For (l-r) Juan Montoya, Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne, Atlanta poses difficult challenges to their precarious Chase hopes.
 
 
HAMPTON, GA.–Positions 7-15 are in a state of flux entering the final two weeks of the Sprint Cup regular season and Sunday night’s Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
 
Atlanta records are also full of highs and lows where the Chase contenders are concerned.
 
Juan Montoya’s first top-five finish was at Atlanta, but his average finish in his last four visits is 29.3. Mark Martin has won twice, but the most recent was 15 years ago. Kasey Kahne has won at AMS but fared poorly in four of his last six races here.
 
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KESELOWSKI WILL BE COMPARED TO NEWMAN, NOT STREMME–It was obvious Brad Keselowski was headed to Penske Racing. When the story broke a couple weeks back, no one came forth to deny it. The move was announced officially earlier this month.
 
Apparently, David Stremme will ride out the season and Keselowski will take over next year. Penske also announced a two-car Nationwide Series operation, giving Keselowski an opportunity to run for the title in that series.
 
Will Keselowski fare better than Stremme? Probably. The more valid comparison will probably be with Ryan Newman, who drove the Penske No. 12 Dodge in 2008.
 
Stremme is 31st in Sprint Cup points and is losing a Cup ride for the second time. He was at what was then Chip Ganassi Racing in 2006-07. In 2007, he finished a career-best 24th in points.
 
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WORTH WATCHING– Entering Saturday night’s Degree V12 300, Kyle Busch holds a massive 192-point lead in the Nationwide Series, which has no Chase.
 
But … Carl Edwards has shaved off 147 points of Busch’s edge. Busch led by 339 points three races ago.
 
Fifteen drivers, Busch and Edwards among them, are entered in both Nationwide and Cup races.
 
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THE WAY IT FALLS– Inexplicably, Bobby Labonte, who has won six Cup races at AMS, won’t be here. Labonte, the 2000 (then) Winston Cup champion, will hand the No. 96 Ford over to Erik Darnell for seven of the final 12 races, including this one.
 
Labonte’s remaining races are Richmond, Dover, Fontana, Charlotte and Martinsville. Darnell’s slate consists of Atlanta, New Hampshire, Kansas, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

 

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