Million-dollar opportunity in Atlanta

Hampton, GA – Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 325. Miles: 500.5. 2010 Winner: Tony Stewart. Television: ESPN. Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Satellite.

Who wants to be a millionaire this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway?

Four drivers -- Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, Kyle Busch and Marcos Ambrose -- have a shot at winning $1 million in the "Sprint Summer Showdown" bonus program.

The winners of Indianapolis (Menard), Pocono (Keselowski), Watkins Glen (Ambrose), Michigan (Busch) and Bristol (Keselowski) qualified for the cash award at Atlanta. If Menard, Ambrose or Busch wins Sunday night's 500-mile race, $1 million each will go to that driver, his charity and one lucky fan.

If Keselowski wins, he and his charity will collect the bonus, but the fan's portion of the money will be divided evenly between two fans, since he won twice in the five-race eligibility period.

After winning last Saturday's race at Bristol, Keselowski jokingly asked if he would collect $2 million if he takes the checkered flag at Atlanta.

"We've got to do some better negotiating," he quipped. "Get [team owner] Roger [Penske] in here. Roger could get it to two. I'm serious, he could. But that's great. We're going to have fun with it either way."

Busch is the only one of the four drivers who has previously won a Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta. He gave Toyota its first-ever victory in the series at Atlanta in March 2008. Busch has won four races so far this season.

"When Sprint announced the bonus plan for the Sprint Summer Showdown, all of us got excited, and we're pretty pumped up about it," he said. "It's a neat opportunity for us to have something to really shoot for and to go out there and try to win the race for it."

Busch, the current points leader, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick have already clinched a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. The remaining seven positions in the Chase will be decided during the next two races -- Atlanta and Richmond (September 10).

Jeff Gordon will punch his ticket for the playoffs if he finishes 40th or better at Atlanta. Ryan Newman is guaranteed a spot with at least a 20th-place run, while Kurt Busch can lock down a position if he finishes seventh or better.

Any driver who leaves Atlanta with a 49-point lead or more over the 11th-place person in points has secured a spot in the Chase.

Keselowski is presently 11th in the rankings. Ninth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 39 points ahead of Keselowski, while 10th-place Tony Stewart has a 21-point cushion. Both Earnhardt Jr. and Stewart have a mathematical shot at clinching a Chase spot this weekend.

Stewart is the defending Atlanta race winner. When the series ran under the lights at this track for the first time one year ago, teams were challenged with changing track conditions from start to finish in the 500-mile race.

"Just understanding what you're going to have at the beginning isn't what you're going to have at the end of the day," Stewart said. "You have to be patient until it gets dark and until that temperature cools down. And once it starts settling into the nighttime hours, you can kind of get a better idea on what you're going to have for the rest of the day."

Right now, Keselowski holds the first wild card position with his three wins so far this season. Denny Hamlin, 13th in points, occupies the second wild card due to his win in June at Michigan.

Hamlin rebounded somewhat at Bristol with a seventh-place run. He had finished 35th and 36th in the two races prior to Bristol -- Watkins Glen and Michigan.

"I know that we've got too much talent on the pit box, the pit crew and behind the seat that we belong in the Chase," Hamlin said. "If we can get in the Chase, we can be as dangerous as anyone, if we get things going in our favor."

Forty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for the AdvoCare 500.