2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

2007 Pep Boys Auto 500:

Atlanta Motor Speedway's fast 1.54 mile quad-oval is vastly different than last week's short track grind in Martinsville. The 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 will feature high speeds and multi-groove racing. Jimmie Johnson won here in March. Will the point leaders continue to dominate the Chase?

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (770) 946-4211

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

Atlanta Motor Speedway is l.54 mile quad-oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. Because the cars don't use the speed-sapping restrictor plates here the average speeds in Atlanta are even faster than the superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega. This is a very fast race track that has a history of truly great racing.

Race Distance:

325 Laps = 500 Miles

The Big Picture:

Jimmie Johnson's win last week in Martinsville edged him closer to point leader Jeff Gordon. If Johnson can back up his March victory in Atlanta and complete the season sweep he could take over the point lead.

Only three races remain after Atlanta and the battle for the Championship is entering the last laps.

The top twelve:

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson -53
3. Clint Bowyer -115
4. Tony Stewart -249
5. Carl Edwards -288
6. Kyle Busch -290
7. Kevin Harvick -369
8. Denny Hamlin -374
9. Jeff Burton -406
10. Kurt Busch -420
11. Martin Truex Jr. -447
12. Matt Kenseth -462

Storylines:

This weekend NASCAR takes a look back at the legendary 1992 fall Atlanta race. 15 years ago Richard Petty ran his final race. That same day a 21 year old Jeff Gordon ran his first race in NASCAR's premier series.

This weekend Jeff Gordon will be the Grand Marshal, while Richard Petty will be the Honorary Starter. This is a great chance to look back at one of NASCAR's most famous races of all time.

Media Coverage:

TV: ABC Sunday, October 28th, 1:00PM Eastern.

Radio: PRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 2:00 p.m. Eastern

Posted Awards:

$6,156,331

Last Year:

2006 saw Tony Stewart dominate the end of the race. He passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. who had stayed out on old tires late in the race and cruised to the easy win.

When the NEXTEL Cup series left Atlanta last year there were still five drivers within 84 points of the lead. The heat was on as Matt Kenseth held the lead over eventual winner Jimmie Johnson by 26 points.

Predictions:

Tony Stewart won this race last year and had the lead late in the race when the series returned to Atlanta in the spring of this year. Joe Gibbs Racing has always had a great setup package for Atlanta. I believe that Tony Stewart could well return to Victory Lane this weekend in Atlanta.

For my backup pick this week I am going with the driver that swept both races here in 2005. Carl Edwards had the magic combination two years ago and has three wins so far in 2007. While Hendrick Motorsports drivers have dominated the news in recent weeks I believe that Carl Edwards could find his way to the Winner's Circle in Atlanta.