Kurt Busch leads ho-hum qualifying night by Chasers (cont'd)

Denny Hamlin came next, slightly behind the two Fords in his No. 11 Chevy. Hamlin's lap at 29.213 seconds, 189.779 mph was good for 18th. Hamlin has a top-10 in four starts, racing to eighth in this race last year. His average finish is 19.3, good for seventh among Chasers.

Kyle Busch was 19th in the No. 5 Chevrolet, just .003 seconds behind Hamlin at 189.759 mph. The younger Busch can't seem to get off the number 12 at Atlanta. He's finished 12th three times in six starts. Of course, the other finishes are 27th, 32nd and 43rd. Even so, his average finish is just a tick off his brother's mark at 23.0.

Martin Truex Jr. came 20th in the No. 1 Chevrolet, clocking in another .003 seconds behind Busch at 29.219 seconds, 189.740 mph. Truex ran eighth there in the spring, his best effort in five starts. He also has three DNFs in those five races. His average finish of 28.8 is worst in the Chase.

Fully half of the 12 Chase drivers have won at Atlanta, and all but Truex have led at least one lap.

Clint Bowyer was the ninth Chaser in the field, pushing the No. 07 Chevrolet to 26th at 29.267 seconds, 189.428 mph. Oddly enough, he shares the 13th row with Jamie McMurray in the No. 26 Ford in a row of rival liquors.

Bowyer is ahead of the last two tracks on the circuit, stats-wise, having a top-10 finish at Atlanta (sixth in the spring) in one of his three races. He's led two laps, too. His average finish is 19.3, eighth-best in the Chase.

Jeff Burton wound up 28th in the field at 29.276 seconds, 189.370 mph. Burton has 26 starts at Atlanta, with six top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. He's finished fourth there on four occasions, the last coming earlier this year. His average finish of 17.2 is sixth among the Chasers.

Tony Stewart is the defending race champion, and tied with Johnson and Carl Edwards with two Atlanta victories behind Gordon's four. Stewart has seven top-five and 11 top-10 runs in 17 Atlanta starts, and this is always a big race for him since his sponsor, The Home Depot, is based there.

Stewart, who put his Chevrolet in 30th at 29.301 seconds, 189.209 mph, is second in laps led among the Chasers with 790, and he averages 11.5 per finish, third-best in the Chase.

Kevin Harvick, who earned his first victory at Atlanta just a few weeks after the death of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in 2001, has not been as good there since. In 13 starts, Harvick has just two top-five and two top-10 finishes, compared to three DNFs, and his average finish of 25.2 is 11th of the 12 Chasers.

Harvick was 34th and last among the Chasers, running a lap at 29.477 seconds, 188.079 mph.