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With the spots for the Sprint Cup Series’ chase all but locked up this weeks race at Atlanta figures to bring us back to the days were drivers drove their race car with the idea to win and we didn’t have to be reminded hundreds of times by someone announcing that they were attempting to make “the chase”.

Despite dropping to one race next season, Atlanta remains a track very high on everyone’s list. With no restrictor plates and no breaking it’s known as the fastest track on the circuit and there are plenty of guys in the garage looking to prove they are the fastest there.

Like so many other tracks the cars to beat likely are the #48 and #24 of Hendrick Motorsports. Combined Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have won 7 events at the track and amassed 23 top-5’s in 54 starts. Their teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr has been in a downward spiral of late but his career numbers at the track cannot be over looked should you be seeking to buy low.

Perhaps the driver with the best numbers to never win a race is Matt Kenseth. Kenseth ranks behind only the aforementioned and Tony Stewart when it comes to average finish at the 1.54 Quad Oval. Kenseth has 8 top-5’s in 21 starts.

Speaking of Stewart his average finish (12.) is only bested by that of Johnson. (10.8) However it’s worth noting that while Stewarts run with his own race team has netted him solid finishes of 8th, 11th, and 13th it’s a far cry from the run he had with Joe Gibbs motor-sports from 2001-2008 a time in which he had 12 top-10’s in 14 starts. I wouldn’t count Stewart out (as I am suggesting this week) but much like Kenseth it remains to be seen if he can be a winning car or just a contending car right now.

The first career win for Carl Edwards came at Atlatna in an amazing duel with Jimmie Johnson back in 2005. He went on to sweep the 2005 season at Atlanta and added another win in 2008 but any talk about Edwards and Atlanta unquestionably brings up the memory of him wrecking Brad Keselowski earlier this year. This very well could be the race in which Edwards moves from a contending car to a winning car this year as in addition to the 3 wins he had 8 top-10’s in 12 starts.

All this and I haven’t even talked about Kurt Busch who has won two of the last three events at the track. In addition to the wins Busch has posted top-10’s in four of his last six starts. The other finishes were an 11th and a 38th following a crash last fall.

While it’s never a good idea to count out Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick it’s worth noting they’ve had a mixed bag or results. Mark Martin and Jamie McMurray who is chasing Clint Bowyer for the final chase spot also falls into the category. For what it’s worth I’m picking Bowyer to best Martin and McMurray this weekend which will just about close out the season for the drivers of the #5 and the #1.

If you are looking to hit it big then Juan Pablo Montoya is a great gamble this weekend. Montoya has finished third in the last two races at Atlanta and for those playing fantasy or pick em leagues they will find him an inexpensive option.

Despite AJ Allmendinger’s high career average at Atlanta he’s a hard pick at best. ‘Dinger has mostly ran as a 15th-20th place car in his five starts but managed a 6th place finish this spring due to gambling on tires which in turn skews his data rather largely.

Two of the truly great Atlanta drivers are in also-rans this weekend. Bill Elliott has 5 career wins at his home track and fellow former champion Bobby Labonte has six.

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Dave Blaney’s time behind the wheel is not over this year. After departing PRISM Motorsports and the #66 car it was guessed that Blaney would finish the year without a ride.

Not the case as Blaney will drive in the remaining events in a combination of cars fielded by Tommy Baldwin and Front Row Motorsports.

“I guess I just got to the point where I thought I wasn’t going anywhere,” Blaney said on Tuesday, a few weeks after parting ways with Prism. “It finally wore me down. I was going to be OK being done and not going back to any races this year, but then drivers started moving around a little and a couple seats opened up. So, I’ll finish out most of the year and see what happens.”

It’s unclear which races will be run for which team but it’s worth nothing it’s an improvement from the start and park tactics of his previous employer.

While Tommy Baldwin Racing will fill the gap, the signing with Front Row Motorsports puts Blaney in a car that will attempt to run the full event. Sitting a little over 100 points out of 35th in owners points Blaney will have to run the entire race to make up ground on the 35th place car the #7 of Robby Gordon Motorsports.

Ironically enough it’s former Front Row driver Kevin Conway who will be behind the wheel in some of the races for the #7.

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Well after an exciting time in Michigan I am back with this weeks picks for Bristol. Bristol is a track that everyone seems to love. The place is small, there’s a lot of action and the ending is always exciting.

Things don’t figure to be much different this week.

The first two names that came to mind when I began thinking about Bristol were those of Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle. And for good reason.

Busch has three career wins at the track, has the best average finishing position of 10.1 and has 8 top-10’s in 11 career starts. Simply look at the last 10 races, the last 9 races, the last 8 races, on and on and the guy with the most points at Bristol is always the same. Kyle Busch. Everyone makes a big deal about the 2438 laps Jeff Gordon has led but Busch has led 935 laps. Divide those numbers by their total races and Busch is well ahead in terms of laps led per race.

Biffle’s name is also on those list ranking anywhere from second to tenth but he’s on them all. In 15 starts he’s yet to win a race but has 9 top-10’s and 6 top-5’s.

That’s not to say Biffle is the only member of Roush-Fenway Racing to consider. Carl Edwards is also looking good and  he’s got two Bristol wins to his credit. Edwards may have won the race at Michigan if there was a late race caution but alas a yellow never came for him.

Matt Kenseth is another Ford worth taking a look at. Kenseth came home fifth at Michigan, a much needed run for moral. He’s historically good at the small track and has 2 career wins in 21 starts. He’s also finished inside the top-10 on 13 occasions and has led 742 laps.

Ok so the big giant elephant just walked in the room. You know like when you are missing the obvious. Kurt Busch. Oh yea he’s also racing for Penske a team that very well be a synonym for Bristol. Busch has 5 wins and if you need any other reasons then you simply are a fool.

Also with 5 wins is Jeff Gordon but he’s had 16 more starts then Busch. Still you can’t count Gordon out at a place like Bristol.

Early season favorites Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin are solid bets this weekend but neither has the shine they once had this year. Don’t count them out but don’t expect to strike it big either.

Some guys I’m not too keen on this week are Tony Stewart and Mark Martin. Stewart does have one win at the place but he’s been pretty much a bust in his other runs. Martin remains in an up and down battle with Clint Bowyer over 12th in the point standings but neither driver figures to be a Chase contender should they qualify.

Throw Dale Earnhardt Jr in that category as well. The radio talk has been loud and following Sunday’s race he seemed like a guy who was finished.

Kevin Harvick may be the only guy currently locked into the chase and coming off a win but I don’t like his chances this week despite good results in the past. The reason is short track, nothing to lose makes Harvick a driver only out there for the win which just as easily could result in a crash and burn when it comes to picks.

Two guys I like this week from the back pack boys are Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose. Keselowski was 13th at the track earlier this year and led 26 laps. Keselowski also has good Nationwide numbers at the track with 1 win and 4 top-5’s in 7 starts. As for Ambrose he’s fresh off a big announcement of a move to RPM for next season. Last year he finished 10th and 3rd at Bristol. Ambrose may not win this event but don’t be shocked with a top-10 or better.

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It’s hard to believe someone would pass up a guaranteed job or upwards of $4 million dollars but that is exactly what Marcos Ambrose did when he stepped out of his contract with JTG Racing a year early.

Ambrose’s reasons were simple. He didn’t feel the team was competitive and he wanted an opportunity to contend during NASCAR races. While some in Australia loudly hoped for a return to the V8 Supercar ranks, Ambrose himself said he wanted to compete on the NASCAR circuit citing a belief he would be successful.

Almost immediately after the news he was leaving JTG Racing came out there were rumors he was headed to Richard Petty Motorsports. We also heard that former NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte would take over the #47 car. While the Labonte announcement was made offical in days nothing involving Ambrose had been mentioned by RPM or the driver himself.

That is until yestserday when RPM annouced that they would have a new driver/sponsor group intact for the 2011 season and that news would come out on Tuesday.

The following are comments from the RPM Facebook page.

“I’m very excited to join Richard Petty Motorsports,” said Ambrose. “It’s an incredible honor to be able to race for a legend like The King and be a part of this organization. I’m also happy to be back with Ford Racing. The No. 9 team has been a very successful team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. With the support of Ford and everyone at RPM, I believe we can continue that tradition of success. I’m also excited to join forces with Stanley.”

“We are very happy to have Marcos Ambrose join our team,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner Richard Petty. “He’s a very talented and passionate driver and will be a great addition to our team.”

“We knew once Marcos became available that we wanted him to be a part of the RPM family,” said Foster Gillett, managing partner and team owner. “He’s a fan favorite and he’s proven to be a tough competitor on track. We’re thrilled to have Stanley continue their partnership with our team and believe that Marcos is a great fit for the Stanley Racing program.”

“All of us at Ford are very happy to have Marcos ‘back home,’” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford North America Motorsport. “We helped Marcos come to America and become a NASCAR driver because we believed in his talent, and loved the way he connected with Ford fans here and in Australia. Already a Ford champion in Supercars, we believe his move to RPM will give him the car and equipment to win races and contend for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup going forward.”

Ideally everyone involved is hoping that Ambrose will show more of the promise he had during the 2009 season when he had 4 top-5’s and 7 top-10’s in his first full season. There is also hope that a switch to RPM will make Ambrose a contender in more races in addition to the two road course events.

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After a year and a half of qualifying and then pulling the car behind the wall Dave Blaney is not listed as a driver for PRISM Motorsports this week at Michigan International Speedway.

Blaney failed to make last weeks race at Watkins Glen but had qualified for 17 of the seasons first 22 races.

Scott Riggs will make his debut for the team in the #66 and Michael McDowell will again be in the #55.

Team owner Phil Parsons offered the following “Dave Blaney has been instrumental in getting our team started and to this point in the 2010 race season, so we are thankful to him and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

There has been no information to where or if Blaney may end up in a ride again this season but the options are not looking good for the 47 year-old from Hartford, OH.

One of the few options out there may be the second car at Robby Gordon Motorsports in place of PJ Jones, aside from that there is also the #34 Extenze Ford which recently replaced Kevin Conway with veteran Tony Raines.

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Now that veteran driver Tony Raines has been named to replace Kevin Conway in the #34 Extenze Ford NASCAR finds itself in a weird place.

Already in sports such as NASCAR and Baseball awarding a rookie of the year has more to do with when you are called up to the top level and against who then your actual overall talent.

This year Kevin Conway was competing for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and with the exception of a few qualifying attempts and runs by truck series veteran Terry Cook was doing it unopposed.

Already this season team owner Bob Jenkins has had to do some number switching to make sure that that all three of his cars have made the race. While Conway has driven the Extenze sponsored car all season he has done so with different numbers. In addition to the current #34 he has raced with the other Front Row Motorsports #38 and #37 as well.

Conway has constantly been running slower then the rest of the field and has made his way into recent races based solely on being in the top 35 in owner points.

With Conway’s departure there is now the chance that the winner of the award may go to a guy who isn’t even racing at seasons end.

Now that is funny. One has to wonder had he used more Extenze would he still be in the throttle?

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Picking Michigan this week may be one of the tougher assignments in a while.

Since it’s already Thursday and I’m in a hurry because the wife has scheduled a portrait session at 4 pm with our two sons I’ll make this short and to the point.

It looked like I would be attending this event but now… the wife isn’t wanting to go so much and apparently her family is trying to force me to be in some sort of cook out/baby shower this weekend… So needless to say the desire to write too much is also not really there.

Here are some guys you should pick and why.

Denny Hamlin – He won the earlier event at the track this year
Jeff Gordon – Much success
Kurt Busch – Always good, was good earlier this year
Carl Edwards – Average finish of 6th. Fords are looking better
Matt Kenseth – Two wins, average of 10th, looking to win for Jack in his possible return to the track?
Greg Biffle – Heck, why not?
Jimmie Johnson – Never bet against the 4 time champion
Tony Stewart – 15 top 10’s in 23 starts
Juan Montoya – Has had a great car last few weeks, trying to build on momentum
Kasey Kahne – was a top car earlier this year

For our super secret back pack special this week we go with.. Joey Logano.

Logano is entering his fourth try at the track. He finished 10th earlier this year and was 7th in last summers race.

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A few weeks ago I figured David Stremme could do anything and still remain a part of the #26 team owned by Bill Jenkins. After all making the field wasn’t even a given for the team and yet they still ran out there to the track. Turns out it’s Jenkins who isn’t paying his drivers and apparently is doing very little to make the team better.

Stremme has left the team with the primarily reason being financial compensation.  “We always had to do more with less, but in the last month and a half, ownership hasn’t really wanted to make things better. Bill Jenkins has not been willing to make the correct decisions, and it has affected the performance of the team. We’ve barely been making it to track the last few weeks. At Pocono, we didn’t even know if we were going to have tires to race on. “I went to Bill and said `If things aren’t going to change, I don’t think I want to stay involved.’ We discussed a timeline for him to find another driver and agreed that we would look at things again after Bristol. But he immediately started calling around trying to replace me. He apparently wanted to find someone else right now, and that’s fine. It’s his choice…. There are obligations to both me and the team that have not been met, and that was a big part of my decision to leave. I don’t want to be involved with something like that. I dealt with (Jenkins) with respect, and was straightforward with him at all times. I didn’t get that in return.”

Those comments were much in line with what Boris Said spoke of earlier this week.  “There’s no real polite way to say this, but Bill Jenkins owes me a bunch of money.”

There haven’t been any mention of who or if the team will attempt to run at Michigan this weekend. Currently the entry list for Michigan has TBA listed for both the #26 and the #13 cars. Casey Mears who will take over the #13 car later this year is listed as the driver for the #36 Tommy Baldwin ride.

Stremme should have known it would come to this. After all look at the photo. He’s still wearing his Penske helmet.

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Had Marcos Ambrose won Sunday’s event at Watkins Glen you’d likely of heard about how good he was at the track and then you would of heard the inevitable question to when he would win on an oval.

Ambrose didn’t win Sunday. In fact he finished third after a great showing and suddenly some are already calling Ambrose a huge disappointment. To the same degree one could wonder if they would think the run Jeff Gordon has had this year is also a huge disappointment since he lacks wins thus far.

It’s not easy to run third in any NASCAR Sprint Cup Race. At Watkins Glen the talent of Ambrose may have been matched by only two or three drivers but it only takes one of those drivers to beat you. Ambrose ran well, he won the Nationwide event the day before and who knows maybe if he had better equipment he would have been able to hang with the superior cars of Montoya and Kurt Busch.

Next year Ambrose is leaving JTG Daugherty and that moment should be fast enough for fans of the Australian. While it’s not official yet it’s been speculated by many that he will find himself in the #9 ride currently held by Kasey Kahne who will shift over to Team Red Bull for one reason before assuming Mark Martins spot at Hendrick Motorsports.

Ambrose showed me nothing on Sunday that  I didn’t already know. The guy can whip a car around a road course. That he didn’t win may be a disappointment but it doesn’t mean he’s a failure by any stretch.

The 2010 season may have started with early promise for the 34 year-old who had run one and a half years on the circuit. The close calls of 2009 hinted that Ambrose could be primed for a break out. That break out will have to happen in 2011.

There will be a day when Ambrose not only can run a road course and be competitive but will also contend on ovals. That day is coming sooner then later.

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Marcos Ambrose won the NASCAR Nationwide event at Watkins Glen. Ambrose led the majority of the race finishing ahead if Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick. Carl Edwards one of the early favorites was credited with a DNF after having engine troubles.

The win was the third straight for Ambrose in the Nationwide Series at
Watkins Glen.

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