Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's MBNA America 500 at Atlanta.

	Burton

Jeff Burton
In contrast to last year when he did not finish better than 19th in the first three races, this season he already has two top-10 results and a 12th place in the Daytona 500; that puts him in third place in the standings, 87 points behind leader Sterling Marlin; ran to a 10th place finish in the NAPA 500 at the track last November, but was only 30th in this event last year and 43rd in 2000 -- results he looks to improve on.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Improved 19 positions from starting 35th to come across 16th in the end; even led the race briefly during a pit cycle, which was the first time he led a race this year; the result improved the No. 8 Bud Team six spots up to 25th in the points standings; had finishes of 15th and 7th in last year's races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bill Elliott
Leads all active drivers with five wins and five poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway; one of four drivers to sweep both races at Atlanta since the track opened in 1960; turned the trick twice in 1985 and 1992; finished 16th in this race last year and 2nd in the NAPA 500.

Jeff Gordon
Three races, two top-10 finishes and seventh place early this year in defense of his Winston Cup championship; won four times at Atlanta Motor Speedway and was close to a fifth before coming .006 seconds short behind Kevin Harvick in last year's race; winning the 2001 series title puts him the elite company of Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to win more than three titles; it was Gordon's fourth trophy; he won six races, six poles, had 18 top-fives, 24 top-10s and collected over $6.5 million in an excellent campaign

Kevin Harvick
Won this race in just his third Winston Cup start after taking over the seat left vacant by the death of the legendary Dale Earnhardt at Daytona; held off a hard-charging Jeff Gordon by 0.006 seconds following some 20 laps of side-by-side racing at the end by the top five cars; dedicated the triumph to Dale Earnhardt and held three fingers up when making his victory lap which electrified the crowd at Atlanta Motor Speedway; a slow start in the season's first three races, with 19th place at Rockingham as best effort; capture Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and also ran a full schedule and won the Busch Grand National championship.

	Jarrett

Dale Jarrett
Led the field to the green flag in last year's race and was among the contenders throughout before taking a fourth place in the end; led six times before losing the front spot to eventual winner Kevin Harvick on lap 319; won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1997 and was second in both 1998 races; the next year he also finished in the top five.

Bobby Labonte
His Pontiac went from tight to loose at Las Vegas every other pit stop which did not allow him to get real competitive; some adjustments with 65 laps to go was enough to at least manage a respectable showing of 12th; one of his two victories last year was recorded in Atlanta at the NAPA 500 in November; but did not run well in the early event at the speedway when he was 33rd last year, but did grab second the year before behind the late Dale Earnhardt in one of the closest finishes in Winston Cup history, by .01 seconds.

Sterling Marlin
Rolled the dice in Las Vegas and got a break in winning the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 500; as he headed toward the pit entrance, he was hit from behind by Jerry Nadeau and spun around in pit lane where he exceeded the 45-mph speed limit without control of the car; the 15-seconds penalty was not communicated in time by NASCAR before Marlin exited the pit and therefore the penalty was waived off (NASCAR said the official in Marlin's pit did not hear the penalty in time to keep the driver there); at Daytona, he was penalized for leaving his car to make repairs during a red flag, and the next race at Rockingham came home second behind Matt Kenseth under a yellow flag; leads the Winston Cup standings by 75 points over rookie Ryan Newman who finished fourth in Las Vegas for his third top-10 finish; Marlin gave Dodge its second victory of the season and a 24-21 advantage over Ford in the manufacturers standings; finished out of the top 10 in this race at Atlanta last year, but made up for it in the November race with a runner-up run.

Mark Martin
Continued his strong start of the year with a third place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; all three results thus far were in the top 10; engine gave out after 231 laps last year in this race, but posted third-place finishes the previous two years; winner of fall races at Atlanta twice where he also placed ninth last season; with 415 points earned after three races, he stands fifth in the standings.

Tony Stewart
Led four times for 76 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, but came up empty in the end when a win would have meant a $1 million bonus; fifth place was best he could run at the end; in six starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, fifth in the NAPA 500 last November was the best finish; after an early exit in the Daytona 500, he quickly rebounded the next two starts in Rockingham (4th) and Sunday at Las Vegas where the fifth place showing improved his status from 22nd to 11th in the points table.