Kasey Kahn wins Atlanta; Tony Stewart out after two crashes in NASCAR return

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Tony Stewart climbed from his battered car, took a big gulp of water and surveyed the damage. His night was done.

Not the way he wanted to come back to racing.

A little more than halfway through his first event since his sprint car struck and killed a fellow driver, Stewart slammed the wall twice and finished 41st at Atlanta Motor Speedway last night, leaving him in a must-win situation next weekend at Richmond to make NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup title.

Later last night, Kasey Kahne grabbed the lead on the restart after a caution with 23 laps left and held off Matt Kenseth in a two-lap shootout to win the race. Kahne's first win of the season earned him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Kenseth also qualified for the Chase on points. Denny Hamlin was third, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Danica Patrick.

But from the start of the race, all eyes were on Stewart. When he pulled his No. 14 car into the garage, he stayed behind the wheel while his crew jacked it up and went to work. A few minutes later, he climbed out, chatted briefly with Johnson and looked under the hood. When he realized nothing could be done, Stewart headed through the garage to his hauler parked on the other side. He showed no emotion and didn't say anything as he was trailed by reporters.

Stewart first went into the wall on lap 122 through no fault of his own. Kyle Busch's car drifted high coming out of turn 2 on a restart, catching the front end of Stewart's machine and sending them both into the wall. The No. 14 headed to the pits for work to the right side, then headed back onto the track in 21st place.

Fifty laps after the initial problems, Stewart blew a right front tire and slammed into the wall even harder. With sparks flying from the damaged car, he eased it back to the pits and went straight to the garage. It didn't take long to determine the car was beyond repair.

"It was good to see him back in the car," said Mike Arning, a spokesman for Stewart-Haas Racing. "Part of that healing process for him was getting back in the race car. This is what he's done since he was 8 years old. This is his family. He's 43 years old. He's not married. He doesn't have children. It's who he is and what he knows."

Stewart received a big cheer from the crowd when he was introduced before the race. Many fans wrote notes of encouragement on the pavement at the entrance to his garage stall.

Starting 12th, Stewart ran strong through the early stages of the race, getting as high as fourth, though he never seriously challenged for the lead.

Stewart skipped three NASCAR Sprint Cup races after his car struck 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. at a dirt-track race in upstate New York, a case that still is under investigation by law enforcement authorities.