The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is coming off of it’s last bye week of the year. In the off week however the NASCAR Nationwide Series kept us on the edge of our seats with a thrilling photo finish at Montreal. However this week is a totally different beast as NASCAR rolls into one of the fastest tracks on the circuit Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Emory Health Care 500.

Here are five things to keep an eye on this weekend.

Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

1. Harvick and Gordon Have Clinched Their Spots In Chase, Who’s Next?

Nine of the ten remaining spots in the chase can be clinched this weekend, but none of the drivers in those spots are quite locked in just yet. One slip up and they could be facing elimination themselves, as Jamie McMurray among others are beginning to breathe down the necks of those currently inside the top-12.

Here are this weekends clinching scenarios (Finishing Position a driver needs without leading a lap to clinch):

Kyle Busch – 40th or better (No laps led)

Carl Edwards – 21st or better (No laps led)

Denny Hamlin – 20th or better (No laps led)

Tony Stewart – 19th or better (No laps led)

Jeff Burton – 17th or better (No laps led)

Matt Kenseth – 15th or better (No laps led)

Jimmie Johnson – 10th or better (No laps led)

Kurt Busch – 9th or better (No laps led)

Greg Biffle – 4th or better (No laps led)

Clint Bowyer is the only driver currently inside the top-12 in the standings who cannot seal his spot this week. Also don’t forget these drivers must still push for victories in these last two races before the chase, because when the chase begins the drivers will be seeded by their total of victories on the season.

Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

2. Atlanta Is Historically A “Photo Finish” Track

In 1997 Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured to it’s current layout, and since then the track has played host to three of the closest finishes in NASCAR history.

The track has been compared to a rubber band. At points the lead stretches out, but by the end it compresses back and the race is on. Considering the Nationwide Series just had a photo finish last week in Montreal, it is conceivable that we could be treated to the same thing this weekend.

Here are three of the notable photo finishes at Atlanta:

2000 Cracker Barrel 500 – Dale Earnhardt defeated Bobby Labonte by just 0.010 of a second.

2001 Cracker Barrel 500 – Kevin Harvick edged Jeff Gordon narrowly by 0.006 of a second for his first career win.

2005 Golden Corral 500 – Carl Edwards got his first career victory by 0.028 of a second over Jimmie Johnson.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

3. Can A “Fan Favorite” Driver Finally Win?

So far in 2010 five of the most popular drivers in the sport have been shut out of victory lane. This is something that has gone kind of under the radar with some of the great racing we have seen, but through 24 races Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, and Kasey Kahne all remain win-less.

Can that trend turn around this week?

Here is a look at each driver’s career stats at Atlanta:

Jeff Gordon – 34 Starts, 4 Wins, 14 Top5s, 23 Top10s, 12.4 Average Finish

Tony Stewart – 23 Starts, 2 Wins, 8 Top5s, 13 Top10s, 12.0 Average Finish

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 22 Starts, 1 Win, 8 Top5s, 10 Top10s, 12.0 Average Finish

Kasey Kahne – 13 Starts, 2 Wins, 6 Top5s, 8 Top10s, 16.0 Average Finish

Mark Martin – 49 Starts, 2 Wins, 14 Top5s, 23 Top10s, 17.3 Average Finish

As you can see that each of the five superstars have won at Atlanta in the past. Maybe just maybe one of them can get off the schnide this weekend.

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

4. Will Some Drivers Help Solidify Their Plans For 2011 With A Good Run?

Drivers such as Elliott Sadler and Scott Speed have uncertainty heading into next season. If either one of them or the whole slew of drivers looking to land a ride for next season can perform well, it will go a long way to getting them into a car full-time.

The demand for Sadler may have gone up recently as he has shown what he can do in good equipment. He has had great runs in the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series driving for Kevin Harvick.

Sadler of course announced weeks ago that he would not be returning to Richard Petty Motorsports next season. Meanwhile Scott Speed still hasn’t officially lost his ride, yet all signs point to him being the odd man out with Kasey Kahne moving to Red Bull Racing in 2011, along with the announcement that Brian Vickers will be back.

If Speed shows some speed this weekend, could he possibly take over the 19 car next year? We’ll have to wait and see.

RubbingsRacing.com Managing Editor Chris Smith At The Spring Atlanta "Tweetup"

5. Big Announcement And Giveaways From RubbingsRacing At Atlanta

This weekend RubbingsRacing.com will be teaming up with Jeff Gluck of SBNation.com to have a tweetup. This tweetup is open to any and all NASCAR fans. During this tweetup there will be a huge announcement of a new member of the RubbingsRacing.com staff that will be very recognizable among race fans. Also included will be numerous giveaways including merchandise from Amp Energy and signed souvenir packages.

The tweetup will take place Sunday at 4:00 PM ET, at Gate 15 of the race track. Make sure to plan your weekend accordingly and spread the word!

If you have any other questions concerning this tweetup contact Christopher Smith on twitter, his username is @Rubbings.

By: Dave Thompson

Whether you are a Kyle Busch fan, or not, the fans witnessed a historic event when Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to win all three national series races in the same week. Busch won the truck race on Wednesday, out dueled Brad Keselowski to win the Nationwide race on Saturday and completed the sweep by taking his No. 18 Doublemint gum Toyota Camry to victory lane on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch led the race four times for 283 laps of the 500 and won in dominant fashion. The Sprint Cup series win was the first for Busch since Dover in May. The victory for Busch catapulted him five positions in the point standing to third with two races remaining before the Chase.

David Reutimann started fifth, was very competitive all evening and finished strong on his way to a 2nd place finish. It was unclear if Reutimann would be in the No. 00 after battling food poisoning late in the week. During his post-race press conference Reutimann looked drained and shared to the media he really was exhausted after 500 laps at Bristol and really needed some sleep.

Crossing the start/finish line behind Busch and Reutimann were Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne. McMurray surprised Busch on a long green flag run to take over the lead but 10 laps later Busch was back at the front of the pack.

The night wasn’t so successful for some of the front runners for the Chase and Busch took advantage.

Polesitter and March race winner Jimmie Johnson was dominant the first half of the race leading 175 lap seeking his own at Bristol this season. However, it was not meant to be for Johnson and on lap 262, Juan Pablo Montoya and his aggressive style bumped Johnson’s right rear sending him into the wall.

Points leader Kevin Harvick struggled with handling problems throughout the night and spent most of his evening mid-pack. Ultimately, Harvick would finish 14th and see his lead over second place Jeff Gordon shrink slightly to 279 points.

Tony Stewart suffered damage to the right rear of his car when David Ragan made contact to his Office Depot Chevrolet. Stewart’s night did not get any better from there when later in the race he hit the wall which resulted several laps later with a flat tire. He would finish six laps down in 27th position.

Clint Bowyer maintained the 12th position in the point standing while increasing his lead over Mark Martin. McMurray’s third place finish has him just 100 points out of the coveted 12th position.

At the end of the evening fans were left saying……THAT. JUST. HAPPENED.

By: Dave Thompson

Jimmie Johnson earned the pole at Bristol with a stout qualifying lap time of 15.540 seconds at 123.475 mph. Johnson took the low line and made it stick for his first career pole at Bristol. Carl Edwards had been the polesitter but that was short lived as Johnson took care of that just two drivers later. Johnson was the last of the top-35 to go out to qualify. Johnson finished 7th and 4th in the first practice and happy hour respectively.

Carl Edwards had a dismal first practice finishing 36th but the 99 adjustments prior to happy hour would payoff finishing 2nd after the 45 minute session. Edwards was consistent in qualifying and held the pole briefly before Johnson snagged the top spot. He was confident enough that he would remain in the top-3 after Johnson’s run that Edwards showed up in the Media Center early to cool off. Edwards said he felt the top line was faster, at least for him, and was surprised that Johnson won the pole running the low line.

Joey Logano, the polesitter for the March race, knocked Tony Stewart from the top spot when he went out 17th. Logano struggled in both practices finishing 32nd and 30th. He shaved nearly half a second off his “happy hour” lap time completing his run in 15.608 seconds.

Tony Stewart made in an all Stewart-Haas Racing front row bumping teammate Ryan Newman from the pole with his run. Stewart looked like he would win the pole until Logano dropped him to second.

Rounding out the top-5 in qualifying was the #00 of David Reuitmann. A surprise to many after Aric Almirola had to sub for Reutimann in the first practice and “happy hour”. Reuitmann had spent most of the night at the hospital with food poisoning, according to Aric Almirola’s press conference earlier today. He fell just short of knocking Stewart out of 4h position.

Other qualifying notes:

This was Jimmie Johnson’s 24th pole of his career and first of the 2010 season.

Jeff Gordon had a solid performance in pracitce finishing in the top-5 in both sessions. However, Gordon got loose in turn 4 in his qualifying lap doing some slight damage left rear of the car. He did not take the green flag and was able to come back for another lap several drivers later. Gordon will start back in the field in 26th position.

Kevin Harvick struggled in practice and was unable to improve his speeds and finished 28th in qualifying.

David Gilliland, who was first in the first practice and third in “happy hour” but failed to back those numbers up and finished 34th.

Failed to qualify for the race:

Joe Nemechek, Kevin Lepage, JJ Yeley and Mike Bliss.

By: Dave Thompson

The IRWIN Tools Night Race first practice is complete at Bristol Motor Speedway with some definite surprises. David Gilliland shocked the field laying down the fastest lap early in practice and hold that top spot throughout the two hour practice session. Gilliland was a full second faster than the second spot with a speed of 120.543 mph. We will have to wait and see if he can maintain that level of speed during second practice and qualifying.

Another surprise in the second spot was Robby Gordon. He ran just nine laps in the 07 and parked the car, satisfied with his top lap speed of 119.529 mph. Gordon is in the #07 this week with Kevin Conway piloting the #7 this week. Conway was second to last in practice and although he ran 55 laps he was unable to improve on his fastest lap at 115.702 mph.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was satisfied with his car in practice but the team still plans to make some minor adjustments before the second practice. He capped his practice with a top speed of 119.470 mph and completed 80 laps.

Jeff Gordon finished fourth in practice. Gordon completed just under a 100 laps during the practice with a top speed of 119.455 mph. Look for Gordon to contend for the pole later this afternoon.

Rounding out the top five, surprising many at the track, was AJ Allmendinger with a lap speed of 119.254 mph. Allmendinger stuggled during the two hours practice session turning his car not once but twice coming out of turn 4. Despite his fifth position, Allmendinger seemed frustrated with the cars handling througout practice.

Other notables:

Jimmie Johnson, the spring race winner, finished in 7th position.

Team Red Bull had a great practice with Scott Speed in 9th and Reed Sorenson 11th.

March polesitter Joey Logano was 32nd.

One of the favorites this weekend, Kyle Busch was 28th.

Points leader Kevin Harvick finished 39th and battled a loose car throughout practice.

Photo By: Farrah Kaye

By: Farrah Kaye

Continuing the Richard Childress Racing domination of the weekend, Kevin Harvick won the late-race battle with Denny Hamlin and took his No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil machine to Victory Lane, becoming the only driver to earn a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup at the CARFAX 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday.

Although Kasey Kahne sat on the pole, he failed to lead even one lap. Outside pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson immediately took the lead and led the first 14 laps. However, Johnson began to fall back, and RCR weekend-rival Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle took over the lead. The two battled for nearly 70 laps, which included two cautions (oil on the track and rain on the track).

Finally, on lap 83, Biffle had a tire problem which took him out of contention and Harvick battled with Tony Stewart until lap 155.

Biffle commented after the race about his tire issue.

“We got a weird set of tires in the middle of the race and were super-tight. I didn’t adjust on it and then I came back loose again and we did two and it wasn’t very good. So at the end I said ‘I’m going to leave it alone,’ and I put four on it and that was almost as loose as I had been all day.”

Overall, he said he was happy with the day he had.

While Stewart and Harvick battled for the lead, other drivers battled behind them for position.

On lap 149, Joey Logano got loose and took out Ryan Newman, causing him to finish 23rd. The two had a heated exchange after the race.

On lap 155, it was a battle of the Jeffs when Jeff Burton and Gordon got together. Burton finished 24th and Gordon finished 27th, the last car on the lead lap.

Stewart got back into the game for 10 laps towards the end until Hamlin surged forward and battled side-by-side with Harvick. But the No. 11 had nothing on the 29 and with five laps to go, Harvick took off.

“It was a battle for sure,” Hamlin said of the last laps against Harvick. “We are definitely happy with that run. We are trying all we can to get 10 more bonus points, but Kevin [Harvick] had a really strong car. It showed all day. We just kind of snuck up there. I knew we had a good car but we never had really good track position.”

But the RFR dominance was still there, as Carl Edwards finished third, Biffle finished fourth, and Matt Kenseth finished fifth. (David Ragan finished 11th.)

With Jack Roush being at the track, the RFR drivers wanted to bring him a win, but the strong performance was good enough for Edwards.

“We really wanted to get a win. That’s a strong performance for us and Ford. That’s huge. [It] meant a lot to perform that well for him.”

Rounding out the top 10 were Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr., Elliot Sadler, and Joey Logano.

This is Harvick’s 14th win in 345 starts and third win in 2010. He has 16 top-10 finishes in 2010 and is first in the point standings by a 293 point lead over second-place Jeff Gordon. It is his first win at Michigan and also brought RCR their first win at MIS since Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1990.

“The first time I came to Michigan was in 1999. we announced our AC Delco sponsorship. That was the first time I actually met Earnhardt. I walked up in the lounge. I sat down in the lounge and just kind of didn’t really have much to say. Then we went out and watched the race. To see all the people, I think we were in the last pit stall that day, watched the race, watched Earnhardt I think race at the front that day, just took it all in.”

Harvick continued discussing how important today’s win was.

“To come here and win is great for RCR for the fact that this hasn’t been our best racetrack. Our cars had run good here before, but I hadn’t. Last couple times we’ve really committed ourselves to driving in different spots on the racetrack and doing different things from inside the car and trying to manage the practice as well as we can to not fool ourselves.”

Hamlin posted his sixth top-10 at MIS and 10th top-10 of 2010. Edwards posted his 11th top-10 finish at MIS and 12th top-10 of 2010. They are now third and sixth in points respectively.

Noteworthy mentions:

- The first caution (oil on the track) occurred after Kurt Busch’s No. 2 Miller Lite Vortex Dodge’s engine “let go.” There was a trail of oil from the track to his garage stall. Busch said of the incident, “It was a big surprise for the Miller Lite Dodge. We’ve had great reliability with the Penske engines over the years. I thought that I had the conservative motor this weekend, the 12 and the 77 had a bit more power. We just needed a nice, smooth run today and nothing big to happen. It’s unfortunate. We’ll bounce back next week.”

- There were 17 lead changes among 9 drivers. They were Biffle (3/66), Harvick (5/60), Stewart (3/36), Johnson (1/14), Hamlin (1/12), Truex (1/5), Elliot Sadler (1/4), David Ragan (1/2), and Travis Kvapil (1/1).

- Seven cars did not finish the race. PJ Jones (7 – Brakes), Landon Cassill (09 – Electrical), Robby Gordon (07 – Brakes), Kurt Busch (2 – Engine), Max Papis (13 – Rear Gear), Michael McDowell (55 – Electrical), and Joe Nemecheck (87 – Ignition).

- The top 12 in points are now: 1) Kevin Harvick; 2) Jeff Gordon -293; 3) Denny Hamlin -353; 4) Tony Stewart -380; 5) Jimmie Johnson -386; 6) Carl Edwards -414; 7) Jeff Burton -414; 8 ) Kyle Busch -425; 9) Matt Kenseth -439; 10) Kurt Busch -465; 11) Greg Biffle -487; 12) Clint Bowyer -645

Photo By: Farrah Kaye

For the most part, Richard Childress and Roush Fenway Racing have dominated all practices for this weekend’s CARFAX 400.

Until the final practice.

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were first and third in the final practices, but RCR and RFR still dominated.

David Ragan finished second, Kevin Harvick was fourth, Greg Biffle was fifth, and Jeff Burton was sixth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Regan Smith in seventh, Kurt Busch in eighth, Juan Pablo Montoya in ninth, and Tony Stewart in tenth.

After their swapping experiment, Denny Hamlin finished 24th and Kyle Busch finished 28th.

Notes:

- Carl Edwards had the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average (1-10) with a speed of 181.383.

Photo: Farrah Kaye

In the humidity and heat of Michigan International Speedway, three teams dominated the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing took seven of the top ten spots. They were: Jeff Burton (1), Juan Pablo Montoya (2), Kevin Harvick (3), Carl Edwards (4), Greg Biffle (5), Jamie McMurray (7), and David Ragan (10).

Not part of those teams were Jimmie Johnson (6), Regan Smith (8), and Tony Stewart (9).

Roush Fenway Notes:

- Carl Edwards it the most recent RFR winner at MIS, in August 2008. He has ran 12 races at the track, winning twice, earned seven top-fives, ten top-10s, zero poles and led 244 laps.

-Edwards says of Michigan: “Right now we head into Michigan with a lot of momentum on our side. Michigan is one of the best tracks we could be going to right now. We’ve been working really hard on our intermediate program; the new FR9 engine has been running well, so hopefully we can turn all that into a really good day.”

- If an RFR driver wins this weekend, Jack Roush will become the most winngest owner at MIS.

- Biffle and Edwards are both two-time winners.

- Biffle says of Michigan: “I love Michigan. It’s my favorite track on the circuit and I’m really looking forward to going there. I like Michigan because I’ve had success there with wins in the Spring Cup Series and the Truck Series. I also like that you can race three or four wide at a down force track. As a driver you have so many options.”

Richard Childress Notes:

- Richard Childress says of his teams: “We’ve made a huge investment and we’re still making investments even in these times in new equipment and new stuff. We’ve got so much going on at RCR now with new programs that we’re really proud of it. You’ve got to keep growing; you can’t live on what you did last year. We can’t live next year on whatever we do this year either.”

- Paul Menard, who will be moving to RCR in 2011, finished 12th.

Earnhardt Ganassi Notes:

- Jamie McMurray is making his 16th MIS start. His best start is second and best finish is fourth. He has one top-five and four top-10s.

- This will be Juan Pablo Montoya’s eighth start at MIS, finishing a high of sixth and has earned three top-10s.
Montoya has also visited MIS with the CART Series, finishing second and first.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will twist and turn, right as well as left on the road course in Watkins Glen, New York. This track is a very high speed road course, and as a result things can change very quickly.

Here are just some of the storylines to watch for in what will mark the 28th Sprint Cup Series event at the track:

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

1. Can A ‘Ringer’ Win One Of These Races?

Of the six road course ringers attempting to be in the field, none have ever captured a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. However this time around Boris Said actually has a notable ride at Red Bull Racing, and Ron Fellows has shown that he can muster speed from Tommy Baldwin’s under-funded car.

Add the fact that Scott Pruett may have a shot at one of the top-rides in the entire garage area on Sunday, and what you have is the planets possibly aligning for one of these guys to finally break through.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

2. Is It Time For Tony?

Tony Stewart has more career victories (five) at Watkins Glen than any other driver that will be in the field Sunday. Not only that, but in his last six races at this track Stewart’s worst finish is second…

To top it all off, ‘Smoke’ has turned up the temperature and is one of the hottest drivers in the Series over the past 10 races. In that stretch Stewart has recorded eight top-ten finishes. However he is still searching for that elusive first victory of the season.

He finished second last week at Pocono, is his time now?

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

3. Will Marcos Ambrose Redeem Himself, After His Infineon Gaffe?

Last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series came to a road course, Marcos Ambrose shoulda, woulda, coulda won the race… However under a late caution he stalled his car while leading, thus handing over the lead, and victory to Jimmie Johnson.

That win could have saved Ambrose’s season, which has been a struggle, and who knows he may not have decided to leave his team at year’s end.

Regardless, one has to wonder that with Marcos looking for a ride in 2011, can he redeem himself this weekend?

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images

4. Baby Watch: Jeff Gordon Edition

Jimmie Johnson didn’t miss a race during his baby watch, but Jeff Gordon may just get a call this weekend for the arrival of his second child. If the call comes through on Sunday Gordon will have to relinquish his seat to Scott Pruett.

Pruett is of course one of the best road racers in all the world, and considering Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 car is one of the most coveted seats in the entire garage, this could be interesting should Gordon have to leave.

If Gordon doesn’t get ‘the call’, he is still an interesting storyline to keep your eye on. Gordon once owned NASCAR road races, in fact his four career wins at Watkins Glen is second to only Tony Stewart. However Gordon has lost his way recently on road courses…

He has finished 29th and 37th in his last two outings at Watkins Glen.

Photo Credit: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR

5. Will Jimmie Johnson Be On The Receiving End Of ‘Have At It’?

This past week Jimmie Johnson attempted to bump draft Kurt Busch down the straightaway at Pocono. That maneuver went seriously wrong, and sent Busch hard into the wall, and back across the track.

This is of course the continuation of a little rivalry that we saw back in New Hampshire, where Busch and Johnson shoved each other around for the win late in that race.

However if you remember way back to Infineon last season, you’ll remember that this feud started there. During that road course race Jimmie Johnson made contact with Busch, crashing him from the top-ten, to out of the race.

Will we see Busch get retribution this weekend on the road course in New York?

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads back to Pocono Raceway for the second time this season. Even if the track isn’t known for overly exciting racing recently, there are more than enough storylines to keep you intrigued this weekend.

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

1. Hamlin Returns To Pocono Looking To Heat Back Up

Last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams visited Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin racked up his fourth win of the season, and looked to have a stranglehold on the entire series.

Hamlin would repeat the next week at Michigan for win number five on the season, however now five races later Hamlin finds himself returning to Pocono as a man trying to find his way.

Over the last five races, Hamlin hasn’t even sniffed victory lane. Finishing inside the top-ten just once, he has averaged a finish of 19th during this stretch. Heck it was even announced this week that he was one of two drivers fined by NASCAR for making disparaging remarks about the sport. Pocono couldn’t come soon enough.

Denny Hamlin has done remarkable things at the 2.5 mile triangular shaped track in his career, including a clean sweep of both events here in his rookie season. In just nine-starts Hamlin finds himself second on the all-time win list at the track, trailing just Bill Elliott who has five wins in 48 career starts.

Expect Hamlin to buck the current trend of mediocrity this weekend.

2. McMurray Clawing Back Into Chase Contention

Jamie McMurray has done what only two other drivers have done in the history of NASCAR… win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season joining Dale Jarrett (1996), and Jimmie Johnson (2006). In addition to that what he has effectively done is put himself right back in the thick of the race to the chase.

Going into the Brickyard McMurray was mired back in 18th in the standings and a whopping 181 points out of 12th. However after Sunday he jumped two spots forward to 16th in the standings, and is now 151 points back from 12th in the standings.

Don’t think about counting him out, because we all did last season when he was released by Roush-Fenway Racing, and since then he has gone on a career revival. Not only that, but moral at the shop must be extremely high, as they played a part in Chip Ganassi’s historic accomplishment as well.

Ganassi is the first car owner to win the Daytona 500, Indy 500, and Brickyard 400 all in the same season. And don’t forget that McMurray finished second in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this season. Had he won that, we’d really be talking history.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

3. Jimmie Johnson Uncharacteristically Inconsistent

Jimmie Johnson has five wins in 2010, but after the Brickyard he also has seven finishes outside the top-20 this season.

Johnson is of course chasing an unprecedented fifth consecutive championship, but if the team performs such as a yo-yo in the chase it could be good night for the 48.

Heading into Pocono Johnson has finished outside the top-20 three consecutive races, but what’s ironic is that this streak began after two consecutive victories.

Which Johnson shows up at Pocono?

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

4. Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Swapping Places?

Heading into the Brickyard 400 Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat 13th in the championship standings, while Mark Martin was 14th. However leaving the two have in effect swapped spots.

It is really strange when looking at the two drivers, who’s cars are fielded from the same shop, because when one does well the other is on the other end of the spectrum. This week was no exception as Martin finished 11th, while Earnhardt was swept up in an accident with Juan Montoya.

In fact just once this season have both drivers actually finished inside the top-10 in the same race. That race was Texas where Martin finished sixth and Earnhardt eighth. Can these drivers shake the odd voodoo, that hasn’t allowed them both to co-exist atop the scoring pylon this season?

I don’t know for sure, but if they want any chance at making the chase they better hope so.

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

5. Tony Stewart Poised For Victory Lane?

Pocono Raceway is special for Tony Stewart, as it was the scene of his first points paying win as a driver/owner in 2009.

Well Stewart not only finished third here earlier in the season, but he comes into the race on his annual ‘Summer Surge’. Smoke may actually be the hottest driver on the circuit, and he’s hardly being talked about. In his last nine races he has racked up seven top-ten finishes, and has climbed to ninth in the point standings.

Remember earlier in the season when he was way, way, way back, and we were asking what was wrong with him?

I’m sure he remembers that too, but he kicked it into another gear and is showing the hunger worthy of a Burger King sponsorship. I’d be willing to bet that his first win of the season comes very soon, if not this weekend.

Episode 9 of our “Hammer Down” podcast is now available. This week RubbingsRacing.com senior writer Toby Christie is joined by Buddy Christie. The two go “Hammer Down” on five of the hottest topics in NASCAR over the past week.

Topics discussed, and debated during the “Hammer Down” segment were the following:

• Marcos Ambrose decides to leave JTG Daugherty Racing.
• Does what we saw at Indianapolis preview what we’ll see in the chase?
• NASCAR fines drivers for criticizing sanctioning body.
• Jamie McMurray pulls off an incredible feat.
• NASCAR is debating changes to the schedule, good idea or bad?

Enjoy the podcast, and remember there will be a new one available each week. We urge you to let us know what you think, good or bad, so we know how to adjust the show to fit our listeners better. Again, your comments will drive the content. Leave comments on here, on our facebook page or via twitter.

Get Involved. Be Heard.