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Last year, the Atlanta Motor Speedway had the honor of hosting the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 on the day of Halloween. For Jimmie Johnson, the race had to feel like both a trick and a treat. Johnson trailed Mark Martin for the majority of the race before a caution flag helped Johnson move into the lead where he held off Martin, Carl Edwards, and Joe Nemechek. The win was Johnson’s third straight on the season and moved him up to second in the points chase, a mere 59 points behind leader Kurt Busch with three races to go. Johnson also became the first driver in over six years to reel off three victories in a row in a single season. Obviously a treat for Johnson and the team, the win wasn’t nearly enough to block out his feelings of sorrow and sadness after team president John Hendrick, Hendrick’s twin daughters Jennifer and Kimberly, and team owner Rick Hendrick’s son, Ricky, were killed in a plane crash the previous week along with other members of the Hendrick Racing Team.
Johnson had won the race the week before in Martinsville but wasn’t informed of the crash until after the race had concluded. Johnson and other team members Jeff Gordon, Brian Vickers, and Terry Labonte all had trouble dealing with the reality that had hit their team but they realized they still had a job to do and although Johnson’s victory in last year’s Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 could never take away the pain, it was something he and the team needed to help move on. The Atlanta Motor Speedway is a 1.54 mile oval located in Hampton, Georgia. The course has hosted racing since the 1972 season with winners like Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, and Jeff Gordon. In the last 30 races held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, the pole sitter has only walked away the winner in two races.
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