Qualifying was scheduled for night for the first time in Atlanta, so of course the rain holds off just until the start of the session. The subsequent rainout meant the field would be set on points for the third time in four weeks � or every race Jamie McMurray has even been in, so he starts fourth while Tony Stewart is on the pole. NASCAR attempts to start early as rain returns to the area just before the scheduled start, and is forecasted through Monday. As the field heads out, raindrops could already be observed on chopper-cam and the Atlanta area was already under green on the weather radar. Stewart checks out immediately after the green flag falls, with John Andretti causing the first caution with a hard crash off Turn 2. Bill Elliott makes an unscheduled stop due to a vibration, the start of yet another disappointing day for the #9 car. Rusty Wallace is also struggling with what was described as a risky, radical setup and also restarts near the rear. Stewart again checks out on the restart, while rival Jeff Gordon is on the move and in second. We get a small taste of the competitive high-speed racing with plenty of position changes Atlanta Motor Speedway offers before the yellow comes out for rain on Lap 17. Newman 14.6, Stewart 13.4, Gordon 15.5. Air-pressure adjustment for Kurt Busch while Joe Nemechek takes two tires as the race is red-flagged for nearly three hours.

The rain subsides and there is enough of a window according to the meteorological experts to allow for the race to reach the 162 � laps required (actually 163, no matter what Bestwick says, you can't throw the checkered flag on the backstretch) to make it an official event. The race goes back under yellow at approximately 3:30 PM local time, and the new lighting system allows for a finish after dark if necessary. The first development to occur before the race went back to green involved Tony Stewart making a return trip to pit road due to a lug-nut problem, relegating the #20 to 27th position by the restart. Should Tony finish back in the field while Jimmie Johnson runs up front, that would put the #48 within serious striking distance of the points lead. Dale Jr. and Dale Jarrett also elect to top-off before the resumption of green flag racing � with thoughts of making it to halfway on only one more stop.

Perhaps for the first time perhaps in the history of this column, Joe Nemechek will be mentioned extensively as the #25 leads the field for the Lap 46 restart. Remember, Jerry Nadeau came within a half-lap of winning this event in this car last November. Jeff Gordon quickly gets Jeff Burton for second, then Nemechek for the race lead � and would start to pull away. Kurt Busch is also running well and would soon inherit the second position. Gordon maintains a second lead on the #97 heading into a round of green-flag stops, while Tony Stewart marches his way back up the scoring pylon and eventually into the top ten. Six-time Atlanta winner Bobby LaBonte also is having his usual strong run here in fifth. Johnson 15.0 (chassis), Gordon 15.7 (chassis), Craven 15.2 (chassis), no changes for Jamie McMurray � again running in the top six. LaBonte gets an a/p adjustment, Busch 14.0 (a/p left rear), Newman 14.2 (after staying out long enough to lead a lap), Waltrip 16.0 (a/p left rear). Kenseth (not running all that well) gets a chassis adjustment, Martin 15.2 (wedge, right front), Stewart 14.6 (tract bar after leading a lap), Junior 14.8 (no changes after leading two laps), Jarrett 14.0 (tract bar), W. Burton 14.2 (a/p on rears), Petty 13.6. Busch inherits lead after pits recycle.

Only 23 cars remain on the lead lap by Lap 112, with Jamie McMurray running fourth, Stewart sixth. At one point the occasional sprinkles get heavier and another delay seems imminent, but the rain eventually ceases. The big question now is who will be able to make it halfway without pitting, which would fall into Tony Stewart�s favor as reportedly only he and Michael Waltrip would be the only cars able to do so. Stewart would not get that break, but even a bigger one as championship rival Jimmie Johnson spins and then limps around the track on flat tires as the yellow comes out on Lap 138. Field pits, with the big news being Kurt Busch landing too close to the pit box, which would cost the #97 three positions. Busch (17.3), Gordon (15.5), Stewart (13.7), track bar for McMurray. Restart order will be Nemechek, Gordon, Stewart, Busch.

On the restart Gordon jumps both on Nemechek and the lapped car of Rusty Wallace, and leads as the race quickly approaches halfway. But Nemecheck reclaims the top spot from the #24 as Joe�s Mom starts doing a raindance. Should precipitation halt the proceedings now, the pace car could easily nurse the field to half the advertised distance to make it official. Tony Stewart was held up momentarily by the lapped car of old Buddy Robby Gordon, but eventually slams Robbie in the quarter-panel - then eventually reclaiming the third spot from Busch while entertaining those listening to his frequency with some commentary pertaining to the orange and black #31 car. As the race becomes official, the #20 sets his sights on Jeff Gordon in a battle for position between two of the superstars of NASCAR. Let me reset that, the two superstars of NASCAR. Busch would soon get Jeff Gordon for second while Dale Jr. (the fastest car on the track) gets Jamie Mac for fifth. Stewart (and the Great Pumpkin scheme) casts his shadow on Nemechek and eventually gets the lead on Lap 189, while Junior gets Gordon for fourth. Now it is Stewart�s crewman doing the rain dance.Junior is still on the march and gets Nemecheck for second as a round of green-flag stops begin. Busch 14.5 (with a/p adj), Gordon 14.5. Meanwhile Junior gets the lead on Stewart. Kenseth (15.3) gets a wedge adjustment, Johnson (who remains saddled back in 16th) gets an a/p adjustment � while Junior and Stewart just take on four tires and fuel. One of Junior�s crewman trip during his pit � costing a couple of precious seconds. Busch and Nemechek inherit the one/two spots on the exchange of pit stops based on pitting earlier and running on fresher tires, with Stewart third and Junior fifth. Junior would get fourth from Gordon when Jimmie Johnson (about to be lapped) spins in front of the leaders to bring out the yellow.

At this point some were beginning to wonder if everyone would get tricked while the rain holds off, allowing the entire 500 miles to be run. However, the rain again starts to fall just as the leaders are about to pit. Would one of the teams laying back on the lead lap stay out in an attempt to have their driver win Dave Marcis style??? For those of you new to NASCAR, that is a reference to a race in Richmond back in 1982 that saw Marcis win by keeping his J.D Stacy out during a yellow as obvious rain clouds were moving in - although it took Bob Jenkins 20 minutes to sort it out on TV (the early days of ESPN). Amazingly, no one stays out. Restart order is Busch, Stewart, Nemechek, and Dale Jarrett (suddenly in contention after quietly moving up through the field). Kevin Harvick goes behind the wall with a trick motor and joins Todd Bodine as engine casualties. Stewart starts to lose ground for the first time all day on the Lap 238 restart, falling into the clutches Nemechek and Jarrett. Stewart, Jarrett, and Dale Jr. are in a great three-way battle for third when rain brings out what would prove to be the final caution on Lap 242. Busch wins the race back to the stripe, followed by Nemechek, Jarrett, Stewart, Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon � which would be the final order of finish as the race is called soon after, with 249 of 325 laps completed. Looking at the Victory Lane festivities I come up with this thought, doesn't the new Miss Winston look a lot like the old Miss Winston???

Rounding out the top ten were Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, and Ryan Newman. Other notables include Michael Waltrip (11th), Jeff Burton (12th), Bobby LaBonte (13th), Rusty Wallace (17th � first car a lap down), Jimmie Johnson (22nd), Ricky Rudd (32nd), Bill Elliott (33rd), and Kevin Harvick (40th).

The points title is now Stewart�s to lose � as he now leads Mark Martin by 146 points, followed by Jimmie Johnson (-150), Ryan Newman (-203), and Rusty Wallace (-227). Busch�s second straight win moves him into sixth 297 points back, now ahead of Jeff Gordon (-301). The #40 car (Marlin/McMurray/Bliss) remains fourth in the owners standings 188 points behind the #20 entry.

COSMIC LATTE

The divorce between Michael �Fatback� McSwain, Ricky Rudd, and Robert Yates Racing became final when Fatback was released by RYR and immediately signed by Joe Gibbs Racing. Fatback will be Bobby LaBonte�s crew chief beginning in February. At least one other member of Rudd�s outfit has also jumped ship � Bobby Burrell, the crewman best remembered for the near-disastrous accident he was involved in at Homestead last season moved to Johnny Benson�s team last month. Officially, the #25 car is still listed without a driver for next season � however, all logic points to Joe Nemechek again being in that ride, especially after this past weeks performance. this site.

Sterling Marlin may had fallen out of my last rankings, but his replacement shoots up in this one. The final in-season KACSPORTS Top Twenty, which is not good news for RCR fans is as follows�

1. (1) Stewart, 2. (4) Newman (+1), 3. (3) Johnson (-1), 4. (6) Busch (+4), 5. (7) J. Gordon (-1), 6. (2) Martin (+1), 7. McMurray (NR), 8. (11) Dale Jr. (+3), 9. (8) Kenseth (-4), 10. (5) Rusty (-4), 11. (9) Jarrett (-1), 12. (13) J. Burton (+1), 13. (12) Elliott (-4), 14. (10) Rudd (-2), 15. (17) B. LaBonte (+4), 16. (14) Waltrip (-1), 17. (16) Craven, 18. Nemechek (NR), 19. Benson (NR), 20. (19) Blaney

Dropped out: Harvick (14), Green (17), R. Gordon (18) � what do they have in common???

ROCKINGHAM PREVIEW

Another sick thought, what if WWE sponsored a race here and they got Dwayne Johnson to give the command, but would first belch (after staring at the camera for five minutes) FINALLY, THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO THE ROCK!!!!! Johnson could then go off on a tangent on how the suits keep on trying to buy this date and move it to Texas. Anyways, the surface here actually does consist of millions of pebbles, meaning four-tire stops are a must and Goodyear will bring it�s Darlington tire compound. Fortunately, the weather in Rockingham, North Carolina will not resemble Rockingham, England. That is no rain is forecasted for the entire weekend, qualifying and the races will come off as scheduled. In fact, the weather will be very similar to the February race, so notes from that will definitely come in handy. One of weekend highlights, besides the race, will be the annual pit-crew competition, which last year was won by Matt Kenseth�s crew. I will go off the board and pick Ricky Craven�s crew to win this year. For a recap of the February race won by Kenseth, click here. The list of contenders is as follows�

Tony Stewart � Tony strongly denies going into a prevent defense to secure his first Cup title. And with a 146-point lead that may not even be necessary. But I would expect Tony and Crew Chief Greg Zimpadelli to at least insert the nickel back this week. Although Stewart has never finished higher than fourth here, he did secure his third career top-five back in February. All Tony needs to do is keep it in the fairway for two of the final three races and the belt is his.

Jeff Gordon � To give an indication on how dominant the #24 once was, Gordon passed Rusty Wallace with eight laps to go in this event back in 1998 to win his third Cup Title. That was Jeff�s 12th win in 32 races that year. Gordon hasn�t won here since, but finished seventh in February so his usual puncher�s chance applies.

Kurt Busch � Short-track win, check. Superspeedway, check. Old one-mile track???? You could probably check that too.

Joe Nemechek � Before you think I�ve gone way off the board, Joe is the defending winner of this event. Jerry Nadeau, who was in the #25 car that day, placed fifth. Combine that with Joe�s fantastic showing last week and you have a bonifide contender for this week.

Steve Park � This may be the week the Park comeback goes full-circle. To recap the recent history of the #1 car at the Rock, Park won an emotional race (after qualifying second) on February 26, 2001 � NASCAR�s first race following the passing of DEI owner Dale Earnhardt. Then Kenny Wallace won the pole and finished second for the November event. This February, Wallace qualified ninth and placed tenth. Meanwhile, Park has slowly upgraded his game in recent weeks, coming off finishes of 6th, 15th, 16th, and 15th.

Matt Kenseth � I liked the #17�s chances back in February while indicating that the race may come down to the pit crews, and Kenseth went on to score the first of four victories this year. The #17 hasn�t been particularly strong as of late (14th, 34th, 19th, 9th) but must be reckoned with this weekend as well.

Jamie McMurray � Will actually have to qualify, and may have to work his way from further back in the field. However, Sterling Marlin placed second in the spring � so don�t count out the #40 this week neither. In fact the final three events should play very well into Jamie Mac�s hands.

Jimmie Johnson � Throw out the 28th place finish from February. JimmieJohn was still getting his sealegs in the world of Cup racing plus a crewman broke a leg during the first pit stop that day, which was a distraction. This weekend should go much smoother for the #48 as Chad Knaus� team attempts to remain in championship contention.

Ryan Newman � Don�t look now, but don�t be surprised to see Newman finish second, which would be a modern rookie best. Finished on the lead lap in 14th in the spring.

Ricky Craven � The #32 was absolutely smoking in February qualifying, winning the pole with a speed just over 156 MPH. No one else in the field would top 155. Craven would go on to finish fifth that day.

Rusty Wallace/Jeff Burton � I�m a big fan of good drivers looking for their first win late in the season, although both drivers chances are actually better next week in Phoenix. JB finished sixth in February, Rusty eighth. Burton also has a 1999 win in this event.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. � No one has been hotter over the past month. Ever since Junior made his early-season concussion admission in Kansas the #8 has placed sixth, first, ninth, fourth, and fifth. On the downside Junior does not have a good history here and placed 26th in February.

Johnny Benson � Yet another darkhorse who should come up big this week. Benson placed third in this event last year and also qualified third in February. Critics however, point to the fact that Benson is not a fan of the physical style of racing often required here.

Dale Jarrett � Blew up in February, but has finished in the top five in this event for the past five years, including a win in 2000.

Mark Martin � Most recent success here was a win in the February 1999 race.

Bobby LaBonte � As is the case with Atlanta, the #18 has a great record here in recent years, with five top three finishes in his last eight tries.

Bobby Hamilton � A deep, deep sleeper as Hamilton qualified tenth and finished ninth back in February. Also beat Dale Jarrett to win the November, 1997 race here.

DON�T COUNT ON

Jeff Green/Kevin Harvick/Robby Gordon � It wasn�t too long ago that I was high on the RCR program. This week all three manage to drop out of my top twenty. Don�t expect things to change here, as the threesome placed 18th, 19th, and 24th in the February event.

Bill Elliott � His average finish of 16.5 is still up from 19.5 last season, but the past three weeks have not been kind to the #9 with finishes of 35th, 42nd, and 33rd. Even though Bill placed 11th in February, it may still be best to lay off this week but jump on him when he pulls out his Pocono/Indy special for Phoenix and Homestead.

Ken Schrader � Hopes were high for the #36 when he qualified second back in the spring, which really seems long ago to Schrader. Kenny would blow a motor that day, just the first of six engine failures this year, including three of the past four weeks � the only exception being Martinsville where motors are not usually an issue.

Greg Biffle � If he were in the Rosch Racing #16, as he was slated to be last week, Biffle would be an intriguing prospect. However, Biff will be pinch-hitting in the #44 Petty Enterprises car � which seems a lot like pinch-hitting in the #55. Biffle will only compete in one more race after this, as rookie eligibility for �03 is a factor.

Ricky Rudd � This team is breaking apart at the seams now, stay away for the final three races.

Elliott Sadler � An average finish of 24.4, and his last top ten was in July. Why all the hype on this driver???

Hideo Fukuyama � Give the Japanese driver this much credit, he sure chose the tougher tracks. Dover, Martinsville, and now the Rock. Definitely gets points for degree of difficulty if nothing else.

I just took you through 26 drivers, don�t even think Bill Weber could take you that deep. Look for the finishing order to be as follows�

1. J. Gordon, 2. Stewart, 3. Kenseth, 4. McMurray, 5. Jarrett, 6. Busch, 7. Dale Jr., 8. Johnson, 9. Newman, 10. B. LaBonte, 11. Park, 12. Nemechek, 13. Craven, 14. Rusty, 15. Martin, 16. J. Burton, 17. Benson, 18. Waltrip, 19. Hamilton, 20. Elliott

ANDY HOUSTON AWARD

John Andretti wins the award this week for his Lap 5 exit. I may be devising a Ken Schrader award next year to the weekly driver who blows up the quickest�