DALE EARNHARDT JR. (NO. 5 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)

AT ATLANTA: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has competed twice at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and both times he has finished in the top three. He was the runner-up in November 1998 and captured third in March 1999, his most recent Nationwide-level race at the track. With an average starting position of 10.5 and an average finish of 2.5, he has led 126 of a total 390 laps.

EARNHARDT TO MAKE 100TH NATIONWIDE START: Earnhardt will make his 100th career start this weekend in the Nationwide Series. During his 12 years with the series, Earnhardt won championships in 1998 and 1999. He has recorded 22 wins, 47 top-five finishes, 63 top-10s and nine pole positions. His average starting position is 11.5, and his average finish is 11.5.

NO. 5 TEAM SECOND IN POINTS: Mark Martin posted the first win in JR Motorsports history last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earned his 48th career Nationwide Series victory. With the win, the No. 5 Chevrolet team jumped six spots in owner points to second place, 11 points behind the No. 20 car owned by Joe Gibbs.

NO. 5 AT ATLANTA: The No. 5 Chevrolet won the pole position the last two years in the Nationwide Series events at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the last four races at Atlanta, the No. 5 team has recorded two top-five finishes and two top-10s.

THIRD OF NINE: This weekend's race at Atlanta marks the third time this season that Earnhardt will pilot the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. He finished seventh in his last race, which was Feb. 25 at California Speedway. Earnhardt will run a total of nine Nationwide Series races this season in the No. 5 Chevy, five with National Guard as the sponsor.

REPRESENT: The No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet will honor Georgia's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team this weekend by running the unit's patch on its hood. This unit, which mobilizes to train and conduct operations worldwide, deployed members to Iraq in May 2005. A different Army National Guard unit will be honored on the No. 5 Chevy in 19 Nationwide Series races this season.

ATLANTA CHASSIS: This weekend, the No. 5 Chevrolet team will use the same chassis -- No. 299 -- that it used at California Speedway on Feb. 25. The chassis, which was a backup car for most of last year, most recently won in May 2005 when the No. 5 Chevy finished first in the CARQUEST 300 Nationwide Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

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DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON MAKING HIS 100th CAREER NATIONWIDE SERIES START.): "That's not very many races, but it is compared to a lot of guys. A lot of guys came before me, and I've got a lot of appreciation for the drivers in the sport, the Mark Martins for instance. Hopefully I can have as good a track record as they have."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Mark Martin has won 21.23 percent of the NASCAR Nationwide Series races he has started (48 of 226). Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won 22.22 percent of his races on the circuit (22 of 99).)

LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON RACING AT ATLANTA.): "After last weekend at Las Vegas, I definitely think the No. 5 JR Motorsports team is solid. They performed very well, and the car was exceptional. A lot of that is Mark Martin and his fantastic input, knowing exactly what he wants in a race car. Fortunately enough for us, we have Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. in the car going into Atlanta, which is a track that he always runs phenomenally at, and I look forward to working with him. I have never worked with him before, and I hadn't worked with Mark before either, but we managed to win. Hopefully we will repeat that performance this weekend and go two-for-two for the No. 5 team."