| 1 |
1 |
 |
Kurt Busch |
Number of finishes out of the top 15 before Indianapolis: 7. Number since: 0. |
| 2 |
6 |
 |
Jamie McMurray |
He’s tied for second with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for top-10s (20). Last time someone got 20 top-10s without a win? Mark Martin (23 top-10s) in 1996. |
| 3 |
3 |
 |
Jeff Gordon |
He finally led a lap, but his five-point bonus was negated when Busch was able to lead the most laps. In the six races of the Chase, Busch has scored 20 more bonus points than Gordon. |
| 4 |
2 |
 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
That was Dale Jr.’s worst finish on a short track in over two years. |
| 5 |
9 |
 |
Ryan Newman |
He took the lead with seven Bud Poles. Gordon has six, but with a pair of 1.5-mile tracks remaining, it looks like Newman will take the season honor for most top spots. |
| 6 |
17 |
 |
Jimmie Johnson |
For the fourth time this year, someone won back-to-back races. Jeff Gordon has done it twice (Sonoma/Daytona and Talladega/Fontana) and Matt Kenseth did it (Rockingham/Las Vegas). |
| 7 |
8 |
 |
Mark Martin |
In 2004, he’s finished between 11th and 15th nearly a third of the time. He was 12th at Martinsville. |
| 8 |
10 |
 |
Rusty Wallace |
Clash with Ryan Newman extended his top-five drought to 24 races. |
| 9 |
13 |
 |
Jeremy Mayfield |
His average start this year: 12th. Career high entering 2004: 17.5. |
| 10 |
11 |
 |
Tony Stewart |
Needs to reel off four straight top-five finishes to avoid a career low in top-fives. |
| 11 |
7 |
 |
Elliott Sadler |
He suffered his first DNF of the year, but he’s still completed over 99 percent of his laps. In contrast, Busch is still at 97 percent, and Earnhardt Jr. fell to 98 percent after spending time in the garage at Martinsville. |
| 12 |
4 |
 |
Dale Jarrett |
During the peak of his career (1996-2000), he qualified, on average, 11th. Since 2000, that average has been 20th. |
| 13 |
5 |
 |
Joe Nemechek |
Still has an excellent shot at finishing in the top 20 in the standings for just the second time in his career. |
| 14 |
15 |
 |
Jeff Burton |
He’s got a real chance at catching Michael Waltrip for 16th in the standings, but the ceiling is 16th, because Kasey Kahne holds 15th place by nearly 300 points. |
| 15 |
12 |
 |
Ricky Rudd |
Nice rally at Martinsville netted him a 14th-place finish, his fifth straight finish of 16th or better. It’s more evidence of the Wood Brothers’ improvement, because Rudd didn’t even get a top-15 finish until mid-May. |
| 16 |
18 |
 |
Matt Kenseth |
He’s gone five races without a top-10 finish. That is his longest drought in three years. |
| 17 |
20 |
 |
Sterling Marlin |
He’s got three top-fives in 2004, two of which came on short tracks. Four of his seven top-10 finishes were scored at short tracks this year. Marlin finished 30th or worse in three of the four plate races this year. |
| 18 |
21 |
 |
Kevin Harvick |
In 2001, he won the spring race at Atlanta, then finished third in the fall. But since then, he hasn’t fared better than 19th. |
| 19 |
16 |
 |
Kasey Kahne |
He’s gone season-long five races without either a Bud Pole or a top-10 finish. |
| 20 |
14 |
 |
Michael Waltrip |
There have been 14 races at Atlanta since the track was reconfigured, and Waltrip has just one top-10 in that span. |
| 21 |
19 |
 |
Greg Biffle |
He’s finished first or second in four of the last six Busch races, but it’s gone unnoticed. |
| 22 |
23 |
 |
Brendan Gaughan |
Still second in the rookie points. It’s a very interesting race for second, with three guys (Gaughan, Scott Wimmer and Brian Vickers) separated by five points. |
| 23 |
22 |
 |
Bobby Labonte |
He’s got a nine-year winning streak on the line – and obviously, Atlanta is his best place to keep the streak going. |
| 24 |
NR |
 |
Casey Mears |
Since Daytona, he’s slipped from 16th to 22nd in the points, but strangely, his average finish isn’t all that much different from the first half (19th in first half, 22nd in second half). |
| 25 |
NR |
 |
Jeff Green |
His seventh-place run at Martinsville leaves Kyle Petty as the only driver with 32 starts without a top-10 finish. In fairness, Petty has been hit by engine failure five times. |
