By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) - Carl Edwards passed Denny Hamlin on a late
restart, then held on to win Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway to
keep his championship hopes alive.
But his seventh win of the season barely dented Jimmie Johnson's
points lead. Johnson had a rough start to the race - earning a rare
pit-road penalty that dropped him a lap off the pace - but stormed
back to finish second with an impressive final sprint through the
field.
A debris caution with 13 laps to go gave Johnson a chance to dip
onto pit road for two fresh tires, and he was 11th when the race
resumed with eight laps remaining. Johnson then picked off the cars
in front of him one at a time to widen his lead to 183 points over
Edwards.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)