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CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP THE OTHERS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2007

RACE SEVEN: ATLANTA

Pep Boys Auto 500 (Coverage starts Sunday at 1 p.m. on WFTS, Ch. 28

NASCAR's 10-race championship moves into the homestretch with Sunday's race at Atlanta, where Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards have been the top drivers in recent years. Points leader Jeff Gordon has won two of the last three races, and second place Johnson comes off a win last week at Martinsville. If they keep that pace, they'll easily make the Chase a two-man race. Sunday also marks the 15-year anniversary of arguably the greatest race in NASCAR history. Richard Petty made his final career start and Jeff Gordon made his Winston Cup debut in what was the 1992 season finale. Six drivers entered the race in contention for the championship, including Alan Kulwicki, who overcame a 30-point deficit to Davey Allison to win the championship as an independent owner/driver. Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash four months later.

Compiled by Tony Fabrizio
1. JEFF GORDON (6,055)

At Atlanta: 30 starts, 4 wins, 12 top-5s, 18 top-10s.

Last 5 finishes: 11, 5, 1, 1, 3.

Preview: Think Gordon isn't focused on winning his fifth championship? He has an average finish of 2.5 in the last four races and 3.7 for the six Chase races. Last year, Johnson won the championship with an average finish of 10.8. Gordon owns four victories at Atlanta, the most of any Chase driver, but he hasn't been as strong there in recent years as Johnson, Stewart or Edwards.

2. JIMMIE JOHNSON (-53)

At Atlanta: 12 starts, 2 wins, 7 top-5s, 8 top-10s.

Last 5 finishes: 14, 3, 2, 14, 1.

Preview: For the third week in a row, Johnson gets to race on one of his best tracks. The defending Cup champion owns two victories and six top-six finishes in the last eight races at Atlanta. One of the races he lost was by less than a blink - he finished second to Edwards by 0.028 seconds in March 2005. Johnson's team has brought two great cars to Atlanta. The primary No. 48 Chevy won at California and Las Vegas this year and won the all-star race last year. The backup won at Indianapolis last year and Atlanta this year.

3. CLINT BOWYER (-115)

At Atlanta: 3 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5s, 1 top-10.

Last 5 finishes: 12, 2, 11, 2, 9.

Preview: Bowyer has yet to finish worse than 12th in the Chase, a remarkable accomplishment for a driver who began as the No. 12 'seed.' Given that he has performed well on some of the intermediate tracks this year -- and the fact three of the four remaining races are on intermediate tracks - he can't be counted out. This weekend, Bowyer will drive the same No. 07 Chevy in which he finished second two weeks ago at Charlotte.

4. TONY STEWART (-249)

At Atlanta: 17 starts, 2 wins, 7 top-5s, 11 top-10s.

Last 5 finishes: 9, 39, 8, 7, 13.

Preview: Stewart's weekly pre-race news release points out that there are 644 points that can be gained or lost in the final four races, so Stewart can't be counted out at 249 points back. Realistically, the deficit is huge. But because Stewart has the ability to go out and knock off four straight wins, and it's at least possible that the drivers could falter in front him, there's still a whisper of hope for Stewart fans.

5. CARL EDWARDS (-285)

At Atlanta: 6 starts, 2 wins, 3 top-5s, 5 top-10s.

6. KYLE BUSCH (-290)

At Atlanta: 6 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5s, 0 top-10s.

7. KEVIN HARVICK (-369)

At Atlanta: 13 starts, 1 win, 2 top-5s, 2 top-10s.

8. DENNY HAMLIN (-374)

At Atlanta: 4 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5s, 1 top-10.

9. JEFF BURTON (-409)

At Atlanta: 26 starts, 0 wins, 6 top-5s, 11 top-10s.

10. KURT BUSCH (-420)

At Atlanta: 13 starts, 1 win, 1 top-5, 3 top-10s.