Sprint Cup - Sprint Summer Showdown Heads Toward Finale

DAYTONA BEACH, Aug. 30, 2011: Past statistics show Kyle Busch as the overwhelming favorite to capture the $3 million bonus to be shared with his charity and a lucky fan among the four qualified drivers competing in Sunday’s Sprint Summer Showdown Presented by HTC EVO™ 3D finale.

The winners of Indianapolis (Paul Menard), Pocono (Brad Keselowski), Watkins Glen (Marcos Ambrose), Michigan (Busch) and Bristol (Keselowski again) are eligible for the grand prize at Atlanta. If any of those drivers win Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500, $1 million each will go to the driver, the driver’s charity and one lucky fan.

Busch is the only past Atlanta Motor Speedway winner in the elite group of eligible drivers. The current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader has qualified among the top 10 in eight of 13 Atlanta starts, counts three top-five and three top-10 finishes, has led 300 laps and holds a track Driver Rating of 90.6.

But before Busch, his Kyle Busch Foundation and fan Dana Hardie, Laurel Hill, N.C. can begin dividing Sprint’s $3 million three ways, there’s a 500-mile race to be run. And results don’t always mirror statistics.

If Busch is the favorite based upon Atlanta success – he has also won four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at the 1.54-mile speedway – momentum falls squarely with Keselowski. The only Sprint Summer Showdown qualifier with two victories – at Pocono Raceway and last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway – Keselowski has an incredible average finish of 3.2 during the five-race, Showdown window.

Still, the 27-year-old Michigan native has the least Atlanta experience of the four: a best finish of 25th in two previous starts, one of which ended with Keselowski’s car upside down. He will be racing for Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation and fans Helene Cross, Kansas City, Mo., and a fan who will be announced later this week, each fan receiving $500,000 if Keselowski is victorious.

Paul Menard, winner of last month’s prestigious Brickyard 400, gets the nod over Ambrose by virtue of more races run and slightly better results at Atlanta. Menard, who finished 10th at Pocono following his Indianapolis win but hasn’t done better than 26th since, has made nine trips to Atlanta with a fifth-place in last year’s spring race, the best of two top-10 finishes. Menard, whose charity is Habitat for Humanity and fan is Andrea Gay, Voorhees, N.J., has led two laps, an average finish of 22.0 and a Driver Rating of 61.3.

Ambrose, still searching for an elusive NASCAR Sprint Cup oval win, obviously has plenty of incentive to make this the weekend the first. Qualifying for the Summer Showdown with his Watkins Glen win, Ambrose has run five times in Atlanta with his best finish (10th) coming in last year’s Labor Day event. Ambrose, who’ll be competing for Victory Junction and Ron Rempinski, St. Charles, Mo., has yet to lead a lap at Atlanta where his average finish is 22.2 and Driver Rating is 61.7.