Coming up this week, the Nextel Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck teams head to the steamy south for an action packed weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Expect another strong showing from the Roush drivers as they tend to dominate the 1 1/2 to 2 mile tracks. Of the current drivers, Carl Edwards has had the most success. In 3 starts at Atlanta, he has had 2 wins!

It will be interesting to see if Carl can recapture the glory he found in Atlanta during his rookie season, and blister the field in the Golden Corral 500.

Other drivers to note:

Kasey Kahne
Jimmie Johnson
Greg Biffle
Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Next Week's Schedule: (all times EST)

Nextel Cup
3/17/06 - 3:30pm Golden Corral 500 Practice
3/17/06 - 7:10pm Georgia Power Qual.
3/18/06 - 10:35am Happy Hour Practice 3/19/06 - 1:30pm Golden Corral 500

Busch Series
3/17/06 - 2:20pm Nicorette 300 Practice
3/18/06 - 12:10pm Nicorette 300 Qualifying
3/18/06 - 3:30pm Nicorette 300

Craftsman Truck Series
3/17/06 - 11:00pm NCTS Race 200 Practice
3/17/06 - 5:00 pm NCTS Race 200 Qualifying
3/18/06 - 9:15pm NCTS Race 200

Who's Hot

Once again, Jimmie Johnson has earned himself a spot in this week's Who's Hot section. Johnson's season thus far has gone like this:

Daytona 500 - win Auto Club 500 - 2nd UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 - win

Factor in that Jimmie is driving without the aid of his crew chief Chad Knuas, and you are only left to ponder...are you kidding me?

There has been some speculation that team owner Rick Hendrick is growing tired of Knaus' cheating addictions. Jimmie's recent string of races might help Rick make a decision to do away with Chad at the end of the season.

Year in and year out, Johnson is a contender for the championship. Starting this year off with 2 wins and a 2nd place finish means he'll be in the hunt for the 2006 championship.

Expect Johnson to finish well again next week as NASCAR heads to Atlanta. In 9 starts at Atlanta, Johnson has 1 win, 5 top 5's, and 4 top 10's.