Wow, can you believe it?? We finally hear a good anthem. It has been a long time for that.

We kick off Labor Day at Atlanta Motor Speedway heading into the sun and nice evening for 500 miles of door to door action.

Denny Hamlin along with Ryan Newman will lead our 43 drivers to the start finish line. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart will be in tow for the top five. By the way only one driver has won the race from the pole.

We will keep an eye on Casey Mears who starts 43^rd, Marcos Ambrose starting 32^nd, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. starting 25^th.

The pace car leads the field out of turn four and in control of the front row. Then all of a sudden it’s…

GREEN FLAG as we see a huge amount of smoke from the fireworks that were shot off as the field drove along the back stretch. Hamlin and Newman race side by side for the entire lap where Hamlin is scored with the first five points.

Lap 4 Martin Truex Jr. attempts to pass Stewart but Stewart has the power to hold the position. Lap 5 we almost see Edwards slap the outside wall of turn 4. Lap 6 Mark Martin start his day 17^th and rapidly fall back to 27^th. Lap 8 we see a battle between Edwards and Kyle Busch form up but they hold their starting positions.

Lap 10 early movers on the track see last night’s Nationwide winner Jamie McMurray move up to 8^th from his start of 12^th as well as Elliott Sadler 17^th from his start of 22^nd. Lap 16 Newman for the lead coming out of turn four.

Lap 18 Jimmie Johnson is starting to challenge Stewart for 4^th. Johnson started 7^th. We also see on lap 19 A.J. Allmendinger passing Greg Biffle for 11^th. Lap 22 Newman leads Hamlin by a half second.

Lap 35 we had a drop in our coverage for a few laps but we are back with Hamlin in the lead over Kyle Busch by 1.5 seconds. Newman has slipped back to 4^th after a Stewart pass. Lap 38 Jeff Gordon slips back to 14^th after Paul Menard passes him for 13^th.

Lap 38 the start and park drivers segment are underway as Michael McDowell and Joe Nemechek head to the garage. NASCAR warns the teams of Kevin Conway and Mike Bliss to pick up their speed or they will be heading to the garage too.

Lap 43 we also see the lap down list growing as Patrick Carpentier, J.J. Yeley, Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland and Brad Keselowski are on the list. Lap 44 add Dave Blaney to the list with Bobby Labonte and Reed Sorenson to be next.

Mike Bliss and Conway head to the garage. Lap 46 Sam Hornish Jr. is the first one to pit road. Lap 46 Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch are on pit road. Lap 48 Sorenson is in along with Stewart, Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Edwards. Martin and ten others are in.

Lap 49 the floodgates are open as another ten head onto pit road. Lap 50 Kyle Busch is busted for too fast on entry to pit road. We see that McMurray missed pit road for his first attempt.

Lap 54 after the round of pit stops Stewart is the leader followed by the rest of your top twenty drivers of Hamlin, Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne, Newman, Johnson, Edwards, Biffle, Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Menard, Kevin Harvick, Montoya, Ambrose, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and McMurray.

Lap 55 Hamlin is back in the lead. Lap 58 Ambrose has moved up the most positions to 13^th. Lap 70 Kyle Busch heads to pit road for a vibration. Kurt Busch falls a lap down as well. Lap 71 Stewart takes the lead again. Are the cars are back on track except for Nemechek.

Lap 75 your top ten drivers are Stewart, Hamlin, Kahne, Edwards, Truex Jr., Johnson, Biffle, Allmendinger, Menard and Harvick. Lap 77 Harvick started his day 29^th and is up 19 positions to 10^th.

Lap 79 where are our spotlight drivers? Mears is 31^st and one lap down, Ambrose is 18^th and up 14 positions, Logano 26^th one lap down but up five from his start and Earnhardt Jr. up 9 positions to 16^th from his start of 25^th.

Lap 84 Hamlin closes in on Stewart for the lead. Stewart is able to stay in front of Hamlin on lap 86 as they have to contend with lap down drivers. A surprise of the race is Jeff Burton running 24^th and just about to go a lap down. Lap 88 Hornish Jr. heads to pit road for a scheduled stop. Hamlin is the leader.

Lap 90 Johnson running behind Kahne and Truex Jr. is big time sideways out of turn four. Lap 91 Keselowski is on pit road. Burton falls a lap down. Lap 92 pit stops begin as Kurt Busch heads to his pit. Lap 93 Bowyer is in. Lap 94 Martin is in danger of going a lap down. Newman is in for a stop with Mears.

Lap 96 McMurray is in with a few other drivers in the back of the field. Reutimann is having issues with his radio as the team asks NASCAR to black flag their driver to make his stop.

Lap 97 Stewart and Jeff Gordon are in with many of the leaders. Lap 100 most of the stops are complete, Kyle Busch is out of pit stop rotation and currently in the top five. Your top twenty drivers are Stewart, Hamlin, Truex Jr., Edwards, Kahne, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Menard, Harvick, Biffle, Allmendinger, Newman, Bowyer, Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Reutimann, Earnhardt Jr., McMurray, Ambrose and Kenseth. So far we have seen 12 lead changes among 4 leaders and no cautions as of yet.

Lap 110 as Johnson has moved up a few positions to 6^th and challenges Kahne for 5^th. Lap 114 Jeff Gordon may have a better setup on the car as he closes in on Montoya for 11^th. Johnson takes 5^th from Kahne.

Lap 116 Harvick’s move to the front continues as he is up to 8^th ( a move of 21 spots). Lap 120 we have 19 drivers on the lead lap. The issue with Reutimann was that he knocked the cord out from his helmet. The issue places him two laps down.

Lap 125 Kenseth falls a lap down with Martin, Ambrose, Earnhardt Jr. and McMurray who may the next ones on the list. Lap 127 Hamlin takes the lead back from Stewart. Lap 130 we have been watching Logano for a few laps now and he may have an issue with the engine.

Lap 131 Martin falls a lap down. Earnhardt Jr. falls a lap down lap 133 and will be the lucky dog as…

YELLOW FLAG lap 134 for debris. The leaders head to pit road. The race back is Hamlin, Stewart, Edwards, Harvick and Truex Jr.

GREEN FLAG lap 139 as Edwards shoots the middle of the leaders as they head into turn one followed by Truex Jr. leaving Stewart in the dust for a moment. Lap 141 Johnson heads to the outside wall in turn one, just misses it while Hamlin slips back a few spots after Edwards takes the lead followed by Truex Jr. and Johnson.

Lap 143 Kahne Challenges Biffle for 7^th.

YELLOW FLAG lap 144 as Hamlin blows his motor on the front straight. Kyle Busch wins his lucky dog position. We are going to be under this caution for some extra laps with the oil on the front stretch. The leaders head to pit road on lap 148. The race out of pit road is won by Stewart who is followed by Edwards, Truex Jr., Johnson and Harvick. We will see about 21 drivers who are wave around drivers. Martin, Mears, Kenseth, Ambrose, Ragan, Smith will go back on the lead lap and Kyle Busch is the lucky dog. This will get us back to 23 drivers on the lead lap.

GREEN FLAG lap 152 as Edwards runs the outside line, Stewart on the inside line.

YELLOW FLAG lap 152 as Biffle makes contact with Newman as they head into turn three. Biffle slides sideways in the middle of the track facing the apron, sliding down into Sadler’s car which shoots him into the outside turn four wall. Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. are missed by inches. Harvick was on the outside of Sadler and may have some slight damage, but we cannot tell yet. Burton is the lucky dog.

We have a whole bunch more wave around drivers.

GREEN FLAG lap 162 as Johnson did what Edwards did on the last restart to take the lead. Lap 163 (halfway) lots of action in the middle of the pack. Lap 166 a few battles as Earnhardt Jr. moves into 10^th. Lap 168 Gordon challenges Kahne for 5^th and takes it coming out of turn two.

Lap 169 Kyle Busch passes Kahne for 6^th. Stewart closes in on Johnson for the lead. Stewart takes it on lap 170. Lap 173 Harvick was running back in 13^th but is on the move once again as he passes Earnhardt Jr. for 10^th. Menard follows Harvick and takes 11^th. Harvick continues his move forward passing Kahne to take 9^th.

Lap 177 Harvick takes 8^th from Montoya. Lap 178 Kyle Busch closes in on McMurray for 6^th. Trouble for McMurray as he picks up a flat tire and just makes it into pit road. Lap 181 battle between Harvick, Kyle Busch and Kahne for 7^th. Harvick takes it.

Lap 182 battle for 4^th place as Truex Jr. holds off Gordon. Lap 183 Gordon takes the position. Lap 185 Stewart has the lead on Johnson by 2.1 seconds and 3.8 seconds over third place Edwards.

Lap 187 we see battles between Kahne and Kyle Busch for 8^th, Bowyer and Martin for 15^th. Our spotlight drivers run with Mears in 26^th, Ambrose 17^th, Logano 31^st and Earnhardt Jr. 10^th.

Lap 193 our movers of the race currently are Harvick 4^th from his start of 29^th, Gordon 5^th from 18^th, Earnhardt Jr. 10^th from 25^th, Burton on a big comeback 11^th from being a lap down and his start of 26^th and Ambrose 16^th from his start of 32^nd.

Lap 196 drivers who have fallen back are Newman 21^st from his start of 2^nd, McMurray 23^rd from 12^th, Reutimann 22^nd from 24^th, Biffle 36^th from 15^th and Hamlin out of the race from the pole position.

Lap 200 (125 to go) your top twenty drivers are Stewart, Johnson, Edwards, Harvick, Gordon, Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Montoya, Kahne, Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Allmendinger, Martin, Bowyer, Ambrose, Speed, Smith, Kurt Busch, Menard and Newman. So far…

YELLOW FLAG lap 201 for Ragan spinning out coming out of turn two. We saw 19 lead changes among 6 drivers and as of now 4 cautions. Kenseth is the lucky dog. The leaders head to pit road. Stewart, Johnson, Edwards, Gordon and Kyle Busch are the top five back to the track.

GREEN FLAG lap 206 as Stewart and Johnson are three wide with Edwards a Kyle Busch pushes him forward. Earnhardt Jr. almost has contact with Ambrose as Earnhardt is 12^th. Lap 208 another three wide between Keselowski, McMurray and Sorenson for 23^rd.

Lap 210 another three wide battle for Kahne, Gordon and Burton for 8^th. Ambrose slipping back to 15^th. Lap 211 Montoya moves past Kyle Busch for 4^th place. Lap 212 Reutimann battle with McMurray for the lucky dog position. Two laps later McMurray has the position.

Lap 213 Stewart begins his move away from Johnson by 1.4 seconds. Lap 219 we have 21 drivers on the lead lap. Down one lap we see McMurray, Reutimann, Sorenson, Mears, and Ragan. Two laps down are Gilliland, Blaney, Elliott and Logano. Three laps down are Labonte and Kvapil. Four laps down are Carpentier and Hornish Jr.

Lap 224 either way back or parked in the garage are Nemechek, McDowell, Conway, Biffle, Yeley, Sadler, Bliss and Hamlin. Lap 225 (100 to go) your top ten drivers are Stewart, Edwards, Montoya, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Truex Jr., Harvick, Kahne, Burton and Allmendinger.

Lap 226 we see Biffle who returned many laps ago limping back out of turn three to pit road. Lap 229 Burton hooks the apron to pass Kahne for 8^th. Lap 235 Biffle is back in the race. Stewart leads Edwards by 2.2 seconds, 3^rd place Montoya by 4.2 seconds, 4^th place Johnson 5.4 seconds and 5^th place Kyle Busch 5.6 seconds.

Lap 246 as the green flag run continues on and drivers are looking way out of shape in the corners. Kyle Busch, Harvick and Johnson are just hanging on from losing control of their cars.

Lap 250 pit stops begin.

YELLOW FLAG lap 253 as we are halfway through the pit stops as Harvick blows a left front tire in turn one after missing pit road entrance then car parts fly off the front fender on the track. We will see how this shakes out for scoring in just a minute as it shows Harvick as the leader and should be down several positions.

Lap 259 NASCAR has Harvick head to pit road for an extra lap to square away the error where we have 19 drivers on the lead lap. We see a few drivers come in to pit road like Gordon and Martin. As most pitted, they do not come back. During the closed pits Harvick came in several times, he will serve a penalty going back to the field.

McMurray is the lucky dog. Ragan, Keselowski will go to the back of the field as well for speeding on pit road.

GREEN FLAG lap 263 as Edwards and Stewart get the show going again. Stewart may have spun his wheels, which allows several drivers to get around. Kyle Busch and Truex Jr. pass to take 2^nd and 3^rd.

YELLLOW FLAG lap 265 as Speed blows his engine in turn three. Sorenson is the lucky dog. Menard takes his car to the garage for an engine issue as well. The field drives around for several laps before pit road is open. The race back is Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Edwards, Kahne and Stewart. Mears is the lucky dog.

GREEN FLAG lap 275 (50 to go) as Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon who remained on the field lead us back to racing. Edwards and Truex Jr. restart back in 8^th. Lap 277 Gordon is passed by Johnson and Edwards who take 4^th and 5^th. Lap 278 Kahne takes second place from Kyle Busch who remained on track.

45 to go as Kahne takes the lead from Kurt Busch. Johnson passes Kyle Busch to take over 4^th place. 44 to go Ambrose passes Newman for 15^th. 43 to go Gordon continues to fall back to 8^th. 42 to go Johnson to challenge Edwards for 2^nd and takes it.

40 to go Johnson closes in on Kahne for the lead. 38 to go coming out of turn two Johnson works on Kahne. By turn three Kahne holds him off. 36 to go it’s a three way battle for the lead between Kahne, Johnson and Edwards.

35 to go Kahne mirror driving to hold Johnson and Edwards back. 33 to go we almost saw Johnson make a pass but was way loose and did not make it. 31 to go Montoya battles with Truex Jr. for 7^th.

YELLOW FLAG with 30 to go as Keselowski is completely sideways and does not hit anything, big time luck for his team. Reutimann is the lucky dog. The field heads to pit road. Edwards is the first back to the track followed by Stewart, Kahne, Johnson and Kurt Busch.

GREEN FLAG with 24 to go Stewart does not spin his wheels like the past few times and takes the lead. Kahne connects into Kurt Busch and is the looser with a flat tire.

YELLOW FLAG and 23 to go as some pieces fly off of Kahne’s car. Ragan is the lucky dog.

20 to go we have Stewart, Edwards, Johnson, Newman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Kenseth and Ambrose as the top ten.

GREEN FLAG and 18 to go as Edwards and Stewart lead us again to racing. Stewart spins the tires once again but recovers and has the lead solidly. 16 to go Newman and Johnson battle for 3^rd place with Kurt Busch in tow.

15 to go as this is our battle as Stewart and Edwards leave the field behind.

14 to go it’s game on between Burton and Kyle Busch for 6^th

13 to go as Kurt Busch works the outside and Burton on the inside with a big power save as he passed Kurt Busch in turn four and was almost sideways.

11 to go as Burton moves into 5^th to leave Kyle and Kurt Busch battle for 6^th.

10 to go as Stewart leads Edwards by 1 second. McMurray and Sorenson fight for 14^th.

9 to go it’s Bowyer versus Kurt Busch for 7^th.

8 to go as McMurray has to fight for 15^th with Reutimann.

7 to go Burton closes in on Newman for 4^th place.

6 to go Stewart leads as Burton almost made it past Newman coming out of turn four.

5 to go Stewart over Edwards by 1 second

4 to go Newman has the position as they have to deal with lap down driver Kahne.

3 to go as Newman was pushed out of shape by Kahne.

2 to go Stewart by 1.2 seconds over Edwards

WHITE FLAG for Stewart out of turn four “RING THE BELL BABY” exclaims Stewart.

CHECKERED FLAG for Stewart.

The top ten in overall points are locked in the Chase.

Your top ten finishers were Stewart, Edwards, Johnson, Burton, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Newman, Montoya and Ambrose.

The race lasted for almost four hours. We saw 27 lead changes among 9 leaders and 8 cautions for 53 laps.

Stewart led the most laps with 175, Hamlin led 71. Edwards led 28 and Kahne 16. Kurt Busch and Newman led 10 laps.

The hunt for team sponsors for the Hendrick Motorsports racing stable hit a high and low point last Saturday in Atlanta. First off Rick Hendrick announced that Quaker State Motor Oil was returning as an associate sponsor on all four of his Chevrolet teams and would be the primary sponsor for Mark Martin’s no. 5 team during four races next year.

On the down side Hendrick announced that Jeff Gordon will not be shopping at Walmart next year.

All through out the 2010 racing season Hendrick Motorsports has captured our attention for a variety of reasons. There was Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team who scored five wins in short order only to develop a tail spin that now has them ninth in the championship standings. This is despite the prospects that say he still favored to win five consecutive titles.

Then there was the concern over the performance levels of the Hendrick #88 team and Dale Earnhardt Jr. This was followed by equal performance concerns regarding Mark Martin and the #5 team which is a factor that still surprises many observers.

Let’s not forget about several months of trying to find the company’s new hire, Kasey Kahne, a ride for 2011 while waiting for him to join the #5 team full time in 2012.

Somewhere in the middle of these dramatic moments we all had a tendency to overlook another surprising element from Hendrick Motorsports: four time series champion Jeff Gordon, for the first time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, seems to have sponsorship issues.

Out of 36 Sprint Cup points race, plus two special non points events, Gordon is fully sponsored in 2010.. The National Guard signed on as the primary sponsor for eight races, the Pepsi Cola Corporation products signed on for two races and Gordon’s long time sponsor, DuPont Automotive Finishes, signed on as primary for the remainder of the schedule.

However, in recent months, DuPont indicated that wanted to scale back their NASCAR sponsorship program for the 2011 season. Their current contract with the team ends at the end of this year. This is, of course, another testament to the current state of the nation’s economy.

In late July came rumors that Walmart could be the answer to the #24 team’s 2011 sponsorship profile. Yes, Walmart the nation’s number one retailer. The one major corporate entity who, in their illustrious history, has never really expressed much interest in a marketing partnership with major league sports in America. When you think about it, Walmart’s exposure level has been just fine without the wide world of sports.

Typical of their status as the nation’s number one retailer, Walmart interest in NASCAR racing began with a project much larger than just team sponsorship. They are reported to be in negotiations with NASCAR for a direct license agreement. Simply put, Walmart would become NASCAR’s exclusive retailer in the mass market space. Such an agreement could find Walmart using the direct license to select suppliers and set prices on NASCAR themed souvenirs such as hats and T shirts. In effect, the result would be a NASCAR located inside of a Walmart store. It appears that, at this point in time, negotiations for a direct license agreement are still ongoing.

From all this came rumors that Walmart might also be interested in direct team sponsorship. Their Executives reportedly visited many NASCAR Sprint Cup shops in late spring-early summer. Granted, Walmart will need the cooperation of these major teams for the direct license program to work but it was also an opportunity to get an up close look at the teams as individual entities in case an individual sponsorship program was an area they wanted to further explore.

The rumor mill hit a fever pitch and said Hendrick and Walmart executives were in serious talks regarding Gordon’s team. That actually turned out to be true. But on August 25th a statement surfaced indicating that a business relationship between Walmart and the #24 team wasn’t going to happen. The statement came from what was described as an in house company newsletter and stated “while we continue to employ a range of marketing initiatives to deliver our message of Save Money Live Better to our customers this is one we will not be doing.”

During a press conference, held last Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hendrick acknowledged that a sponsor opportunity with Walmart wasn’t going to happen. “You talk to a lot of people, and they were someone we talked to,” he said adding “we got down the road a bit but timing is one of those things, possibly we’ll do something down the road with them but it won’t be next year.”

Hendrick also expressed optimism that the open sponsorship issues for his entire racing stable would be resolved soon and pointed out that many of the companies that he’s dealt with in the past will be returning next year. “We’ll be announcing details in the next 60 days. In the past, you would announce mid year but companies are waiting longer and longer. We plan to have everything done at the end of November.”

Hendrick has every reason to remain optimistic regarding his #24 team. After all, he will be presenting sponsor opportunity for Jeff Gordon, a four time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, a driver who clinched his 2010 berth in the Chase three weeks early and someone who truly has a good chance of making that “drive for five” championship theme a reality. It’s also well known that, when it comes to representing the goodwill needs of a sponsor, Gordon is one of the best ambassadors in the business.

All this means is: he won’t be shopping at Walmart next year.

Mark Martin is one of NASCAR’s most talented drivers. That’s why some of his fans did not complain too much when owner Rick Hendrick made some questionable moves to Martin’s No. 5 team over the offseason, moving engineers from Martin’s team to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr, who struggled in 2009.

Maybe if Martin’s knew how 2010 was going to turn out, the griping would have started earlier.

Martin has had an extremely disappointing 2010 season, he hasn’t found victory lane yet and hasn’t had back to back top ten finishes since Talladega.

Something even more surprising is that the runner-up in last year’s chase, won’t even race for the title this season as Martin was mathematically eliminated from the chase after a terrible 21^st place finish at Atlanta on Sunday.

The 51 year old from Batesville, Arkansas will have to wait until next year to try and get his first Cup title.

Many people point towards the offseason moves as the cause for Mark Martin’s struggles.

Dave Moody has stated numerous times he thinks those changes have had an effect on Martin’s season.

Many drivers would have moaned and groaned about the changes, Mark Martin hasn’t. Deep down it has to bother the heck out of Martin to know his prime years of running for a championship in a Hendrick Motorsports car are dwindling down and in 2010 he won’t even have a shot at it.

Maybe Martin doesn’t care anymore? Some people might say. That is nowhere near the truth. Martin is one of the most passionate people in the sport. He would just sit home and not race if he didn’t care anymore. He’s made his money and his name. Yet, Martin wants that prize that has been o so close for many years.

Martin is a professional. That’s what it comes down to. He understands the team atmosphere at Hendrick Motorsports and understands why the move was made.

Yet his fans are livid. “I want my team back,” one fan screamed on a talk radio show earlier in the week. “We were good last year it wasn’t our fault so why,” the fan continued.  

And Mark Martin continues his silence about the subject. Martin has had his share of distractions this season. Kasey Kahne rumors of taking over the No. 5 car were a distraction to him no doubt. The Jimmie Johnson/Jeff Gordon feud was a distraction as well.

Maybe Martin doesn’t want his comments to be a distraction towards Jimmie Johnson’s and Jeff Gordon’s fight for the championship this season. Maybe Martin’s too professional to blame someone else for his struggles.

Interesting! Maybe Martin doesn’t want certain fans to turn against him with comments like that. Whatever the reason may be it sure is a problem and Martin has been silent about it.

Mark Martin has always been called one of NASCAR’s classiest drivers. This season however, he has shown his classiest side yet.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, fresh from a weekend off, returns to action this Sunday at NASCAR’s fastest venue at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Emory Healthcare 500 is the first of two final events that will conclude the series’ 26 race regular season and send the top 12 teams into the beginning of the ten race series that comprises the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. This race is also on a venue that in the past has created some extremely exciting finishes.

THE STORY LINE

The final 12 man line up for the Chase is of course the big story line this week. This is especially true of the bottom of the list where there could be a final two race shoot out for that coveted 12th position. Going into Sunday’s race at Atlanta, here’s the current prognosis for the Chase:

1. Kevin Harvick. The driver of the #29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing has already clinched his berth for the Chase. Harvick, who won one of the most dramatic events in Atlanta Motor Speedway history, is now free and clear to charge hard and collect the ten bonus points for winning a race. He’ll need those bonus points when it comes time to reset the top 12 at 5,000 points each. Harvick has three wins this year but he could find himself falling from first to third in the standings when the Chase begins later this month in New Hampshire. That’s because Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have five wins and that means they could become the number one and two seed in the Chase with 5,050 points each. Keep an eye on Harvick this Sunday at Atlanta. He has absolutely nothing to lose here and plenty to gain by using hard charging tactics.

2. Jeff Gordon. NASCAR’s four time champion, and driver of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, has also clinched his berth in the Chase and can now proceed towards his “drive for five” goal. While Gordon will also be seeking the winner’s bonus points over the next two Sundays, there another major issue he wants resolved. It’s that win less streak that began last year after the Texas race. This team has had some great runs this year but somehow couldn’t get their car in victory lane. Privately, it’s probably driving him crazy. Publicly, he can’t seem to do an interview without hearing about it. Like Harvick, Gordon has nothing to lose and everything to gain by employing hard charging tactics at Atlanta. The fact that he’s a four time winner there already proves that he can get the job done.

3. Kyle Busch. The driver of the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota can virtually employ start and park tactics this Sunday at Atlanta and still secure his berth in the Chase. Busch needs to finish at least 40th to clinch, 42nd with the bonus points from leading a lap in the race or 43d after leading the most laps. This is a done deal. With three wins this year Busch is also free and clear to go after those ten bonus points this Sunday.

4. Carl Edwards. The driver of the #99 Roush Fenway Ford has a very good chance of clinching his Chase spot at Atlanta. Edwards needs a minimum 21st place finish, 23d after leading a lap or 25th with leading the most laps. But here’s another driver who’s bothered by a win less streak. He may opt to go for the win knowing he can easily clinch a Chase berth the following week at Richmond. Atlanta would be a great place for Edwards to display a go for it approach. He’s a three time winner there.

5. Denny Hamlin. This is the second of the Joe Gibbs Toyotas that is Chase bound. Despite a run of recent harsh racing luck, Hamlin has five wins and will start the Chase with at least 5,050 points. He needs a 20th place finish to officially clinch on Sunday. A 22nd place finish with a lap led or a 23d finish with the most laps led will also get the job done. However, expect Hamlin to go for that sixth win which could place him at the top of the standings when the Chase starts.

6. Tony Stewart. “Smoke” is also guaranteed to clinch a Chase berth either this Sunday or next week at Richmond. A 19th place finish at Atlanta will get the job done. He can also clinch via a 21st with a lap led or a 23d with the most laps. Stewart is another driver still looking for that first win of the season so don’t be too surprised if his emphasis is on winning this Sunday. Atlanta would be a great place to launch that offensive. Stewart is a two time winner there.

7. Jeff Burton. Here’s another driver who should have made it to victory lane by now but somehow has some trouble closing the deal. However, he is guaranteed to become the second team car from Richard Childress Racing to clinch a Chase berth either on Sunday or the week after. Burton can get the job done with a 17th place finish, 19th with a lap led or 21st after leading the most laps.

8. Matt Kenseth. The second of the Roush Fenway Fords that is Chase bound, Kenseth is still looking for his first win since early 2009. He can claim his spot in the 2010 Chase this Sunday with a 15th place finish, 17th with a lap led or 19th with the most laps led.

9. Jimmie Johnson. Now here’s a driver everyone has been talking about lately. Several weeks ago Johnson was at the top of the standings with five wins. There’s been somewhat of a tail spin lately but it’s not expected to impact Johnson’s quest for a fifth consecutive title. Before the recent tail spin he collected five wins and that’s going to place him back at the top of the standings when the Chase points are reset. The driver of #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet needs at least a 10th place finish to clinch a Chase berth at Atlanta. He can also get the job done with an 11th plus a lap led or a 13th after leading the most laps in the race. Those numbers are very strong possibilities. Johnson is a three time winner at Atlanta.

It’s believed by many that the top nine in the current Sprint Cup standings are likely to clinch their Chase berths at Atlanta. The scenarios gets a little more interesting from this point on.

10. Kurt Busch. One has to believe that Kurt Busch will drive his #2 Penske Racing Dodge into the Chase next Sunday at Atlanta. He’s a three time winner there including winning the spring event last March. He already has two wins this year and a third one at Atlanta will put him to great shape to launch a run for his second NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. To clinch a Chase berth this Sunday Busch will require at least a 9th place finish, 10th with a lap led or 11th after leading the most laps.

11. Greg Biffle. The third of the Roush Fenway Ford drivers is the only one of the group who has found victory lane this year. Biffle is 235 points away from 13th. The cut off number to clinch at Atlanta is 196 points ahead of 13th. He may have to wait until the following week at Richmond to earn his berth in the 2010 Chase. Having said that, a fourth place finish at Atlanta will get the job done. So will a 5th place finish with a lap led or a 7th place finish if Biffle can lead the most laps next Sunday.

12. Clint Bowyer. Now here’s the story line we’ll all be watching this Sunday. Bowyer’s presence in the 2010 Chase will place all three of the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets in the championship run. It’s not expected that Bowyer will clinch a Chase berth at Atlanta but he could put himself in a position this Sunday to get the job done at the Richmond race. He will need to insure that he finishes ahead of drivers Jaime McMurray, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman during these final two events.

Bowyer is 100 points ahead of McMurray who currently holds the 13th position in the standings. But McMurray performance levels have been running up and down like a roller coaster this year. The question remains which version of a McMurray performance level will we see at Atlanta? Will it be the powerful performance that allowed him to win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 at Indy or will it be the so-so performance level that we’ve seen from some of his other races? The good news here, for the driver of the #1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, is the fact that McMurray has picked up five points positions in the last five races while outscoring Bowyer by 81 points. A combination of harsh luck for Bowyer along with a strong run by McMurray this Sunday could make the Richmond race most interesting.

Not to be overlooked here are the last chance Chase possibilities for drivers Mark Martin, 101 points away from 12th, and Ryan Newman, 118 points out. Martin is a two time winner at Atlanta and a strong run on Sunday could make the 26th race at Richmond even more interesting. But, in reality, both drivers are going to need some help from Bowyer to sneak into the back door of the 2010 Chase.

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THE RACE BREAKDOWN

Sunday’s Emory Healthcare 500 is 325 laps/500.5 miles around the Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.54 mile oval.

The race has 47 entries. 12 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not guaranteed a starting berth in Sunday’s race because they are outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to earn a starting berth in the race based on qualifying speeds.

The defending race winner from last year is Kasey Kahne. By the way Kahne fans may be a little confused while searching for the bright red #9 Budweiser Ford. Kahne’s car will be featuring the blue and white colors of Valvoline this Sunday.

When it comes to winning at Atlanta, Dale Earnhardt Sr tops the list with nine trips to victory lane there. Bobby Labonte leads the active driver’s list with six wins at Atlanta.

The famed Wood Brothers leads the team wins at Atlanta with 12. But it’s the bow tie brigade that leads the manufacturer’s win list. Chevrolet teams has visited the Atlanta victory lane 35 times.

The first ever NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta was held in July of 1960 and was won by the legendary Fireball Roberts. Since that time the NASCAR Cup teams have raced there 102 times sending 42 different winners to victory lane.

The Atlanta Motor Speedway is the fastest track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule with speeds hitting over 200 MPH on the straightaways.

The track qualifying record, 197.478 MPH, was set by Geoffrey Bodine back in November of 1997.

Ryan Newman holds the track record for the number of pole positions at Atlanta with seven. Six of them has been consecutive poles that ranged from March of 2003 to October of 2005.

An Atlanta race has been won from the pole position 14 times.The last driver to accomplish this feat was Kasey Kahne back in 2006. 58 wins at Atlanta came from drivers who started withing the top five starting positions.

The Atlanta Motor Speedway’s massive 1.54 mile oval features 24 degrees of banking in the turns and five degrees on the straightaways. The front stretch measures 2,332 feet while the back stretch is 1,800 feet long.

The pit road speed is 45 MPH.

The speedway has seating for 124,000.

The purse for Sunday’s race is $6,101,958

Weather should not be a factor, other than driver comfort, during the Atlanta weekend. The forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the low 90’s.

The Emory Healthcare 500 will be broadcast live by the ESPN Network beginning at 7 pm eastern time. The early Monday morning rebroadcast is on a time to be announced status so check your local listings. The usual time is generally 2 am Monday morning, eastern time, on ESPN2. The SPEED Channel will re air the race, 12 pm et, on Wednesday.

Finally, just when you think you’ve read it all, consider this vital fact: former President Jimmy Carter was once employed by the Atlanta Motor Speedway as a ticket taker.

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THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN.

The Las Vegas based WSE-World Sports Exchange- seems to believe that this is the weekend that three time Atlanta winner Jimmie Johnson is going to rid himself of the aforementioned tail spin and start flying high again. They have rated Johnson at a chart topping 6 to 1 odds this week which is actually a very good wager. Also a good bet is Kurt Busch, another three time Atlanta winner, at 8 to 1. Yet another wager worthy of consideration is the trio of Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon, all former Atlanta winners, who are ranked at 10 to 1.

In the WSE’s middle grouping you will find a half dozen drivers ranked at 12 to 1. That group is led by three time winner Carl Edwards, two time race winners Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart along with Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Greg Biffle. Also in middle group you will find Jeff Burton, 18 to 1, along with Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr, a former Atlanta winner, at 20 to 1.

The lower tier of this week’s WSE rankings starts off with the two drivers involved in the Chase drama. That’s where you’ll find Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray at 22 to 1 odds. At 30 to 1 you will find a trio of drivers led by two time race winner Mark Martin along with Martin Truex Jr and David Reutimann. Closing out this week’s rankings are Ryan Newman and Joey Logano at 40 to 1.

Now for the weekly disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind you that these numbers are for information and entertainment purposes. In other words talk about the numbers all you want, while standing in front of the water cooler at work, but don’t expect NASCAR to either encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their races.