As quickly as this year's championship race has changed on a weekly basis, the Winston Cup circuit is about to take its title chase to a whole other level of speed.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is a 1.54-mile track where a driver can come out of Turn 2 at 190 mph and hit 200 mph on the backstretch. This all takes place on a track with multiple grooves, so the car next to you doing 200 mph is just inches away.

While that is breath-taking to some drivers, it's disturbing to the points leaders -- who have four races to sort out the tightest race in NASCAR history among five drivers this late in the year.

"The important thing is to remain patient and let the race come to you," said rookie Jimmie Johnson, who trails points leader Tony Stewart by 82 points. "Don't get me wrong, you need to be aggressive enough to take advantage of certain situations, but these are long races and you don't want to put yourself in a bad position when there is still a lot of racing left."

Especially when things can change so fast at this Hampton, Ga., track. Perhaps even faster this year, as it will be run at night under the lights.

"The track is really fast as it is, but to run on it at night, when the track is cooler, the speeds will be even faster," Kenny Wallace said.

In fact, speedway officials are so confident in the gripping grooves and fast configuration that they have guaranteed at least 30 lead changes during the race. If there are not 30 lead changes, fans will receive a dollar off per number of lead changes under 30 toward the price of next year's ticket.

Through 32 races this season, there has been an average of just under 18 lead changes per race. But this doesn't concern AMS President Ed Clark.

"The racing here at Atlanta Motor Speedway is among the most exciting in the country," Clark said. "We're so confident that the NAPA 500 will be a thrilling race full of action and passing that if it's not everything we say it is, we'll give our ticket buyers a discount on next year's ticket."

But with so many racing grooves, allowing much more room for drivers to maneuver around each other, his guarantee is actually not that big of a risk -- at least most drivers don't believe so.

"Over the past few years, the groove has widened, and we have seen some really exciting racing with a lot of passing and lead changes," Ken Schrader said. "Sunday should be a pretty exciting day for the drivers and the fans."

John Andretti agreed.

"Times have changed, and now 15 laps into the race we have guys up into the wall and running against the wall," he said. "I bet if the wall was another mile out, the groove would be out there too. The further out you get, the more grip there is. Eventually you get to the wall and that's the only thing that stops you from going any further. For some guys it doesn't even stop there, but that's the only thing that positively keeps you from getting above that outside groove."

With drivers racing on the inside and some getting as far to the outside wall as possible, there will be constant side-by-side racing. And Andretti believes the leaders will be doing a lot of it as they try as hard as they can to lead laps and, perhaps, lead the most laps so they can get as many points toward the championship race as possible.

"I think there will be a lot of lead changes because it's the end of the season," he said. "You will see a lot of guys trying to get their five bonus points for leading a lap. You might see some of the guys who are at the back of the lead lap stay out to lead a lap. That counts as a lead change. Guys pitting will cause lead changes. Overall, there will be plenty of lead changes."

The wide groove and the lead changes are not the only things causing excitement at AMS. The jaw-rattling speeds at which these drivers travel gets the blood pumping, too.

"You know what to expect when you go to Atlanta -- and that is fast race cars," Dale Jarrett said. "You know when you're going fast at Atlanta because it tends to make you catch your breath, but it's also a lot of fun. If you can get a car that really sticks to the bottom in Atlanta then you have something. You're going 190 mph heading into Turns 1 and 2 and if you get through two well going onto the backstretch then you better be ready for the speed you pick up heading into (Turn) 3."

Traveling that fast in such a confined space puts a premium on driver control.

"It's no secret that the faster it is, the better I like it," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "The multi-grooved deal means it puts a lot into the hands of the driver. If you're not getting it done in the low groove, you can move the car around to find a line that works for the set-up."

"I thought that as time went on and the track surface got older, the speeds would probably slow down some -- but it's still pretty fast, and when you do hit the wall you hit it pretty hard," Stewart said. "There's not much room for error simply because of how fast the track is. The faster you go the more race track you need to get your car back under control."

According to Kyle Petty, that can be easy at times and almost impossible at others. As anxious as things can get approaching 200 mph inches away from another car going through a narrow turn side-by-side, Petty said drivers get used to the confines and the speeds. That makes driver control easier. But when the unexpected happens, it makes it as tough as it is anywhere.

"(After a while), it just doesn't seem you are going all that fast," he said. "But if something happens, that changes awfully quick. Not-so-fast turns into really fast in a heartbeat. Somebody cuts a tire and turns sideways or blows an engine and you have a lot of guys grabbing steering wheels and hoping for the best. Shoot, just somebody slowing to pit and forgetting to give a hand signal can lead to a pileup at Atlanta because you catch them so quick. The wall is a long way away until something happens. Then it jumps out at you pretty fast."

It's only fitting, the drivers say, that one of the most exciting points races in the sport's history comes through one of the most exciting tracks on the sport's circuit.

"It's a tough place, and it will play a big role in deciding the championship," Petty said.

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for The Raleigh News & Observer and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.