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Motorsport News: Russ Bonds Weekly Report
Edwards Does the Atlanta Sweep!
Carl Edwards has won three Nextel Cup races, two of which have been at Atlanta. The win helped him in his cause to win the chase, moving up to fourth, but still 107 points behind with three races to go. That means for Edwards to win, hell have to either beat points leader Tony Stewart by 35 points each race, the equivalent of Edwards winning every time out, and Stewart finishing seventh or so in each race, depending on if each lead a lap or not.
Stewart seems to be unable to have any bad luck so far. At Charlotte, he lost a tire while driving a dominant car, and still left with the points lead. | | The win at Atlanta helped Carl Edwards in his cause to win the chase, moving up to fourth, but still 107 points behind with three races to go. (Photo: Autostock) |
At Atlanta, he finished ninth, but his lead increased from 15 points to 43 over Jimmie Johnson, who finished behind Stewart in 16th.
The bottom line is Stewart increased his lead, even though three of the chasers (Edward, Martin and Kenseth) all finished ahead of him.
 | | The bottom line is Stewart, seen here winning at Watkins Glen, increased his lead, even though three of the chasers (Edward, Martin and Kenseth) all finished ahead of him. (Photo: Autostock) | | />It is, however, important to know why Edwards is so good at Atlanta. The other question to be answered is just how Dale Jr., who looked dominant early on, fell off just a little, to come home fourth.
You see, Atlanta is the fastest track that Cup races at. With no restrictor plates, the cars are actually faster than at the plate | | Mark Martin and Elliott Sadler race for position at Atlanta. Martin, who clearly had the momentum in this photo, finished 3rd with Sadler 10th. (Photo: Autostock) |
races. Couple that to the layout of Atlanta, with multiple groves, and its critical to keep up momentum on the track.
I know we all hear drivers talk about momentum, but what is momentum, and in a Cup car, how do you keep it...or more to the point, how do you not lose it. Momentum can best be described as having a ball on the end of a string, and then swinging it around in a circle. As the speed picks up, the ball | | Lose momentum and youll finish midpack at best, like Dale Jarrett and the UPS Ford Taurus which finished the day in 14th position. (Photo: Autostock) |
circulates faster, and it will rise up and stretch the limits of the string. When it slows down, it loses its momentum and falls, so to speed it back up, you have to use power to swing it harder, and thus increase momentum.
In cars, the same is true, especially at Atlanta. If you can run around the top of the track you keep your momentum up, even though it is a longer - in distance - lap.
But now you might be scratching your head trying to figure out what Im talking about, but heres what happens. | | Factor in a car that is a little loose or tight, and this is where good cars, like Jr.s, which is clearly doing better here in Phoenix, can go off in a hurry. (Photo: Autostock) |
To run the bottom of the track, you have to slow down, and thats where the problem comes in. When you slow down for the corner, you use part of the next straight to gain back the speed youve lost, and thus get beat by a driver running the top that has the all important momentum.
Also coming into play is the air, which for the most part is your friend, as it creates downforce. It also creates drag - its like a wall at those speeds - so it takes a lot of power, and time to build back up to top speed.
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