Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at Rockingham, N.C.

Jeff Burton

	Burton

Winner of this race in 1999, followed by a fourth-place finish the following year; last November he placed in the middle of the field, but returned strong this February to take sixth in the Subway 400; a mediocre season without a victory, only three top-five finishes including a pair of thirds as top efforts and 12 top-10s; 13th in the points standings, hopes to break into the first 10 before the season ends.

Kurt Busch
Won the rain-shortened NAPA 500 at Atlanta last Sunday for his second straight checkered flag and third career, all this season; led a race-high 84 laps before NASCAR stopped the race after 248 laps due to rain; Busch is one of five drivers with 10 top-five finishes this year; led 14 laps in last November's Pop Secret 400 before his engine failed with 60 laps remaining to finish 39th; sixth in the points standings.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Another good run last Sunday at Atlanta to a fifth-place finish which made it five in a row among the top five; and nine of the last 11 races were finishes of 11th or better to improve from 16th to 11th place in the standings; despite a well-documented midseason slump, this year has been the most productive of the first three full Winston Cup seasons; with three races left, the No. 8 team has equalled or surpassed last season's numbers in top fives (10-9): top-10s (15-15): laps led (917-765): races led (20-16): poles (2-2): top-10 starts (17-12); best start at Rockingham was 7th in February 2000, and highest finish was 15th November 2001.

Bill Elliott
A long career since the veteran made his first Winston Cup start at Rockingham more than 25 years ago; qualified 34th and finished 33rd on February 29, 1976, earning a paycheck for $640 in the Carolina 500; since then, Elliott has won 55 poles, 43 races and about $30 million in a successful career; made it to victory lane at The Rock three times, won two poles, 11 top-fives and 20 top-10s; last triumph was in the spring of 1992; this past February just missed another top 10 in 11th place; winner of two races this year (Pocono, Indianapolis) and 12 finishes among the first 10; 12th in the points standings.

Jeff Gordon
Swept both races at North Carolina Speedway in 1998 when winning this race clinched his third Winston Cup championship; overall, he has four victories at this track; in the first stop here for February's Subway 400 he started 33rd and finished seventh; with three races left this year, Gordon is 301 points out of first place in seventh after losing another position following Sunday's race at Atlanta; one of four drivers with three victories on the year.

Dale Jarrett
Winner of the Pop Secret 400 in 2000, he nearly made back to victory lane last November when he finished fourth after starting back in 31st; a successful driver at Rockingham as he also finished second in six of the last 12 races; a third place finish in the NAPA 500 moved him another position up to ninth in the points standings; won two races this year and is one of the five drivers with 10 top-five finishes; looks to finish the year strong Jimmie Johnson
Spins on laps 139 and 232 cost him track position at Atlanta last weekend to a 22nd place finish; the result also put him 150 points behind Tony Stewart in the championship race and loss of another spot to third place (Mark Martin is four points up in second); either way, Johnson is having an excellent season as a rookie with three victories and is tied with Stewart with a series-high 20 top-10s; trails Ryan Newman by 20 points in the Rookie of the Year race due to eight fewer top-five finishes; first series start at North Carolina Speedway in February was an unimpressive 28th place.

Matt Kenseth
Leads all Winston Cup drivers with four victories this year; one of six drivers with double digits in top-five and top-10 finishes; eighth in the standings some 361 points behind first place Tony Stewart who looks to match Kenseth in wins; led the most laps and won the Subway 400 at the track in February; also ran well last November to finish 10th after starting 40th.

Mark Martin
Owns a good track record at North Carolina Speedway with success in both the Winston Cup and Busch series; in 32 starts at "The Rock", he captured two victories and 17 top-10 finishes; his first career Winston Cup victory was recorded at the track in 1989; also a winner of the spring race in 1999; he and Kyle Petty lead all active drivers with five poles won each at the 1-mile speedway; the veteran driver still has a chance at the title, but needs some luck to overtake leader Tony Stewart (146 points advantage); had the points lead after the race in New Hampshire; only win this year was earned at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Ryan Newman
Leader in the Rookie of the Year title race by 20 points over Jimmie Johnson; 10th place at Atlanta last Sunday was the eighth top-10 finish in the last nine races including a win and three runners-up; tops the Winston Cup series with 21 top-10 finishes and has 14 top fives, one less than points leader Tony Stewart; first start at North Carolina Speedway in February was a 14th place finish.

Kyle Petty Three of his eight career Winston Cup victories were recorded at North Carolina Speedway; tied with Mark Martin, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough with five poles won at the track; a poor year with just a single top-10 finish in 33 races.

Ricky Rudd
Finished runner-up three times at North Carolina Speedway before going to victory lane in 1996; overall at the track, he has 13 top-fives and 20 top-10s in 49 starts; last year he was eighth in this race after starting with a provisional in 37th; won at Sonoma this season and also started from the pole at the other road course on the circuit at Watkins Glen, New York; finished third in two of the last four races, with those not making it to the finish being near the tail of the field; 10th in the points standings.

Tony Stewart
In seven previous starts at North Carolina Speedway, Stewart has finished outside the top-10 just once, that a respectable 12th place result in the 1999 fall race; three fourth-place finishes in the past three spring races count for his best results at The Rock; the series points leader by 146 points over nearest pursuer Mark Martin, steadiness has been Stewart's trait toward his first Winston Cup championship; since winning at Watkins Glen in New York in mid- August, the former IRL champion has scored six top-five and nine top-10s for an average finish of eighth; in the process, he has improved from fourth in points to first in the span of nine races, taking the points lead after a runnerup at Talladega in early October; the race at Rockingham marks the third to last race of the season, and to wrap up the championship, he simply needs to maintain steady outings; ninth is his magic number, for if Stewart finishes ninth or better in the remaining three events, the title will be his regardless of the performance of any other driver.

Rusty Wallace
The active leader with five victories at The Rock, the last in 1994; he and Richard Petty are the only drivers to win three successive races at Rockingham; swept races in 1993 and won again in 1994; finished in the top-10 in 20 of 37 starts at the track including starting and finishing eighth in February; made it to victory lane at least once in 16 consecutive season, tying Ricky Rudd for the modern era record; that record is in jeopardy with just three races remaining as he is the only driver in the top 12 without a victory; 227 points out of first place Tony Stewart.