Countdown To The Chase: Atlanta

                        Kevin Harvick (#29) and Jeff Gordon (#24) racing for position. 

It's two races to go till the Chase begins and the Sprint Cup Drivers make their first and only stop of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, better known as "Hotlanta". 

Obviously when the Chase is on the horizon, certain drivers need to claw there way in or fight to stay alive. Bubble drivers like Tony Stewart and Dale Jr. need to get the best finish possible, if not a win, to keep Chase hopes alive while Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer are trying to race there way in. 

The question is, will any of these drivers be amongst the list of Favorites and Darkhorses? 

The Favorites

Tony Stewart

            "Smoke" doing burnouts after his win in last year's event.

Stewart is in dire need of a win to cement his spot in the Chase. Here is another shot for him to capitalize; Smoke won last year's event leading 176 of 325 laps en route to his 3rd career win at Atlanta. In 24 starts, his average finish is 11.6. Not to mention, Stewart's camp was very pleased with his race car. He posted the fastest 10 and 15 lap averages in yesterday's practice. Look for Stewart to gather some form of momentum tonight as he goes for back-to-back night race victories. 

Jeff Gordon

"Big daddy" and crew seem to have hit their strides going into the Chase. With Gordon locked into the Chase, he is just going for wins like the five drivers ahead of him. Jeff had the car to beat last week but pit road cost him one.  The Four-time Atlanta winner said his car was "perfect" after Friday's practice. Therefore, you can expect #24 to be a contender all race long. 

The Darkhorses

Kyle Busch

His Atlanta resume isn't exactly astonishing to say the least, but he does have a win here - just not in the night race. His car looked to be very solid on the speed charts. He starts up front which is a great sign for him. It won't take long for him to lead his fair share of laps. Wild thing will get a top five finish tonight.

Carl Edwards 

Looks like Cousin Carl and company are regressing late into the season. I continue to reiterate that he needs to get another race win for reassurance in the Chase seedings. Atlanta is one of his best tracks; he has three wins here. I wouldn't be shocked if Carl sweeps the weekend after winning last night's Nationwide Race. 

Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie doing burnouts in his 07 Atlanta win. He swept both races.

Five-time may have not have done much since his 2007 Atlanta sweep, but quietly he has the best overall finish of anyone in the field with a 10.4 in 19 starts. Like Carl, Jimmie could use another win, but does it really matter with him? After all, he has won five titles in a row.

Kevin Harvick

Harvick has only one win at this track, with it coming on a photo finish with Jeff Gordon in 2001. Then, Harvick had a terrible stretch with 12 of his next 13 Atlanta starts having a finish worse than 15th. Finally, when he was having his worst season ever, Harvick turned it around leading 66 laps in the inaugural night race  in 2009. Ever since then, he has established himself as a title contender. Harvick, much like Edwards, has regressed further into the season. Perhaps Harvick can pick-up where he started off earlier in the regular season. 

My pick to win tonight's race will be Jeff Gordon. I picked him last week and was spot on. He dominated much of the night leading 206 of the 500 laps. Alas, pit road kept him from his elusive 85th career win. Jeff will capitalize tonight, and secure a higher seeding in the Chase with his 3rd win of the 2011 Season. As usual though, its just one man's opinion.

NOTE: I do NOT take credit for any of these photos.