Stewart-Busch may battle once again at Chicagoland

NASCAR has some more Saturday night fireworks in store this week as the Sprint Cup Series visits Chicagoland Speedway for the LifeLock.com 400.

Chicago is another in the endless series of 1.5-mile intermediate ovals that make up the bulk of the Sprint Cup schedule. However, Chicago does boast a little bit of a twist that sets it apart from the other ovals. The backstretch has a noticeable bend to it that makes the track almost one continuous circle rather than the completely straight backstretches of the other intermediate ovals.

Since drivers really never stop turning the steering wheel at Chicagoland Speedway, there is a greater emphasis on handling sensitivity as compared to some of the other 1.5-mile tracks. The series only visits Chicago once a season, so we're a bit short on historical data. Still, there is an easily identifiable group of drivers that dominate at the Joliet, Ill., track. One year ago Kyle Busch led 165 of the 267 laps run and won the pole in the LifeLock.com 400. Much like last week's race at Daytona, we should see Busch and Tony Stewart dueling again on Saturday night in Chicago. The owner/driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet boasts some pretty impressive stats at the intermediate oval as well. The drama of seeing the two racing again after their thrilling and controversial finish at Daytona last week should set the stage for another prime time NASCAR spectacular at Chicago.

The following is our weekly power ranking for the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

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1. Tony Stewart
The championship standings leader enters this race soaring from his big Daytona win last Fourth of July weekend. Stewart is not only riding momentum, but he has tremendous ability on the banks of Chicago's 1.5-mile oval. His last four visits to Chicagoland Speedway have netted one win and three top-five finishes.

2. Kyle Busch
Busch is the defending event champion at Chicago. In 2008 he dominated and won from the pole. Busch will undoubtedly be going head-to-head with Tony Stewart this Saturday night for the win. Will the driver of the No. 18 Toyota get the best of Stewart or will he be bested again? Busch has the talent and equipment to win this race more often than not.

3. Jimmie Johnson
The defending Sprint Cup champion has almost taken a back seat to the Stewart/Busch duel, and that's probably a good thing for Johnson. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet would rather be off the radar screen and not be seen coming. He's never won at Chicagoland Speedway, but Johnson has five top-fives in seven career starts at the intermediate oval. There's no better time to win at Chicago than now if you're Johnson.

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4. Matt Kenseth
Kenseth has been Jack Roush's go-to guy at Chicago for years. The driver of the No. 17 Ford has stellar loop stats at the track. Kenseth has led close to 300 laps and finished runner-up twice in his last four starts at Chicagoland Speedway. The team is running well enough to easily collect a top-10 on Saturday night and perhaps challenge for a top-five.

5. Jeff Gordon
When examining Gordon's recent intermediate oval record, we have to give him due respect this weekend. He won the 2006 installment of this race and he won at a similar track (Texas) earlier this season. While he's not a major threat to win this event, we would be disappointed if the No. 24 team failed to soldier another top-10 finish at Chicago.

6. Kurt Busch
The surging No. 2 team comes to Chicago this weekend well within the Chase field. Busch has raced extremely well this season, and how can we forget his big win at Atlanta in the spring. Couple that with the fact that Busch has cracked the top 10 in three of his last four starts at Chicagoland Speedway, and you can easily see the reason for his high ranking this week.

7. Carl Edwards
This ranking is more for what Edwards has done lately than his specific accomplishments at Chicago. In fact, Edwards has only one top-10 in his last four Chicagoland starts. We have to imagine that his intermediate oval skills will kick in at some point. You could do far worse than to give Edwards a fantasy racing start this Saturday night in the LifeLock.com 400.

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8. Brian Vickers
Vickers really loves to race at Chicago, and the stats show it. He's coming off a great run this past week at Daytona, so the No. 83 team is carrying some momentum into Chicago. In four career starts at 1.5-mile track Vickers has a pair of top-10s and no finish worse than 14th. With the way this Red Bull Racing veteran is running right now, expect no less this Saturday night.

9. Juan Montoya
While Montoya doesn't have stellar stats at Chicago, his intermediate oval racing has improved dramatically this season. The No. 42 team has racked up top-10s at Texas and Charlotte in the last several weeks. With Montoya racing to shore up his position in the Chase, motivation won't be a problem for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver.

10. Kevin Harvick
We would normally rank Harvick much higher for a Chicago race. The No. 29 team has struggled immensely this season. However, his statistics at Chicagoland Speedway are simply too good to ignore. Harvick is a two-time winner at the intermediate oval and he's been a regular face in the top five over the years. His last three starts at the track have netted three top-five finishes and 94 laps led.