NASCAR Cup Series

Snapshots of the dueling Chasers at Atlanta

Published Sep. 6, 2009 8:25 p.m. ET

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With only two races remaining before the start of NASCAR's postseason, the Chase for the Sprint Cup, just 84 points separate the bottom six drivers currently in the Chase Zone.



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Adding to the drama, there are eight drivers within 123 points of each other — starting from seventh-place Ryan Newman down to 14th-place Brian Vickers. And with a 161-point swing a possibility tonight at Atlanta Motor Speedway, just about any of the eight could just as easily find themselves inside the top-12 playoff threshold or on the outside looking in following the Pep Boys Auto 500.

With the top six drivers pretty much assured of their playoff spots, let's take a closer look at that group of drivers battling for the remaining positions, how they qualified for Sunday's race, their best finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway and what their strategy is over the final two races before the Chase:

Ryan Newman

Seventh in the standings, 84 points ahead of 13th

Atlanta starting position: 23rd

Best Atlanta finish (15 career Cup starts): Fifth

Outlook: "I'm confident with our teams and I'm confident with our abilities, but I just don't know racing-wise if something crazy is going to happen in front of us or whatever. I'm fully capable of running out of talent, I've done it before. It's just a matter of — you get these two good races in, two top-10 finishes answers everything and we can't lose there. I'm assuming when you say 'locked in,' you mean making the Chase and not being locked in this weekend because that would be a really tough task. I think that we're fully capable and I think this is a good place for us to show it. I really look forward to Richmond. We were really strong there in the spring. This place here is a really fast race track that usually ends up with 11 to 16 cars on the lead lap so if we're a part of that group then we'll be in good shape."

Greg Biffle

Eighth in the standings, 75 points ahead of 13th

Atlanta starting position: 26th

Best Atlanta finish (13 career Cup starts): Third

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