Chasers to start up front for third consecutive race (cont'd)

But other than that memorable finish, Harvick hasn't torn up AMS. Besides his victory, he has one more top-five and a top-10 to show in 15 starts, and his average finish is 23.3, worst in the Chase.

Jeff Gordon is seventh in points coming in, thanks to a solid run at Martinsville. Gordon has a Chase-best four victories on the 1.54-mile oval, the same place he made his series debut way back in 1992. In 32 starts here, Gordon has the four victories, two poles, 13 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 12.8. That's fourth among Chasers.

Tony Stewart suffered at the altar of torn-up right-front tires last week at Martinsville and dropped from seventh to eighth in points. Stewart is among the seven Chasers to have won here, his victory in this race in 2006 the latest of his two triumphs. Stewart is always around the top 10 here, finishing there in 12 of his 19 starts. Eight of those finishes were inside the top five. His average finish is 12.0, third behind Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt is another driver who gets it done at Atlanta, winning the spring race in 2004 and logging top-10 finishes in 10 of his 18 starts. Eight of those were top-fives, too. He's led 632 laps here and won a pole as well. His average finish of 11.7 is behind only Johnson's mark among Chasers.

Matt Kenseth's Atlanta stats are similar to those of Stewart and Earnhardt, without the victories. In 17 starts, Kenseth has 10 top-10 results and six top-fives, with a third-place run his best effort in the spring of 2007. Kenseth averages 14.5 per finish, seventh in the Chase.

Denny Hamlin will start 11th on Sunday, and he's looking for a little traction. In six starts, Hamlin's best result is eighth in his rookie season of 2006. His average finish of 19.3 is 10th in the 12-man Chase.

Kyle Busch rounds out the Chasers and the top-12 qualifiers for Sunday's race. Busch won the spring race at Atlanta for his only victory here in eight starts. It was also his only top-10. His average finish is 19.9.