Jeff Burton will take his fifth-place starting spot over some of his previous qualifying efforts at Atlanta. Credit: Autostock

Chasers bask in light of qualifying rainout at AMS

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Mother Nature played hob with qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops 500, but there is a silver lining.

At least they'll have two practice sessions on Saturday to see who has what.

Cars never saw the track on Friday at Atlanta. Credit: Autostock

Bass Pro Shops 500 Lineup (based on owner points) Pos. Driver Make 1. Matt Kenseth Ford 2. Kevin Harvick Chevy 3. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 4. Denny Hamlin Chevy 5. Jeff Burton Chevy 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 7. Mark Martin Ford 8. Kasey Kahne Dodge 9. Jeff Gordon Chevy 10. Kyle Busch Chevy • Complete lineup, click here Weather forecastCNN/Headline News forecasts this weekend's weather Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

The cancellation of all on-track activities on Friday means the cars will line up Sunday by owner points -- which means the Chasers will start in the first 10 spots. It is the third time a Chase race has lined up on points, joining New Hampshire and Dover last year.

Since starting position has been taken out of the mix, there's an increased focus on how well the Chasers run at Atlanta, and for that, all you have to do is look at the numbers.

Kasey Kahne has the best finishing average of the Chasers at 9.8, but has just five starts at AMS. Jimmie Johnson, who will start third on Sunday, has the best starting average, also at 9.8.

Kahne, who won at Lowe's a couple of weeks back and won at AMS in April and Texas as well, has finished fifth or better in four of his five starts, the lone exception a 35th in this race last year. Johnson, by the same token, has four finishes of sixth or better in the last five and the lone blemish is a 16th-place run in this race last year.

As is the case in most Chase races, Jeff Gordon is the leading winner with four, coming in 28 starts. Gordon has 17 top-10 finishes, 12 of them in the top five. His averages are 14.107 for starts and 13.607 in finishes.

Mark Martin has the most experience with 41 starts. He's won here twice, but many of the championship battles he's been a part of have ended badly for Martin on the high banks of AMS. Martin has 13 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes here, in addition to 12 DNFs.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is pretty good at Atlanta, averaging 11.587 per finish and a respectable 15.714 per start. Junior has a pole, a victory, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts.

He's also got some baggage from Atlanta, where his chances for the 2004 title went up in tire smoke after colliding with Carl Edwards in the late stages of the race.

Second-place Kevin Harvick has had some luck at Atlanta -- he earned his first career victory here in March 2001 -- and some heartbreak too. His best finish since that breakthrough victory and the third-place effort he had in the fall that year is 19th, and that came in the spring of 2003.

	Matt Kenseth came away from Martinsville with the points lead. Credit: Autostock
	Chase for the Nextel Cup Next: Atlanta (7th of 10 races) Pos. +/- Driver Behind 1. +1 Matt Kenseth Leader 2. +1 Kevin Harvick -36 3. +4 Jimmie Johnson -41 4. +2 Denny Hamlin -47 5. -4 Jeff Burton -48 6. -1 D. Earnhardt Jr. -94 7. -3 Mark Martin -96 8. -- Kasey Kahne -99 9. +1 Jeff Gordon -141 10. -1 Kyle Busch -171 • Complete standings, click here SUPERSTORE •   2006 Chase merchandise!

Over the last two Atlanta races, he's finished 39th and 22nd, so there's a lot of negative statistics with his name on them. His average start is 17.181 and his average finish is 24.636.

The two youngsters in the Chase race, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, have not covered themselves with glory in the heart of Dixie.

In Busch's four AMS starts, he's finished 12th the last three times he's raced here and dead last in his first appearance, back in the fall of 2004. He averages 23.5 per start and 19.75 for finishes.

Hamlin has two starts, one last year and one earlier this season, resulting in 31st- and 19th-place finishes. Average start for Hamlin is 16.0, and he has a 25.0 finishing average.

Jeff Burton, whose engine failure at Martinsville cost him all sorts of momentum and the points lead, has better tracks in his arsenal than Atlanta. Burton is last among Chasers in average starting position at 27.451, so the fifth-place spot he'll occupy on Sunday will be new. And despite leading more than 100 laps in 24 starts, his average finish is 17.958, seventh-best among the top 10.

He has finished fourth on three occasions and owns 10 top-10 finishes.

Points leader Matt Kenseth doesn't stack up well in terms of numbers, but it hasn't seemed to hurt him all that much.

In 13 starts, Kenseth rolls off at an average of 25.538, next-to-last among Chasers. He finishes a sixth-best 17.461, however, and six of his starts have resulted in top-10 finishes.

For the record, Kenseth and Harvick make up the front row, with Johnson and Hamlin in the second. Burton and Earnhardt make up Row 3, with Martin and Kahne next in Row 4. Hendrick teammates Gordon and Busch start in the fifth row.

Fords will start first and seventh, Chevrolets roll off second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth and 10th, with Kahne's lone Dodge eighth.

More than half the Chasers -- Harvick, Johnson, Earnhardt, Martin, Kahne and Gordon -- have won at AMS.

Whatever happens Sunday, the Chasers will get to kick it off as a group at the front of the field, which makes Saturday's practice sessions that much more important.