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Nascar Notebook

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Carl Edwards had something to smile about after a race. A week after his post-race confrontation with teammate Matt Kenseth at Martinsville, Edwards finished second Sunday at Atlanta.

"We were lucky and real grateful for how today ended up," Edwards said. "Overall it was a good day for us, and I am grateful for that."

Reed Sorenson also left pleased. The Georgia native finished third to winner Jimmie Johnson. It was Sorenson's best finish of the season.

TOUGH FINISH: Dale Earnhardt Jr. appeared headed for a top-three finish until his car's left rear wheel fell off and he crashed to end the race.

"Man, that was a hit," Earnhardt said. "It was hard and loud. I knew when I was sliding up there it was going to be big and it was."

NUMBER CRUNCHING: Jimmie Johnson donated his race winnings of $349,561 to the American Red Cross to support efforts for the California Wildlife Relief Fund. ... Kyle Petty's 13th-place finish was his best since placing third in the Coca-Cola 600 in May. ... Kasey Kahne's ninth-place finish was his third top-10 in the last five races. ... Brian Vickers' 10th-place finish was his first top-10 since California on Labor Day weekend. ... Michael Waltrip's 11th-place run was his third consecutive top-20 finish.

TESTING: More than 40 drivers are expected to take part in a Car of Tomorrow test today and Tuesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson will not participate, focusing instead on the championship.

The Car of Tomorrow will be used in every race next season after being run in 16 races this season. This test will help teams prepare for running on the 1.5-2 miles tracks next season. Drivers and teams have had questions how the car will handle on the bigger tracks.

This will mark the first test for Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Busch for Joe Gibbs Racing and J.J. Yeley for Hall of Fame Racing, as they prepare for next year.

NEW JOB: David Stremme will split a ride with Chase Austin in the Nationwide series next season for Rusty Wallace's team. Wallace's son, Stephen, will continue to drive full-time for the team.

Austin will run 15 of the 35 races, mainly standalone races, while Stremme will drive races that are on the same weekend as the Cup events. Austin also will run in select ARCA races to gain experience.

PIT STOPS: International Speedway Corp. has agreed to sell the Staten Island piece of land that it had hoped to build a race track for about $100 million, according to The Associated Press. ... NASCAR.com reports that NASCAR is looking at using the Car of Tomorrow in the Nationwide series in 2009.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dlong@news-record.com