to 19th in points. ... NASCAR adjusted its caution-period procedure, closing pit road for a full lap to allow cars to assume their standing order slowly before taking on fuel or tires. ... Hank Parker, injured in Saturday's NASCAR Truck series race at AMS, was released after being treated for a crushed vertebra. ... None of the four independent teams lasted more than 80 laps. Andy Belmont (rear end) led with a 39th-place finish, followed by Kirk Shelmerdine (60 laps, handling, 40th), Andy Hillenburg (15, engine, 42nd) and Joe Ruttman (six, vibration, 43rd).
