Now that Kyle Busch has gotten over his latest competition hurdle, and given the favorable schedule between Kentucky and Atlanta this weekend, you really gotta wonder if Busch can become the first driver to sweep all three NASCAR national touring series races in a weekend at different venues.

Busch has won two consecutive in the Truck Series and he's a former Truck winner at Kentucky, where that series races Friday night. While he's yet to win in a Nationwide car at Atlanta, he's won five times there between Truck and Cup. He's averaged only a 20th-place finish in his past three Cup starts at AMS, but just sayin' -- the guy can strike at any time and he has already tied the Nationwide record for wins in a season, with 10.

By currently leading the Cup Series in top-five (11) and top-10 (16) finishes through 24 races, Kevin Harvick totally deserves the championship favorite's role as the "regular season" reaches its final two events.

Atlanta's Nationwide race is a one-day Saturday show while the Cup event has practice and qualifying Saturday and the 500-mile race on Sunday evening.

• If you were wondering why, or if, Todd Bodine would or wouldn't dump Busch -- be it at Chicagoland, Kentucky or any time in the future -- you just don't know Bodine.

On SPEED's Wind Tunnel last Sunday Bodine gave some great big-picture insight into why he raced Busch cleanly at Chicagoland. He admitted that "of course Kyle took advantage of me because he knows I have to cut him a break because of [possibly losing the] points" by crashing himself trying to wreck Busch or by getting paid back if he knocked Busch out of the way.

Don't look for that picture to change focus anywhere in the stretch, where Busch plans several races with his own trucks and with Bodine a huge favorite to gain his second Truck championship. He's currently 236 points ahead of Aric Almirola with eight races remaining.

• Intriguing stat dug up by NASCAR numbers guru Mike Forde this week: With nine finishes outside the top 20 this season, Jimmie Johnson has more of those "mediocre" finishes already than in any other year in his Cup career. When you look at the overview of this season, that's probably not a surprise since most of the "lucky escapes" Johnson's managed to have previously seem to be tearing up his cars this season.

But we'll have to wait a couple weeks, until after Johnson likely goes into the seventh annual Chase atop the points, to see if his current string of only one top-10 finish since he last won a race is truly significant or just a unique way to clandestinely prepare to win his fifth consecutive championship.

• By currently leading the Cup Series in top-five (11) and top-10 (16) finishes through 24 races, Kevin Harvick totally deserves the championship favorite's role as the "regular season" reaches its final two events. But what might ultimately be an even more significant stat is this: Harvick is one of only three drivers in the Chase without a DNF this season, and the only one in the standings' current top six who has finished every race.

But the most significant stat? Harvick has only two finishes this season of 20th or worse, which is simply ridiculous when compared to his competition. Matt Kenseth has only three finishes of 20th or worse, but usually runs in the teens, while Kyle Busch has twice as many as Harvick -- four -- plus nowhere near as many high finishes. (Continued)