The Goodwrench driver's second half of the season has been nothing short of amazing. Eleventh in points after Michigan -- the 15th race of the season -- the Bakersfield, Cal., driver has stormed to the runner-up position, highlighted by a win at Indianapolis in the Brickyard 400.

"We try not to look back at anything," said Harvick, who was running 22nd in points this time last year. "Obviously, you could look back to Richmond (wrecked by Ricky Rudd), or Chicago, where we ran out of gas running second and finished 17th, or Loudon, where we ran out of gas."

But even rudimentary math skills can deduce that Harvick will need to knock off 60 points a race to catch Kenseth -- unlikely but possible. Harvick trimmed 201 points off Kenseth's lead over the last six races, a stretch in which Kenseth was 13th in points, but the No. 29 team will have to be better than that to claim another title for team owner Richard Childress.

Earnhardt Jr., meanwhile, was 12th in the points one year ago heading into this race, and he's been as high as second. Atlanta has been one of his strongest tracks throughout his brief career. The Budweiser team has three consecutive top-five finishes at AMS, and four straight top-10 finishes. Junior has led each of the last four Winston Cup races at Atlanta for a total of 236 laps.

	Newman

Johnson seems to have a pretty good handle on these 1.5-mile tracks, as evidenced by his resounding win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 in May. The Lowe's driver, however, experienced engine trouble at Atlanta in March, leaving him in 32nd-place and fourth in points.