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For better or worse, Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway certainly lacked the on-track fireworks that characterized the Kobalt Tools 500 in March, better known in the Keselowski family as “The day Brad flew.” No, the Emory Healthcare 500 will be remembered more for Tony Stewart ending his 31-race winless streak, and pole-sitter Denny Hamlin blowing his engine after leading most of the early going. Still, this race was not crash-free, and may end up deciding the last man in the Chase.

What Happened: On lap 151, Ryan Newman slipped between Jamie McMurray, and Greg Biffle to race three-wide coming down the straightaway just before turn 3. Unfortunately, Biffle was the only driver not to realize this, as he tried to come down the track, oblivious to Newman’s No. 39 car directly on his inside. Unaware of Newman until it was too late, the left side of Biffle’s 3M car hit Newman’s Chevy, sending Biffle spinning down the track. Somehow Newman and McMurray escaped the crash unscathed. There was, however, one other casualty of the crash, Eliot Sadler’s No. 19 car, which was running behind Biffle. After the initial spinout, Sadler opted to go low and sneak under Biffle’s smoking car before it hit the infield, only to be unintentionally boxed in from going lower by Kevin Harvick. Biffle’s car hit Sadler’s quarter-panel, causing him to crash into the turn 3 wall before settling back down toward the infield. Heady driving by Harvick and Jeff Burton prevented more participants from getting involved in the crash. Unlike Sadler, Biffle was eventually able to reenter the race but finished 80 laps down in 35th. Sadler finished 41st.

Say what you will about the quality of Sprint Cup racing -- and as you know we've said plenty -- NASCAR has made the sport safer for participants. Since Dale Earnhardt Sr. died at the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR has had 917 races and zero deaths. Check out this in-depth look at NASCAR safety.

Not surprisingly, the World’s Fastest Half-Mile provided plenty of excitement this past weekend across all three series, culminating in a triumphant weekend sweep by Kyle Busch. What was surprising was the lack of crashes we’re accustomed to seeing at a short, steep track such as Bristol. There was plenty of hard racing on display, but drivers were able to avoid day-ending mistakes. Somehow, I don’t think Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are taking much solace in that. 

Kurt Busch tapped Jimmie Johnson with seven laps to go at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, sending Johnson into what passes for an angry fit for the four-time champ. Busch claims he was not trying to spin out his rival, saying, "Driving into turn three, I had all intentions of passing him on the inside. Your motive is always to pass a guy clean ... I just got into him in the left rear." Riiiiiiiiight. Somehow Jimmie found a way to win. Jimmie always finds a way to win.