Johnson praises Atlanta Motor Speedway

Jimmie Johnson, who finished second to Carl Edwards in Sunday’s Pep Boys Auto 500, gave Atlanta Motor Speedway rave reviews when he compared it to the storied Darlington Raceway, considered by many to be the ultimate test of driver skill. Darlington, because of its difficulty, is often referred to as either “The Lady in Black” or “Too Tough to Tame.”

“[AMS] is what Darlington used to be,” he said, referring to the old, abrasive racing surface of the South Carolina track before it was repaved last year. “The problem [at AMS] is that we’re going twice the speed.”

He said the AMS asphalt has aged significantly during his seven years on the circuit, giving it lots of grip but making it a challenge to drive.

“They need a nickname for this place,” Johnson said. “This baby is tough.”

Edwards had kind words for the track too.

“I hope they never repave it,” he said. “It’s fun to drive on.”

Tough day for locals

The 500 wasn’t too kind to two of the three home state drivers. Bill Elliott, driving in what is likely his final Cup race at his home track, had high expectations after posting the 11th best speed in practice on Saturday. But he ran just three laps at speed on Sunday before he was involved in a crash with Sam Hornish Jr. on the backstretch. Elliott spent five laps in the pits while repairs were made his No. 21 Ford and he returned to the race, ran all the way to the finish but still wound up 38th

Reed Sorenson was languishing in 32nd place when he was swept up in a crash on a restart at Lap 303. He wound up 39th.

Unadilla’s David Ragan did give the home folks something to cheer about as he rallied from a lap down to finish eighth and maintain his 13th position in the points standings, best of the drivers not in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“It was a solid day,” Ragan told reporters. “We certainly didn’t start out great. [Crew chief Jimmy Fennig] and the AAA team made good calls throughout the race and made solid improvements on our car. …

“I think if we could have been on equal tires and got the car a little bit better at the end, we might have been a little bit better, but we’re certainly happy.”

Finish might hurt Newman

One of Scott Riggs’ goal in the final races of 2008 is to keep his No. 66 Chevy in the top 35 in car owner points so its 2009 driver, Ryan Newman, can start the season assured of a starting spot in the first five races.

But Riggs blew a tire on Lap 35, spend more than 100 laps in the garage. His 43rd-place finish dropped him one spot to 32nd in the car owner points standings. Now his team is just 182 points ahead of the No. 47 team of Marcos Ambrose, which is in 36th position.

Etc.

Kyle Busch, who dominated the regular season with eight victories, showed signs of getting back on track. He came on strong at the finish of Sunday’s 500 to finish fifth, his second top-five finish of the Chase and second in the past three weeks.

Still he’s mired at the bottom of the Chase standings, 465 points behind leader Johnson.

NASCAR’s most popular star, Dale Earnhardt Jr., dropped another spot in the Chase standings to 10th, 419 points out of the lead, after an 11th-place finish on Sunday.