Raceday: Coming to some serious grip with new tire

Your guide to Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Drivers seem enamored with the new tire compound Goodyear brought this weekend. The sixth different product in the last six races, it’s provided better grip and proved more durable than previous incarnations. That’s crucial on a track with a slick-but-abrasive 13-year-old racing surface. Dale Earnhardt Jr. set a new record for qualifying speed in the new car on Friday night.

2. Kevin Harvick has finished second to Jimmie Johnson in consecutive races and already looks like he will be a factor on the intermediate-distance tracks that comprise much of the Sprint Cup schedule. His first Cup win came at Atlanta in 2001. He warmed up with a truck race win on Saturday.

3. Owner Jack Roush has 399 career victories in several series. Carl Edwards has three of the team’s six Cup wins in Atlanta.

OBSERVATIONS/BRANT JAMES

Managing moods and races

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was an interesting mix of moods Friday night.

He was borderline ecstatic after his blistering qualifying run – and his first pole in almost two years – but his tone tempered as he began to emphasize his “hunger” for victory and need to finally establish himself as a productive fourth member of the Hendrick Motorsports machine.

He was fast in race trim on Saturday, so he appears to have a car to contend with if he and his team can manage the race better than in some of their recent disappointments.

Another Hendrick kind of day?

Jimmie Johnson has won consecutive races after a disappointing Daytona 500 and appears borderline infallible right now. He was brisk in practice after qualifying just 16th.

With his teammates also qualifying or practicing well (or both), things could be awfully Hendrick-y again Sunday.

Toyota boss blasts back

There’s a surliness in the Toyota camp, specifically at Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin is off to a customarily modest start (22nd in points) and in a USA Today diary this week said “Toyota is behind on their motors.”

Toyota Racing Development president Lee White wasn’t amused. He told ESPN.com that Hamlin – a popular preseason pick to contend for the title – would “get over it as soon as he moves up front with his 19-year-old teammate," referring to Joey Logano, who is eighth in points.

PICKS

JIM UTTER: No, I don't think Jimmie Johnson is going to win the rest of the races. But right now Hendrick Motorsports certainly looks like it's good enough.

WINNER: Mark Martin.

BRANT JAMES: Crew chief Steve Letarte and his two-tire pit call at Las Vegas were dissected all week. His driver, after an average start, is racing well and of a mind to end this Jimmie Johnson parade. Doesn’t matter, though.

WINNER: Kyle Busch.

BOB HENRY: Why bet against a winner?

WINNER: Jimmie Johnson.

NOTES

Off-ramped, off the charts

Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of the few tracks on the NASCAR circuit where drivers are confronted with the humbling reality of their speed as cars constantly skirt the dicey edge between locked-in and out of control.

Kyle Busch describes the sensation: “The only thing I’ve ever really been able to give a close description of is pick your favorite off-ramp – the round ones – and drive it as hard as you can drive it and see if it sticks. Here at Atlanta after about 40 laps it’s like doing that off-ramp while it’s raining. Good luck.”

And ticked off, too

Busch walked away from a banged-up car shaking his head, clearly miffed about a scrape in the final practice with Boris Said.

"You've got guys who don't belong out there," he said. "He's off the pace at every track we've been to. But he keeps getting in on owner points."

Said drives for Latitude 43 Motorsports, a new venture owned by a Vermont businessman who bought the No. 26 team from Roush Fenway Racing, inheriting its points. Since that team finished 22nd in the Cup standings, Said is guaranteed entry into the first five races of 2010.

"I'm out there minding my own business, running my car at the bottom of the track," Busch said. "He's at the top, then all of a sudden he wants to run in the middle on the straightaway. Usually if you're running at the top, you stay up there."

Said managed only two laps in his final tuneup for the race. He was next-to-last on the speed chart, beating out rookie Kevin Conway.

Golden: Bodine, Olympians hailed

Geoff Bodine is still basking in the golden glow of the Olympic bobsled that bears his name.

An older Bo-Dyn sled was on display in the media center at Atlanta Motor Speedway, commemorating the triumph of a program that made it to the top of the medal stand with the help of Bodine's finances and expertise. The U.S. four-man team, driving a sled known as the "Night Train," won the first U.S. gold in the event since 1948.

"I'm in awe of what happened," said Bodine, a longtime NASCAR driver who was on hand in Vancouver to cheer the American sled driven by Steve Holcomb. "I'm just in awe of the experience. It was so cool to hang out with people from all over the world.

"I couldn't understand them most of the time," he jokingly added. "There was a lot of head nodding."

Bodine said the biggest thrill was being at a sporting event where athletes represented entire countries, not just a group of fans.

"When you win in NASCAR, you have your fan base," he said. "But in the Olympics, you have a whole country cheering for you. It's very humbling to be a part of that. That's a very big playground they're playing on."

Bodine also noted that all he heard in Vancouver were cheers. No booing allowed.

"When someone falls down, they wait for the athlete to get up and they all cheer," he said. "When someone wins, they all cheer. In racing, you get a lot of boos. But in the Olympics, everyone cheers. No one boos. They appreciate what the athlete has done. It's just incredible to be around that environment."

Two of the bobsled gold medalists, Holcomb and Steve Mesler, were on hand Saturday to cheer the 60-year-old Bodine as he made his first appearance in the Truck series since 2004. Unfortunately, the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Dodge didn't have as much success as the Night Train.

Bodine went out with a gear problem and finished 26th, but he hopes to get back on the track soon.

"It's very hard for someone my age to get a ride," Bodine said. "But I am NOT retired. Everywhere I go, I have to remind people I am not retired."

Tickets! Get your tickets right here!

The Atlanta track has struggled to sell tickets for its spring race, which has frequently been plagued by inclement weather.

But a promising forecast could lead to a big walk-up crowd Sunday.

The track plans to bring in extra ticket sellers to accommodate the demand that figures to be spurred by a forecast calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s.

Then again, the turnout was rather sparse for Saturday's race, with huge sections completely empty and plenty of available seats along the front straightaway despite a sunny day and the temperature approaching 60.

And ...

Kurt Busch is ready to try out drag racing. He bought a 1970 Dodge Challenger on eBay for $15,000 and will make his debut at the Gatornationals next week, an off week for the Sprint Cup series. "I guess I can't quite correlate it to Danica (Patrick) coming to NASCAR, but Kurt's going drag racing," he said.

Austin Dillon finished 10th in Saturday's truck race, his best showing in four career starts in the series. Dillon, 19, is the grandson of team owner Richard Childress.

JUST THE FACTS

Kobalt Tools 500

Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Track type: 1.54-mile, paved, banked tri-oval.

Race distance: 325 laps, 500.5 miles.

When: Green flag is 1 p.m.

Weather: 59 degrees, mostly sunny.

TV: Coverage begins at 12 p.m. on Fox.

Radio: Performance Racing Network.

The Associated Press contributed.