At 17 years, nine months and four days of age, Chase Elliott overtook Ryan Blaney to become the youngest race winner in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history as he moved aside leader Ty Dillon in a controversial and action-packed finish to Sunday's inaugural Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Dillon last pitted for fuel under caution on Lap 32 and appeared to be on his way to capturing his second win of the season when Elliott drove hard into his right rear-quarter panel on the last corner of the final lap, sending the driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet hard into the tire barrier on the outside of turn 10.

"I was doing all I could to make it to the finish," said Dillon, who dropped from first to 17th. "He just gave up trying to race and dumped me. I mean, he killed our truck. He killed our day."

A visibly upset Dillon leaned into Elliott's truck on pit road immediately following the race to share some choice words with the Dawsonville, Ga., driver as well as promised that payback was forthcoming.

"He obviously wasn't happy and he had every right not to be happy. I wouldn't have been happy either," said Elliott. "At the same time, you have to do what you have to do."

Chase Elliott's father, 1988 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bill Elliott, was spotting for his son in turns eight, nine and 10 of the 2.459-mile road course.

"All in all he did a great job. I guarantee you, I've lost many races like that and I've won 'em," the elder Elliott said. "These things have a way of working their way out. I think it was a great TV race though and I can tell you the fans in the turns where I was spotting were on their feet."

Max Papis and Mike Skeen made considerable contact with one another as they battled for third place during the final two laps. The rivalry culminated with Skeen and Papis both spinning out in a cloud of smoke in the last corner.

Chad Hackenbracht, who is running a limited 2013 schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports, weaved his way through the incident to finish an impressive second.
Miguel Paludo came home third as KBM driver Darrell Wallace Jr. was the highest finishing rookie in fourth.

Series championship points leader Matt Crafton struggled to a 10th-place finish but retained a 47-point lead over James Buescher. Buescher, the polesitter, finished ninth.

Dillon's Chevrolet led the most laps -- 25 -- with Elliott's Chevy in front for 22 of the race's 64 serials. Six different drivers exchanged the lead seven times.
Elliott averaged 87.775 mph in winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' first race outside the United States and first road-course event since June 2000.

Germán Quiroga and the No. 77 OtterBox Toyota Tundra team continue to grow and learn in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie year. Quiroga qualified 12th and by lap 15 he was running inside the top 10 where he stayed for majority of the race. Crew chief Dan Stillman played fuel strategy well, keeping Quiroga out during a caution period because it was not within the fuel window to make it to the end. This was a good move as it put Quiroga in position to take the lead with 29 laps to go and picking up bonus points for leading the race. After the team pitted, Quiroga dropped back into the 19th position and made a charge for the front. Unfortunately, with four laps to go, a competitor slammed into Quiroga resulting in a spin which relegated him to a 15th-place finish.

Germán Quiroga talks about racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park:

"We had a really fast OtterBox Toyota Tundra that was good enough to be in victory lane. These races keep getting away from us. Our chance is coming and it's coming soon. I'm really looking forward returning to Iowa Speedway next weekend."

RHR PR

John Wes Townley continues to showcase his consistency and patience each and every NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.Sunday's 64-lap event was no exception as the No. 7 Zaxby's Toyota Tundra driver started 25th and was able to make exceptional gains during the course of the race. A complete learning process for all involved, the young driver maneuvered his way through the field and earned a 12th-place finish. 

John Wes Townley talks about racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park:

"I had a blast today, a lot of fun. It's been a tough weekend and for us to finish up 12th I think that's pretty good. I screwed up in practice and my Zaxby's team did a great job of putting my Toyota Tundra back together. We got a top-15 finish and at the end of the day you've got to look at the whole picture. I think everyone did a great job."

RHR PR

There are a lot of tired jokes about NASCAR drivers only making left-hand turns, but this was certainly not true for Timothy Peters and the No. 17 Parts Plus Toyota Tundra. Peters qualified for the 64-lap race in the 15th-place placing him in the middle of the pack. Over the years, Peters has distinguished himself as a driver that can patiently pick his way through traffic and being there at the end and he did just that.

Peters was running in the sixth place when crew chief Butch Hylton called him in for a pit stop. Fuel strategy is incredibly important in a race like this so Hylton put Peters in a good position to finish the race. Later while others pitted, the Parts Plus Tundra was able to stay out picking up eight positions. Peters skillfully made his way right around the track and earned an eighth-place finish.

Timothy Peters talks about racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park:

"This race was all about survival. Our Parts Plus Tundra did well all day - it was better than I was. I went to school there for those 64-laps. We stayed out of trouble and no one was upset with me. We came home eighth with a top-10 finish and had a good points day. We'll go onto Iowa."

RHR PR

Race Highlights:

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished 17th (Ty Dillon) and 18th (Brendan Gaughan). 
• Dillon is third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, 64 markers behind the leader; while Gaughan ranks eighth in the standings, 88 points out of the top spot.
• The No. 3 Chevrolet team is fifth in the Camping World Truck Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 62 team 11th in the standings.
• Dillon earned the highest Average Running Position (3.281), while Gaughan ranked 13th in the category (13.000).
• According to NASCAR's Loop Data Statistics, Dillon ranked third in Driver Rating (116.9).
• Combined, Gaughan and Dillon made 57 Green Flag Passes during the inaugural road course event ranking them 11th and 22nd, respectively.
• Dillon was second in Fastest Laps Run (7 laps) and Fastest on Restarts during the 64-lap affair.
• Chase Elliott took the checkered flag and was followed to the line by Chad Hachenbracht, Miguel Paludo, Darrell Wallace Jr., and Ron Hornaday Jr.
• The next scheduled Camping World Truck Series race is the Fan Appreciation 200 presented by New Holland at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, September 8. The 15^th race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Last-Turn Incident Results in 17^th-Place Finish for Ty Dillon

In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' first road course event in more than a decade, Ty Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team dominated the majority of the 64-lap event at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park before another competitor forced them to make contact with the wall during the last turn of the race, relegating them to a 17^th-place result. Dillon started from the fifth position and pitted for fuel during the first full-course caution of the day on lap seven. Restarting from the 14^th position, the Richard Childress Racing driver maneuvered through the field and assumed the lead on lap 26 as other teams opted to pit under green flag conditions. The Welcome, N.C., driver continued to pace the field around the 10-turn road course until lap 31 when the Marcus Richmond-led crew called Dillon to pit road for four tires and fuel. Following the pit stop, the RCR driver once again drove back to the top spot on lap 48. In the closing laps of the race, Dillon radioed to the Chevrolet team he was running out of fuel with two laps remaining in the event. Working the corners to move the remaining fuel around in the fuel cell, Dillon continued to lead until the last corner of the race when the second-place competitor turned him hard into the outside wall, causing him to relinquish the lead, lose track position and fall to 17^th for the finish. Despite the race result, Dillon improved one position, to third, in the championship point standings, 64 points behind the leader.

Start - 5        Finish - 17           Laps Led - 25           Points - 3rd

TY DILLON QUOTE:

"We had a really fast Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet today. The guys worked hard all weekend to put this truck together and were great on pit road. I hate that we couldn't get the finish we deserved. I think we could have raced hard back to the checkered flag, but we ended up in the wall. The fans here at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park were awesome. I think they really enjoyed the show today."

Ryan Newman was able to overcome an early setback in the AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway to bring his No. 39 Aspen Dental Chevrolet SS home with a fifth-place finish.

Newman started 17th in the 43-car field and made an impressive recovery after an early-race incident on pit road to bounce back for his fifth top-five finish of the 2013 season.

“I’m really proud of everyone and the job they did tonight,” Newman said after scoring his second top-five in 21 career Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta. “We got squeezed on pit road and had to make an unscheduled stop to fix the damage and change the tires. The guys did a great job getting the fenders pulled out, and I almost forgot about it (the damage) from there. We struggled a little bit with the handling; we were a little off tonight but still had a really strong Aspen Dental Chevrolet.”

After making his first pit stop of the night, Newman left his stall and wound up in a three-wide situation with a car to either side of his blue-and-white machine. Slight contact was made as the drivers battled for position, resulting in damage to both front fenders of the No. 39 Chevrolet.

After dropping to 40th following the mishap, Newman steadily climbed his way through the field at the 1.54-mile oval, breaking into the top-10 at lap 90. Despite battling a tight-handling racecar, Newman continued to pace himself among the top-10 drivers throughout the remainder of the race, inheriting the lead on two occasions during green-flag pit stops. As the laps came to a close, Newman had raced his way to the second position.

But Newman couldn’t hold his position during two late-race restarts which saw him line up on the outside line, as he dropped to eighth position. Newman fought hard to better that spot and worked his way to fifth when the checkered flag waved.

“I don’t know what the deal is, but there’s no grip on the straightaway,” Newman said. “I don’t know if it’s rubber on the racetrack or what, but you did not want to be on the outside on a restart. I apologized to the guys for having so much trouble with the restarts tonight. They gave me a really strong Aspen Dental Chevrolet. We honestly had a chance at winning the race tonight. Maybe if we didn’t have those cautions at the end, who knows? But I’m proud of the guys on this No. 39 team.”

Newman’s Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS, finished 21st. It was Patrick’s 35th career Sprint Cup start and her second at Atlanta.

Mark Martin, interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 25th.

Kyle Busch won the AdvoCare 500 to score his 28th career Sprint Cup victory, his fourth of the season and his second at Atlanta.

Joey Logano finished .740 of a second behind Busch in the runner-up spot, while Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Newman rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were nine caution periods for 47 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 325-lap race on the 1.54-mile oval.

With round 25 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He moved up one spot to 14th with 699 points, 138 back of series leader Jimmie Johnson and 20 behind 10th-place Kurt Busch. Patrick remained 27th with 459 points, 378 behind Johnson and 260 away from Kurt Busch.

Stewart, out of the Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for the remainder of the season, dropped to 23rd in the standings. He has 594 points, 243 out of first and 125 behind 10th-place Busch.

Just one race remains before the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Only the top-10 in points are locked into the Chase. Positions 11 and 12 in the Chase are wild cards, awarded to the two drivers between 11th and 20th in points with the most wins. If multiple drivers have the same number of wins, a driver’s point standing serves as the tiebreaker.

Kasey Kahne, who is 12th in points, has the first wild card via his two wins. Truex holds the second wild card as he is 13th in points with one victory. Newman is the only other driver between 11th and 20th with a victory.

The No. 14 car is 15th in the Sprint Cup owner standings with 696 points, 141 behind the series-leading No. 48 team of Hendrick Motorsports and 23 points behind the No. 78 team of Furniture Row Racing, which is 10th.

The No. 5 team of Hendrick Motorsports has the first wild card spot via its two wins, while the No. 56 team of Michael Waltrip Racing has the second wild card as it is the highest team between 11th and 20th with one victory. The No. 39 team of SHR (14th), the No. 14 team of SHR (15th) and the No. 55 team of Michael Waltrip Racing (18th) each have one victory and are still in contention for a wild-card spot in the chase for the owner championship.

Following next week’s race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, the owner standings will be reset, with each team getting 2,000 points. With the exception of wild-card entrants (11th- and 12th-place teams), teams also receive three bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For teams starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed is determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.

Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished five spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 16th.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Richmond. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.

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Race Highlights:

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished ninth (Kevin Harvick), 19th (Austin Dillon), 24th (Paul Menard) and 34th (Jeff Burton) in the AdvoCare 500.
• Following the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Harvick moved up one position, to third, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, trailing leader Jimmie Johnson by 42 markers, while Menard sits 17th, 179 points back, and Burton is 22nd, 235 points behind the leader.
• The No. 29 Chevrolet SS team ranks third in the Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 27 team 19th in the standings and the No. 31 team 24th.
• According to NASCAR's Post-Race Loop Data Statistics, Harvick was the third-Fastest Driver Late in a Run, had the fourth-Fastest Green-Flag Speed, fifth-best Average Running Position (7.634), fifth-best Driver Rating (103.7) and was the fifth-Fastest Driver Early in a Run.
• Harvick spent 308 Laps in the Top 15, ranking him third in the loop data category.
• RCR teammates Harvick, Menard and Dillon posted 22 of the Fastest Laps Run, with 11,10 and one, respectively.
• Menard completed 87 Green-Flag Passes and Dillon 86.
• Burton made 126 Green-Flag Passes, second-most in the 43-car field with 32 coming in the top 15 (Quality Passes).
• Kyle Busch earned his fourth victory of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season and was followed to the finish line by Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.
• The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 7. The 26th race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ABC beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.

Early-Race Incident Relegates Menard to 24^th-Place Finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Paul Menard started the AdvoCare 500 from the 16^th position and involvement in an accident in the early laps of the Sunday night event relegated him to a 24^th-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After rain showers earlier in the day washed the rubber off the1.5-mile speedway, NASCAR officials mandated a competition caution at lap 25. Menard pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment in an attempt to give the Moen/Menards Chevrolet better drive off of the corners. While exiting pit road, the No. 27 machine sustained minor left-front fender damage when several cars in front of Menard made contact with each other causing the field to bunch. Having to come down pit road a second time during the competition caution for repairs, Menard restarted in 41^st on lap 29. Just 20 laps later the Richard Childress Racing driver was running 24^th when an incident with another competitor caused Menard to make contact with the outside retaining wall. Having to pit under green on lap 54 for more repairs, the 33-year-old-driver fell two laps down to the leader. The caution flag waved just a few laps later and Menard was able to take the "wave around" gaining one of his laps back. Just as things started to look up, the No. 27 Chevrolet had a right-rear tire go down as a result of the earlier damage. Menard was forced to come to pit road under green-flag conditions for fresh tires and repairs, causing him to fall another lap down to the leader. Menard restarted in 39^th on lap 80 two laps down to the leader. Despite the setbacks, the crew never gave up and made adjustments to the neon yellow machine all night. Though he remained laps down for the remainder of the night, by virtue of continuing to run laps and improve the car's handling, Menard was able to gain 15 spots to finish in the 24^th position under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Menard now sits in 17^th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings heading into Richmond International Raceway.

Start - 16          Finish - 24          Laps Led - 0           Points - 17th

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

"It was a long night for the No. 27 Moen/Menards crew. We got caught up in pit road congestion during the first stop of the night putting us behind and then the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) put us in the wall a few laps later. We lost laps early making repairs and we were never able to get them back. The crew worked really hard all night making adjustments and the car wasn't too bad considering the damage. We'll keep our heads up and hope for better results next weekend in at Richmond International Raceway."

Burton Finishes in 34^th-Place at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team finished 34^th in the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway after getting caught up in an early accident and falling victim to a flat tire late in the race. Starting the 500-mile event from the 28^th position, Burton moved into the top 20 by lap 25 when NASCAR officials waved the yellow flag for a competition caution period. On the ensuing restart, multiple competitors slowed in front of the Richard Childress Racing machine and Burton suffered moderate damage to the right front and right rear of his Chevrolet SS. The Caterpillar crew went to work immediately and fixed the damage without the 46-year-old driver losing a lap to the leader. Restarting 40^th, Burton quickly worked his way back into the top 20 by lap 90 and entered the top 15 on lap 130. Maintaining a top-15 running position throughout the middle stages of the 325-lap event, Burton radioed to crew chief Luke Lambert that the Caterpillar machine was tight in the middle of the 24-degree banked corners of the 1.5-mile race track. The 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner persevered with the battered machine and climbed into the top 10 until bad luck struck on lap 289 while Burton was entering pit road for a green-flag pit stop. The No. 48 Chevrolet made contact with the black and yellow machine from behind, which sent Jimmie Johnson spinning and the caution flag was displayed while Burton was on pit road. The setback placed the No. 31 team in the 15^th position and after barely missing another spinning car on the next restart, Burton's right-rear tire gave out which sent the RCR driver spinning into his teammate Austin Dillon and eventually the outside retaining wall. The significant damage took multiple laps for the CAT Racing team to repair on pit road and Burton limped home to a 34^th-place finish. Burton now sits 22^nd in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.

Start - 28          Finish - 34          Laps Led - 0          Points - 22nd

JEFF BURTON QUOTE:

"I am honestly proud of how the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team ran tonight. We battled back into the top 10 after the first incident and a cut tire at the end of the race ruined our night. I really like these guys, they never give up. We will keep on digging."

Dillon Earns Top-20 Finish in AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Austin Dillon drove the No. 33 AdvoCare Chevrolet to a 19^th-place finish in the AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race under the lights of Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night. The Welcome, N.C., driver started the Labor Day weekend affair from the 26^th position and reported handling issues to his Richard Childress Racing pit crew throughout the course of the 325-lap race. He made the first of several routine pit stops during a NASCAR-mandated competition caution on lap 25 receiving four Goodyear tires, Sunoco Green E15 fuel and a chassis adjustment designed to counteract a loose-handling condition. Restarting in the 35^th position on lap 29, Dillon worked his way into the 18^th spot by lap 40 and remained a mainstay in the top-20 despite handling issues that ranged from loose to tight and lacking forward drive and side force throughout the remainder of the event. The No. 33 AdvoCare team remained on the lead lap until making a routine pit stop under green-flag conditions on lap 162 for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment while running 18th. Dillon was in position to earn the "Lucky Dog", thereby rejoining the lead lap cars, when the caution flag was displayed on lap 298, but NASCAR officials deemed him ineligible for the award when he incurred left-front fender damage during an on-track incident that occurred during the caution period. When green-flag racing resumed with 21 laps of racing remaining, Dillon was scored in the 19^th spot, where he eventually finished.

Start - 26         Finish - 19         Laps Led - 0         Points - N/A

"I'm really proud of the over-the-wall pit crew tonight. They were on it each and every pit stop. Tonight was a very long race, but I feel like I really learned a lot. I want to thank AdvoCare for giving me the opportunity to run this race and for supporting this NASCAR race weekend."

RCR PR

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 21^st in the AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Patrick, who started 21^st, drove a smooth, clean race and finished eight spots higher than she did a year ago at Atlanta.

“I’m proud of the GoDaddy guys,” said Patrick, who made her 35^th Sprint Cup start and her second at Atlanta. “We weren’t good in the first practice (on Friday). Tony Gibson and the guys worked really hard, and we qualified well and then continued to get better throughout the weekend.

“It was a good race for us. It was a little tight at the end, but overall, we improved, and I think we’ve gotten better the last few races. The pit crew was really good, and they were quick on each stop. I’m happy with how we ran. Obviously, you always want to do better than you finish, but it’s like we’ve said all year, it’s about making little gains and getting better as we go along.”

Patrick’s teammate, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Aspen Dental Chevrolet SS, finished fifth.

The third member of SHR, Mark Martin, interim driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 25^th.

Kyle Busch won the AdvoCare 500 to score his 28^th career Sprint Cup victory, his fourth of the season and his second at Atlanta.

Joey Logano finished .740 of a second behind Busch in the runner-up spot, while Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Newman rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were nine caution periods for 47 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 325-lap race around the 1.54-mile oval.

With round 25 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He moved up one spot to 14^th with 699 points, 138 back of series leader Jimmie Johnson and 20 behind 10^th-place Kurt Busch. Patrick remained 27^th with 459 points, 378 behind Johnson and 260 away from Kurt Busch.

Stewart, out of the Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for the remainder of the season, dropped to 23^rd in the standings. He has 594 points, 243 out of first and 125 behind 10^th-place Busch.

Just one race remains before the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Only the top-10 in points are locked into the Chase. Positions 11 and 12 in the Chase are wild cards, awarded to the two drivers between 11^th and 20^th in points with the most wins. If multiple drivers have the same number of wins, a driver’s point standing serves as the tiebreaker.

Kasey Kahne, who is 12^th in points, has the first wild card via his two wins. Truex holds the second wild card as he is 13^th in points with one victory. Newman is the only other driver between 11^th and 20^th with a victory.

The No. 14 car is 15^th in the Sprint Cup owner standings with 696 points, 141 behind the series-leading No. 48 team of Hendrick Motorsports and 23 points behind the No. 78 team of Furniture Row Racing, which is 10^th.

The No. 5 team of Hendrick Motorsports has the first wild-card spot via its two wins, while the No. 56 team of Michael Waltrip Racing has the second wild card as it is the highest team between 11^th and 20^th with one victory. The No. 39 team of SHR (14^th), the No. 14 team of SHR (15^th) and the No. 55 team of Michael Waltrip Racing (18^th) each have one victory and are still in contention for a wild-card spot in the chase for the owner championship.

Following next week’s race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, the owner standings will be reset, with each team getting 2,000 points. With the exception of wild-card entrants (11th- and 12th-place teams), teams also receive three bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For teams starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed is determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.

Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished five spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 16^th.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Richmond. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.

TSC PR

Finding victory in defeat isn’t easy, but Mark Martin and the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet team of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) did just that in the AdvoCare 500 Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. An early-race accident prevented them from contending which resulted in a disappointing 25^th-place finish, but Martin and company scored a moral victory, building on their rapport and communication – a huge asset as the 2013 season continues.

“I’m amazed we were able to do what we did tonight,” said Martin, a two-time Atlanta winner (November 1991 and 1994). “I’m surprised that deal didn’t knock the radiator out of the car. The guys did an incredible job getting us back out there. The car just wasn’t quite the same, but we still made some pretty good strides. If we can get a little luck to go our way, we’re going to be in good shape.”

Going out second during Friday evening’s qualifying session resulted in a 27^th-place starting spot for Sunday’s 500-mile race. Despite starting deep in the field, solid practice sessions Saturday afternoon generated optimism among team members for the race.

Martin made steady progress during the first few race circuits around the 1.54-mile oval with his only complaint being that the car was “plowing” a little and needed adjustments to free up the handling. The team made a chassis adjustment, changed four tires and added fuel, sending Martin back on the track in 19^th-place for a restart.

Jeff Gordon spun his tires on the lap-32 restart and set off a chain reaction that collected a handful of drivers, including Martin. The No. 14 Chevrolet sustained heavy front-end damage, and Martin lost a lap while the team made repairs to the car on pit road, placing the driver of the Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy a lap down in 39^th-place when green-flag racing resumed on lap 40.

A round of adjustments and savvy driving by Martin put the team in position to get the lap back when the fourth caution of the race was displayed for debris on lap 77. Despite all of the hard work, the No. 14 Chevrolet never recovered completely from the early-race damage. Rather than contending for a top finish, Martin and company used the race as an opportunity to develop their relationship, making great strides in adjusting to the driver’s needs.

“Making this change (to the No. 14 team) was pretty huge because not only is it different crew guys work on the car, which really isn’t a huge thing, but it’s a whole different thought process, it’s a whole different bunch of guys that I didn’t have a chance to go to test in February and go hang out in the shop,” Martin said. “We’re starting to get kind of in a groove. Last week (Bristol, Tenn.) was really tough, but we’ve had some testing time now and another race weekend, so we’re getting more dialed in. I’m enjoying working with these guys. They’re a good bunch of guys, and they’ve made me feel real comfortable.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Aspen Dental Chevrolet, led the SHR contingent Sunday with his fifth-place finish. It was his second top-five in 21 career Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta and his fifth top-five of the season.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 21^st. It was Patrick’s 35^th career Sprint Cup start and her second at Atlanta. Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished five spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 16^th.

Kyle Busch won the AdvoCare 500 to score his 28^th career Sprint Cup victory, his fourth of the season and his second at Atlanta.

Joey Logano finished .740 seconds behind Busch in the runner-up spot, while Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Newman rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were nine caution periods for 47 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 325-lap race.

With round 25 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He moved up one position to 14^th and has 699 points, 138 back of series leader Jimmie Johnson and 20 behind 10^th-place Kurt Busch. Patrick maintained her 27^th-place standing and has 459 points, 378 behind Johnson and 260 away from Kurt Busch.

The No. 14 team is 15^th in Sprint Cup owner points, 23 out of the top-10 and 141 behind the series-leading No. 48 team of Hendrick Motorsports. The No. 14 team is fourth in line to grab one of the two wild-card positions for the 12-team Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The No. 5 team of Hendrick Motorsports, 12^th in points, holds the first wild card via its two victories. The No. 56 team of Michael Waltrip Racing, 13^th in points, holds the second and final wild card via its lone win June 23 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The No. 39 team of SHR, 14^th in points, is third in the wild-card race with its lone win Aug. 4 in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The No. 14 team also has a win, earned June 2 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, and if the team surpasses the No. 56 and No. 39 teams in points, the No. 14 team will earn the second wild card.

Only two races remain before the cutoff for the 10-race Chase. Following the Sept. 7 race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, the owner standings will be reset, with each team getting 2,000 points. With the exception of wild-card entrants (11^th- and 12^th-place teams), teams also receive three bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For teams starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed is determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Richmond. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.

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