Comments: NASCAR Picks for Atlanta

Sandwiched between a pair of short track races to cap the regular season is this weekend's trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 1.5-mile oval is one of the fastest tracks on the schedule, and it is one of the few tracks where every inch of the track is in play. Drivers can run up by the wall, down by the white line and everywhere in between. As a result, drivers might actually get a slight break from the track position dominated racing that has taken place in recent weeks.

Fantasy owners might not be so lucky. As we have seen in recent weeks, the pressure that is mounting to make the Chase and to grab bonus points by winning races is causing uncharacteristic mistakes from certain drivers and a general increase in wrecks. Once the Chase field is set, the carnage tends to die down as non-Chasers do their best not to decide the championship. However, nobody is off limits in the final two races of the regular season. Throw in the high speeds of Atlanta, and Sunday night's race could produce some unwanted fireworks.

1. Jimmie Johnson, Lowe's/Kobalt Tools
2. Kasey Kahne, Farmers Insurance/Quaker State
3. Matt Kenseth, Husky/Dollar General
4. Tony Stewart, Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1
5. Brad Keselowski, Miller Lite
6. Greg Biffle, 3M/Bondo
7. Jeff Gordon, Drive to End Hunger/Axalta
8. Carl Edwards, Fastenal/Aflac/UPS/Subway
9. Denny Hamlin, FedEx
10. Kevin Harvick, Budweiser/Rheem
11. Kyle Busch, Mars Brands/Interstate Batteries
12. Clint Bowyer, 5-Hour Energy
13. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew
14. Martin Truex, Jr., NAPA Auto Parts
15. Ryan Newman, Quicken Loans/Haas Automation
16. Paul Menard, Menards
17. Mark Martin, Aaron's Dream Machine
18. Marcos Ambrose, Stanley/Dewalt Power Tools
19. Juan Montoya, Target
20. Jeff Burton, Caterpillar/Cheerios
21. Jamie McMurray, McDonald's/Cessna
22. Joey Logano, Shell-Pennzoil
23. Kurt Busch, Furniture Row
24. Sam Hornish, Jr., SKF/AAA
25. Regan Smith, Guy Roofing
26. Aric Almirola, Smithfield Foods
27. Trevor Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
28. Bobby Labonte, Kingsford/Clorox/Bush's Beans
29. Casey Mears, GEICO
30. Landon Cassill, Little Joe's Autos