Kahne wins rain-postponed Atlanta race Lester is 38th
HAMPTON, Ga. — Bill Lester would like to be known as just another race car driver.
"I'm looking forward to when it's about racing instead of race," Lester said Monday after becoming the first black driver to race in NASCAR's top stock car series in 20 years.
It was a historic day for the sport but a mixture of pride and embarrassment for the 45-year-old Lester, who finished 38th, six laps behind 25-year-old winner Kasey Kahne in the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"I don't really deserve all the attention I've gotten," Lester said.
Still, he was thrilled by the experience of racing against the Cup drivers in the Golden Corral 500, postponed from Sunday because of rain.
"It was a very significant learning experience for me," said Lester, the first black driver to race in the Cup series since Willy T. Ribbs. "It was fun to be out there with them. This is just the beginning and we have two more (Nextel Cup) races to go.
"I got a late start in my career and I'm trying to catch up as quick as I can."
Lester said he tried hard to earn some respect from the other Cup drivers Monday.
"I was able to bring it home in one piece and able to build up my database of knowledge," he said. "There were some opportunities for me to take some chances and I could have gotten in the way. But I'm not trying to do that."
Lester, who also plans to drive Cup races at Michigan International Speedway in June and California Speedway in September, said, "I'm eager. I can't hardly wait until June."
Kahne, the top Cup rookie in 2004, slumped last year. But he's started this season with four strong performances, including an 11th-place run at Daytona and two fourth-place finishes before earning the second victory of his career.
His first win came last May in Richmond and was the highlight of a difficult sophomore season.
"We had momentum," said Kahne, who also finished second to Jeff Burton in Saturday's Busch Series race here. "We've had momentum all weekend long."
It was the first victory at Atlanta for a Dodge in 29 years, since Richard Petty won here in 1977. It was also only the fourth win by a Charger since the model was introduced at the start of the 2005 season.
Struggling with a balance problem, only Kahne, his Evernham Motorsports teammate Jeremy Mayfield and Penske Racing South driver Ryan Newman won with Chargers last year. The car has been such a handful that two Dodge teams, Penske and Petty Enterprises, have gone back to the 2004 Intrepids for some races.
Kahne said Monday's victory was significant because he was able to overcome early handling problems with adjustments by his crew during the race.
"Everything that's gone on has been a plus for us," Kahne said. "The Chargers they've built for us at Evernham Motorsports and the engines, everything is running really well. It just took us a little time today to get it right."
Mark Martin made a late run at Kahne, driving his Ford alongside and nosing ahead of Kahne's No. 9 Charger 12 laps from the end of the 325-lap event. But Martin had to back off when his car began to slide and he wasn't able to challenge the leader again.
Kahne, who led 85 laps including the final 80, finished 1.929 seconds — about 20 car lengths — ahead of Martin.
"Once he got back out front, he stepped it up a notch," Martin said. "It I could have got in front of him, I might have been able to take his line away and get it done. When we got there, my tires were gone and his were, too. But he was in front."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third, his best finish of the year. He was followed by Jeff Gordon, reigning series champion Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Paul Menard, making only his third Cup start.
Johnson, who won two races and finished second in the other heading into Monday's event, will go to Bristol, Tenn., next weekend holding a 50-point lead over new runner-up Kahne in the standings.
