Watch NASCAR Pep Boys Auto 500 Live Stream Video

Watch NASCAR Pep Boys Auto 500 Live! Race 25 of 36 on Sprint Cup circuit at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA on September 6, 2009 7:46 pm EDT. 325 Laps, 1.54 miles track length, 501.00 miles in race length.

Drivers to Watch:

Martin Truex Jr.	Truex hopes the week off will change his run of bad luck. "Bristol was a perfect example of how bad things have been this season," said Truex. "We had a great car. We run in the top 10, top five for most of the race, and then we get knocked into the fence with only a few laps to go. We have run a lot better than our record shows."
Kasey Kahne	Kahne has one win, four top-five finishes and six top-10s in 12 starts at Atlanta. But he has struggled recently, finishing outside the top 25 in four of the last six races there. Kahne leads 13th-place Kyle Busch by 52 points but is only 32 points out of seventh. "It's a tight battle," said Kahne. "Any little mistake can definitely cost you a lot of points and hurt your chances."
Jimmie Johnson	Johnson has three wins (October 2004, both races in 2007), nine top-five finishes and 11 top-10s in 16 Atlanta starts, including a second-place finish last October and ninth in March. Since October 2006, Johnson has finished lower than second place at Atlanta only twice -- 13th in March 2008 and ninth in 2009. "Truthfully, Atlanta has been tough on us," Johnson said. "We've been able to get some good finishes based on Chad's (Knaus, the crew chief) creativity. Last year in the Chase he put tires on at the end and I was able to drive to second, but before that we were like a 10th-, 11th-place car all day. So it didn't hurt my feelings to see Atlanta taken out of the Chase, then California Speedway put back in. Especially in the fall race -- we've won the last couple of times there. Hopefully that works with us for the Chase."
Jeff Gordon	The four-time Cup champion has four wins at Atlanta but hasn't driven into Victory Lane at Atlanta since this race in 2003. He has 14 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in 34 Atlanta starts, including a ninth last October and second in March. That was his fourth-straight top-10 finish. In fact, he has seven top-10 finishes in the last eight Atlanta starts. The one time Gordon finished out of the top 10 in that span, he was 12th in March 2007. "I always look forward to our visits here because I think it's one of our best tracks," Gordon said. "And we have the luxury of knowing our spot in the Chase is secure, so we can gamble -- if needed -- to go for the win and the 10 bonus points. Wins and bonus points are all we have to gain right now, other than maybe a little bit of momentum. And wins definitely provide huge momentum. These last two races before the Chase starts offer us two more opportunities to collect bonus points. And it also gives us the opportunity to show the competition that we'll be a threat to win the championship."
Kyle Busch	Busch finished first and fifth in the two Atlanta races in 2008, but he struggled in the spring race this year as he finished 18th. "We weren't as good as we needed to be there in the spring," said Busch, who is only 34 points out of the top 12 with two races to go to determine the 12 drivers who will make up this year's Chase field. "We feel like Richmond will be really strong (for us), and we feel like we can do the same thing we did at Bristol (win). Atlanta, we'll try to make the best that we can out of it."
Kurt Busch	Busch is a two-time winner at Atlanta, in 2002 and last March, but those are his only two top-five finishes there in 17 starts. He also has six top-10 finishes and was sixth in this race last year. "With just the two races remaining until the Chase kicks in, we need to go all out in trying to win at Atlanta and Richmond in order to pick up those bonus points for winning races," Busch said. "While we know we can lock up a spot in the Chase there in Atlanta on Sunday night with a good finish, we still have to be in the mode of doing what it takes to win and bank us some more bonus points to help with our seating when the Chase kicks in. There are several guys out there with multiple wins, and we need to get ourselves up there with them during these next two races."
Mark Martin	Although Martin is a two-time Cup winner at Atlanta, it would take an archeologist to dig up his last victory -- it came in November 1994. Those are two of his 13 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in 47 starts there. But in the last four races, Martin has finishes of 43rd, 22nd twice and 31st. "After the Atlanta race in the spring (flat tire), I didn't think we could make the Chase," Martin said. "Not with the level of competition in this sport. We had three bad races in a row, and I didn't think there were too many teams that would have that much trouble as well. This season has just been remarkable. And this team has been remarkable. The performance we've had this year is great, and we've really been able to capitalize on that by leading laps and leading the most laps to earn those bonus points. Then we had the four wins on top of that, and all of that together was able to put us back in contention. I still haven't really thought that we are going to make the Chase. When we went into Chicago, we were 13th in points. When they told me we moved up to 11th, I was surprised. I just didn't think that could happen from one race. I still feel like points are very volatile. There is just too much that is out of anyone's control. Certainly performance alone doesn't dictate it. I'm not worried about our performance; I know it will be there. I just don't get wrapped up in predictions or expectations. I have found that that's just not a good thing for me."
Brian Vickers	Vickers finished fifth in the spring race at Atlanta for his fifth top-10 finish in 12 starts at the track. He was in position to challenge for the win until a miscue in the pits dropped him from second to sixth during a late race yellow flag. He was able to pick up only one spot during the green-white-checkered finish. "We just need to run as good as we did in the spring," said Vickers, who is only 39 points outside the top 12.
Denny Hamlin	Hamlin is attempting to win his first race at Atlanta, where he has one top-five (third in this race last year) and two top-10 finishes in eight starts. He was 13th in March. Hamlin can lock up a position in the Chase this weekend. "We definitely pay attention to it and we have built up a decent cushion over 13th place, but you can't take anything for granted -- especially knowing just how tight it is around the cut-off," Hamlin said. "We really want to put ourselves in position to be locked in and not worry about points when we get to Richmond. That was an early goal of ours. That gives us a little more flexibility. We know, from being in the Chase each year since my rookie season in 2006, that it is really important to get off to a good start. Knowing we are in will certainly help us as we prepare to start things off right in New Hampshire."
Marcos Ambrose	Ambrose has not fared well at Atlanta -- 29th is his best finish in two Cup starts there. "The stats don't show it, but I favor Atlanta Motor Speedway," said Ambrose. "We had a motor blow up there in the spring when we were running in the top 10. We have a good handle on our 1.5-mile program and expect big results."
Tony Stewart	Stewart continues to lead the standings by a wide margin (220 points) as big-time NASCAR racing returns to the South on Labor Day Weekend for the first time since the 2003 Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C. After failing to cash in on the holiday weekend in Fontana, Calif., the Labor Day date has been moved to Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Stewart has two wins (March 2002 and October 2006), eight top-five finishes and 13 top-10s in 21 starts. Stewart has four top-five finishes in the last seven races. In the previous two Atlanta races, he was 17th last October and eighth in March.
Carl Edwards	Edwards has three wins -- including this race last year -- six top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 10 starts at Atlanta. The only two times he has finished out of the top 10 there came when he was 40th in March 2006 and 42nd in March 2008. He won this race last year and was third in March. "This Atlanta race couldn't come at a better time for our team," Edwards said. "It's one of my best race tracks and one of the tracks I enjoy racing on. It's the place of my first Cup win, and it will always be a special place for me." ... Edwards' car will have a paint scheme that was created by children at the Aflac Cancer Center in Atlanta. "It's an honor to be part of that," he said. "Hopefully we can give the kids a run that they can be very proud of."
Matt Kenseth	Kenseth's streak of five straight top-10 finishes at Atlanta was snapped in the spring when he ended up 12th. Last fall, Kenseth led 128 laps before finishing fourth. While Kenseth is only 34 points ahead of 13th-place Kyle Busch, he is only 41 points out of eighth place. "Basically, you have to finish in front of the five cars you are racing," said Kenseth. "I think we are going to have to run well both weeks to get in the Chase."
Kevin Harvick	Harvick finished fourth at Atlanta in the spring race for his fourth top-10 finish in 17 starts at the track. Harvick won his first Cup race at Atlanta in just his third start in the series back in 2001. "The move that won the race (in a photo finish with Jeff Gordon) was the three-wide move coming off turn two with Dale Jarrett and Jerry Nadeau side-by-side," recalls Harvick. "A lot of people don't go back that far in the race, but that was the move that put me in position to win."
Clint Bowyer	Bowyer finished sixth in the spring race at Atlanta for his fourth sixth-place finish in the last five races at the track. He will be racing a new car this weekend. "We didn't run bad there the last time -- we finished sixth, which is normal for me," said Bowyer. "I feel like we can improve on that. I feel like (with this new car) we can get better."
Juan Pablo Montoya	Montoya returns to the site of his first top-five Cup finish -- he was fifth in March 2007 at Atlanta. Since then, however, he has finished no better than 16th there (March 2008), which means he has just that one top-five/top-10 finish in five starts. He was 40th last October and 27th in March. ... Montoya has a 64-point lead over 13th place. "If I can secure a place in the Chase in Atlanta, I am definitely not going to take any risks," Montoya said. "For me, if finishing 10th in Atlanta would mean I make the Chase, we'll do everything in our power to finish 10th or eighth. ... We are not going to do anything stupid and finish 25th and go to Richmond and maybe blow up a motor or something could happen and miss the Chase. No, we have to be smart about what we are doing."
Ryan Newman	Newman has won the pole a record-tying seven times at Atlanta but has never won the race there. In fact, despite starting first so many times, Newman has just one top-five and four top-10 finishes in 15 starts. Since finishing fifth in March 2004, he has had 10 straight finishes outside of the top 10. ... Newman is looking forward to racing under the lights at the superspeedway. "I think it will be a new situation for Atlanta," he said. "Atlanta has struggled a little bit for their fall race in the past. I think it will be great racing on a night race in general, compared to the day races we typically have there. To me, some of the neatest laps we run all year are night qualifying laps at Atlanta. I've been pretty successful at that. Racing at night there will be, I think, good for the fans, being that it's cooled down a little bit, fun for the drivers. From what I understand, Goodyear has done some extensive tire testing there, and the tire should be a lot better for racing."
Jeff Burton	Burton has 13 top-10 finishes in 30 starts at Atlanta, including three in the last five races. "Last year, teams dealt with the tire debacle (at AMS)," said Burton. "So, based on that, we came to Atlanta (in the spring) with a different setup and after running a few practice laps, we knew we had to back up and try something else. The grip level is something we're going to have to work on. But I'm excited about running this race at night."
Greg Biffle	Biffle is looking for his first Atlanta win but has three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 13 starts. He was 10th in this race last year but was 34th at Atlanta in March. "I usually look forward to racing at Atlanta because it's a fun, fast track, and I think you'll see some good racing there this weekend," Biffle said. "We didn't run well there in the spring, and that is unusual for us at Atlanta. I know (crew chief) Greg Erwin and the team has been working really hard to figure out where we went wrong on the setup and how to correct it. We did qualify well, so if we can do that again and build on a good starting position, I think we can come out of there with a solid finish. It would be great to go to Richmond with a good points distance on 13th."
Jamie McMurray	McMurray has four top-10 finishes in 14 starts at Atlanta, including a seventh in the fall race of 2008. "When we raced at Atlanta earlier this season, we had a great qualifying effort (third fastest), but when we got into the race, the track conditions changed a lot and we were really loose," said McMurray. "And we just didn't get the finish we deserved with that car (he was 15th)."
David Reutimann	Reutimann has four starts at Atlanta in a Cup car, and his best finish is 20th. He knows he needs a much better finish Sunday night if he wants to keep alive his hopes of making the Chase. Reutimann is 160 points out of the top 12 with only two races left to make up the deficit. "All we can do is run as hard as we can and see how things turn out," he said.
Sam Hornish Jr.	Hornish has never finished better than 24th in his three Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta. "We have struggled a little in the past at Atlanta," said crew chief Travis Geisler. "But I think the Mobile 1 Dodge team has improved a lot since the first race at the track this year. I am excited to get back there and prove how far we have come. We have three top-10 finishes with the car we are taking this weekend. Hopefully we can make that four after the first night race in Atlanta."
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Earnhardt has one win, eight top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 20 starts at Atlanta. He will be looking for his third straight top-10 finish after having put together back-to-back top-10s for the first time this season. Earnhardt will be driving a new car this weekend. This is the second car that crew chief Lance McGrew has built from the ground up for Earnhardt.
Casey Mears	Mears has never finished better than 12th in his 13 starts at Atlanta. He will be racing a new car this weekend. After a sixth-place finish at Michigan last month, Mears believes he has an excellent chance of earning his first top-10 finish at Atlanta. "With what we learned at Michigan, I think we're going into Atlanta with a lot more optimism," said Mears.
Joey Logano	Logano was involved in a late race accident in his Sprint Cup debut at Atlanta in the spring and finished 30th. "I have to say this weekend should go much better than the last time at Atlanta," said Logano. "I really struggled there the first time around. But I'm confident that there will be a big improvement this weekend. So far the tracks I have gone back to in the Home Depot Toyota have been much better than the first time around."
AJ Allmendinger	Allmendinger is still looking for his first top-10 finish at Atlanta. In three starts at the track, his best finish is 14th. Atlanta will mark the first time Allmendinger and his new crew chief Mike Shiplett have been back to a track together. The pair worked together in the final four races of 2008 and were reunited on Aug. 16 at Michigan. "I think that experience together will pay off," said Allmendinger. "There aren't a lot of tracks that we have been to twice. It's hard to beat experience in this sport."