Hot 'Lanta

Week 4 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season and its time for the teams to visit one of the fastest tracks on the schedule, Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta is known for close, emotional finishes that can stop your heart in an instant. Drivers like Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt have won races in unbelieveable fashion at Atlanta and I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again this weekend. So, who is got the best shot to win this weekend? Well i'm so glad you asked:

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)

Last Week: 29th place finish in UAW-Dodge 400

Career at Atlanta: 9.4 Avg. Finish, 3 Wins, 8 Top 5's, 9 Top 10's

Why he could win: Let's see, well besides the fact that Johnson won both races here at Atlanta last year, he is due for a rebound after his awful finish last week at Las Vegas.

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Office Depot Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)

Last Week: Won the UAW-Dodge 400

Career at Atlanta: 8.7 Avg. Finish, 2 Wins, 4 Top 5's, 6 Top 10's

Why he could win: Carl picked up his first career win at Atlanta back in 2005, besting Jimmie Johnson to take the checkered flag. He is also the hottest driver on the Sprint Cup circuit, despite the massive penalty he received from NASCAR this week.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)

Last Week: 4th place finish in UAW-Dodge 400

Career at Atlanta: 24.4 Avg. Finish, 1 Win, 2 Top 5's, 2 Top 10's

Why he could win: Kevin also picked up his first career win at Atlanta, beating Jeff Gordon back in 2001 after replacing the late, great Dale Earnhardt. He hasn't had a lot of luck at Atlanta since then, but I feel like that bad luck is about to come to a close.

And this week's underdog is.......

Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios Dodge (Petty Enterprises)

Last Week: 17th place finish in UAW-Dodge 400

Career at Atlanta: 16.4 Avg. Finish, 6 Wins, 12 Top 5's, 13 Top 10's

Why he could win: Bobby Labonte leads all fulltime Sprint Cup drivers in wins at Atlanta with 6, almost all of them under the current configuration (he has one victory under the old configuration). With 6 wins under his belt its hard to call him the underdog, but considering he'll be going up against teams with a lot more backing I have no other choice but to call him the underdog.