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Kentucky Speedway News and Notes – March 5, 2010

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The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be back in action Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first time since its Feb. 13 season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway where Timothy Peters took a 0.068 of a second victory over Todd Bodine. Among an interesting list of Atlanta entrants is veteran Geoff Bodine, who will attempt to make his first series start in nearly six years and compete against his aforementioned brother for the first time since 2004. Geoff Bodine made his last NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start on July 10, 2004 at Kentucky Speedway. He started 31^st and finished 27^th. Kevin Harvick is scheduled pilot his No. 2 Kevin Harvick, Inc., machine in the race and Steve Wallace is scheduled to compete in the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports entry. Race coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. (EST), on SPEED Channel, Motor Racing Network radio and Sirius XM Radio 128. Kyle Busch took last season’s Atlanta victory from the pole position. Series standings: http://tinyurl.com/NCWTS-Standings.

JOHNSON TO SEEK THIRD STRAIGHT NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES VICTORY IN ATLANTA SUNDAY

Four-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will roll into Atlanta Motor Speedway seeking a third straight victory Sunday. The 34-year-old driver from El Cajon, Calif., cashed in his 49^th career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Feb. 28. He led the final 17 laps of the 400-mile test after wheeling his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports machine past the No. 24 of his teammate Jeff Gordon. Johnson earned his fourth career Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sprint Cup Series victory along with his fifth career top-10 finish on the 1.5-mile desert oval. Johnson now ranks 12^th in all-time series victories and needs just one to tie both Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 11^th. The modern-day Johnson has averaged seven victories in each of his four championship seasons. His most recent triumph helped him advance seven spots in the series standings to fifth. He will travel to Atlanta Motor Speedway trailing championship leader and second-place Las Vegas race finisher Kevin Harvick by 63 points. Johnson has taken three career victories and a total of nine top-five and 11 top-10 finishes through 17 career Atlanta starts. Harvick, who won the first 300-mile NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Kentucky Speedway history, climbed from the 34^th Las Vegas starting position and raced his No. 29 Richard Childress Racing entry across the finish line 1.874 seconds behind the No. 48. He collected his second consecutive second-place finish and third straight top-10 finish of the young season. He will enter the site of his emotional first Sprint Cup Series victory with a 47-point championship lead over his teammate Clint Bowyer, who was eighth at Las Vegas. Harvick has earned one win and a total of four top-five and five top-10 finishes through 18 career Atlanta Motor Speedway starts. He has earned three consecutive top-10 finishes at the track after taking a fourth-place March finish and a second-place September finish last season. Bowyer has produced one top-five and two top-10 finishes this season. He has placed in the top 10 in four of his eight career Atlanta starts. Gordon took third in the Las Vegas race, his teammate Mark Martin claimed fifth and Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth completed the race top five. Gordon moved from 22^nd to 13^th in the championship standings after taking his first top-five and top-10 finish of the season in Las Vegas. He will look to sustain his momentum Sunday on a track where he’s banked four victories, 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes through 35 career series starts. Martin took his second straight fourth-place finish of the season in Las Vegas. He will make his start 48^th Atlanta Motor Speedway start on Sunday. He has peeled off two victories, 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes in those events. He will start Sunday’s race third in the series standings and 49 points behind Harvick. Kenseth picked up his first top-five finish of the season in Las Vegas while running his string of top-10 finishes to three. He will make his 21^st career Atlanta Motor Speedway Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday. He has yet to win a series race in the Peach State, but has earned a total of seven top-five and 11 top-10 Atlanta finishes. Kurt Busch took the first of two Atlanta races last season. Martin snared the pole award for that March event. Race coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. (EST), on FOX, Performance Racing Network radio and Sirius XM Radio 128. Series standings: http://tinyurl.com/NSCS-Standings.

EDWARDS MAINTAINS NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES STANDINGS LEAD WITH THIRD-PLACE LAS VEGAS FINISH

Roush Fenway Racing competitor Carl Edwards maintained the lead in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings with a third-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Feb. 27. The performance marked his third straight top-five NASCAR Nationwide Series finish of the season and his fifth consecutive top-five finish dating back to last season. He has now finished in the top-10 in five of his six career Nationwide Series starts in Las Vegas. His No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford crossed the finish line two spots behind the No. 29 Kevin Harvick, Inc., Chevrolet that was under the command of its team owner. Kevin Harvick jumped seven positions in the series standings to seventh with his first victory and second top-five finish of the season. The performance also marked Harvick’s second career Las Vegas Motor Speedway victory in the series and his seventh career top-10 finish at the Speedway Motorsports, Inc., facility. He trails Edwards by 91 points in the standings. Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin took second in the Las Vegas event when his No. 20 Toyota crossed the finish line 1.361 seconds behind Harvick’s machine. He earned his first top-five series finish of the season in his first series start of 2010 and earned his 67^th career series top-five finish in his 120^th career start. Brad Keselowski placed fourth in his No. 22 Penske Racing machine and Brian Vickers completed the Las Vegas race top five. Keselowski moved from fifth to third in the championship standings after taking his second straight top-five finish. He sits 41 points behind Edwards in the standings. Vickers took his second fifth-place finish of the season and his third straight top-10 finish in the No. 32 ride. He is third in the standings and 48 points behind Edwards. Danica Patrick took a 36^th-place finish in Las Vegas after starting 37^th. Her average series finish is 34^th

through two career series starts. The series next race will be March 20 in the now more cozy Bristol Motor Speedway confines. Race coverage begins at 2:00 p.m., on ABC, Performance Racing Network radio and Sirius XM Satellite Radio 128. Harvick won the first of two series races at the legendary track last season after Brendan Gaughan started from the pole position. Series standings: http://tinyurl.com/NNS10Stand.

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- Kentucky Speedway, Press Release