Two races remain until The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins. It’s on to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for racin’ under the lights!

2009 Atlanta Motor Speedway
photo credit: Darrell Ingham/Getty Images for NASCAR

a/k/a Fastlanta

A lot of attention will be paid to the drivers looking to make it into the championship hunt. Points leader Kevin Harvick and second-place driver in the standings, Jeff Gordon have already clinched their spot in this year’s Chase. Three drivers have a realistic shot to secure their berth while three other drivers have a remote chance to seal the deal this Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Current Driver Standings – Top 12

1.	Kevin Harvick	3521
2.	Jeff Gordon	-279
3.	Kyle Busch	-351
4.	Carl Edwards	-408
5.	Denny Hamlin	-413
6.	Tony Stewart	-414
7.	Jeff Burton	-420
8.	Matt Kenseth	-426
9.	Jimmie Johnson	-444
10.	Kurt Busch	-448
11.	Greg Biffle	-466
12.	Clint Bowyer	-601

- Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin have favorable chances of locking into the Chase after Atlanta.

After his dominant win at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch only needs to finish 40th or better without leading any laps to clinch his spot in The Chase or 42nd or better with at least one lap led or 43rd or better with the most laps led.

“We’re working really hard,” Busch said. “Bristol was a big confidence booster for this team, so were hoping it gives us some momentum that we need during the Chase.” In his 12 Atlanta races, Busch has 1 win, 2 top-5 and 2 top-10 finishes (with an average finish of 18.333).

Carl Edwards -21st or better, no laps led; 23rd or better, at least one lap led; 25th or better, most laps led

“I can’t wait to go to Atlanta,” Edwards said. “It’s multi-grooved, fast, fun and has a lot of history. I got my first win there back in 2005 and sure would like to get another one this weekend. We need a solid run to get locked into the Chase at Atlanta so we can go to Richmond next week and just focus on winning the race. We’ve got a sizeable lead on 13th place which is what we need with just two races remaining before the Chase.” In his 12 races at Atlanta, Edwards has scored 3 wins, 6 top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes (with an average finish of 15.250).

Denny Hamlin – 20th or better, no laps led; 22nd or better, at least one lap led; 23rd or better, most laps led

“We’re in the position where if we don’t win, this weekend really doesn’t mean that much to us,” Hamlin said. “Our attitude is to throw whatever we can at the car. If we feel like we’re off, we’re going to take some risks and maybe run terrible, but maybe hit that magical setup and go out there and win and get 10 more bonus points for the Chase. Right now, it’s more about building momentum than anything.” Hamlin has yet to win at Atlanta after 10 races. He has posted 1 top-5 and 3 top-10 finishes (with an average finish of 15.900).

- Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth have the potential to lock into the Chase leaving Atlanta.

Tony Stewart – 19th or better, no led; 21st or better, at least one lap led; 23rd or better, most laps led

“Everybody understands the system,” Stewart said. “We know that if the Chase were to start tomorrow, we’d start behind. So, it’s not a situation where you try to make up for it. That’s when you get yourself in trouble. It’s no different than gambling when you get off your game and you try to do something to get yourself back square, that’s when you get in trouble. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing. That’s what got us here.” Stewart has won three times at Atlanta in 23 races with 8 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes (and an average finish of 12.043).

Jeff Burton – 17th or better, no laps led; 19th or better, at least one lap led; 21st or better, most laps led

“Well, I was hoping that we could clinch a spot way before Atlanta,” Burton said. “It would be really nice to go to Atlanta and not worry about making a mistake and costing us the chance at making the Chase. It is what it is. But, our main goal every week is to race for the win. We’re certainly going to focus on that on Sunday but, at the same time, we’ll have to race smart to get locked in (the Chase) heading to Richmond. Then, that will be our complete focus at Richmond to win.” Burton hasn’t won at Atlanta after 32 tries, but he’s scored 7 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes (with an average finish of 17.156).

Matt Kenseth – 15th or better, no laps led; 17th or better, at least one lap led; 19th or better, most laps led

“We need to get running better and get running more consistently in the top 10 ,” Kenseth said. “I mean, we finished 10th (at Bristol) but that needs to be your worst finish if you’re gonna ever contend for a championship, so we need to keep working on it and get a little better.” Kenseth is another top-12 driver who hasn’t yet won at Atlanta, but he has posted 8 top-5 and 12 top-10 finishes in 21 races (with an average finish of 13.143).

Current Driver Standings – Outside the Top 12

13.	Jamie McMurray	-100
14.	Mark Martin	-101
15.	Ryan Newman	-118
16.	Kasey Kahne	-136

Several drivers are on the directly on the outside looking in which includes this year’s Daytona 500 winner, Jamie McMurray.

“It certainly is a better position to be in right now for us because there only is one person we have to pass,” McMurray said. “When you have three or four in between you, you have to hope all of them have something bad happen to all them.” McMurray has posted four top-10 finishes in 16 races at Atlanta.

“Anything can happen,” Martin said. “Where we are now, it would be a surprise to make up that kind of ground in two races. It would come at Clint’s (Bowyer) expense for sure. But, it’s important to us to continue to work on trying to get our cars faster and get stronger and better as a team. That’s the most important thing on our agenda. If we were able to go out and win Atlanta then we might think going into Richmond that we could get back in the Chase. Realistically it seems like we’ve got some work to do before we’re going to be a contender to win races. Really, that’s more important than talking about the Chase.” At this point last year, Martin had already won four races whereas this season he remains winless. In his 49 races at Atlanta, Martin has scored 2 wins, 14 top-5 and 23 top-10 finishes.

“We know we have a lot of ground to make up, and after the last race in Bristol, it looks like we need a win to gain in points,” Newman said. “We finished sixth in Bristol and went backwards in the standings. That’s a pretty good indicator about how fierce the competition is week in and week out.” Newman leads all active drivers with seven pole awards at Atlanta, but has yet to win there. In 17 starts, Newman’s posted 1 top-5 and 5 top-10 finishes.

Jeff Gordon leads all of the top-12 drivers with four Atlanta wins while Bobby Labonte leads all active drivers with six wins at the fast 1.54-mile track. This weekend bodes well for Gordon, Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with the most wins at Atlanta with 35.

Kurt Busch is the only repeat winner in the past five races at Atlanta. He won the past two spring races there. There have been 42 different winners in Atlanta’s 50-year history of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing. Kasey Kahne is the defending race winner.

TV coverage of the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway starts at 7 pm this Sunday night on ESPN.

The Nationwide Series also race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. TV coverage of the Great Clips 300 begins at 7 pm on ESPN2.

The Camping World Truck Series will race at Kentucky Speedway on Friday night. TV coverage of the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers will begin at 7:30 pm on SPEED.