News and Notes for the Upcoming Atlanta Race

Let's take a look at a few things that might be eye catchers at the track!

Georgia natives at the track this weekend: David Ragan (Unadilla) – No. 6 driver
Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City) – No. 43 driver
Brian Taylor (Cuthbert) – No. 14 mechanic
Shannon Keys (Byron) – No. 8 front tire carrier
Adam North (Sonoraville) – No. 31 jack man
Dion Williams (Atlanta) – No. 5 rear tire carrier
Dwayne Moore (Griffin) – No. 55 rear tire carrier
Jason Jones (Rhine) – No. 5 pit support
Matt Skeen (Stone Mountain) – No. 88 pit support

Atlanta Motor Speedway is in its 50th season of hosting NASCAR events and Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 will be the 100th race in the series.

Michael Waltrip Racing Is In Our Face!
The biggest surprise of the season, though it's only been a couple of races, is that both Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota teams are in the top 12.

David Reutimann comes to Atlanta 5th in the standings while Michael Waltrip is 12th.

Michael has also made a promise to all of us out here in the land of fans: He said that if his results do not improve this year, he would retire at season's end!

Do You Think You'd Ever See the No 20 Toyota 32nd in Points?
There are only two races to go before the weekly 35 guaranteed starting spots will be based on this season's car owner points and for some, there are a few surprises sitting out there.

The No. 20 Toyota driven by Joey Logano is 32nd.
The No. 39 Chevrolet driven by Ryan Newman is 33rd.
The No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Mark Martin is 34th.

I'm not sure which one I'm surprised more by! Probably the Mark Martin bit.

Source: NASCAR Media, (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)