Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

	Busch

Kurt Busch
Finished third in the Aaron's 499 the past two years; last October, he led 35 laps before finishing fourth; the ninth-place result at Texas was his fifth top-10 this season; tied with Matt Kenseth with four top-five finishes to lead the series; both drivers have one win each after seven events; remained second in the standings, 155 points behind Kenseth.

Ricky Craven
Dropped two slots to ninth in the points race after a modest 21st-place finish in Texas; but for the third straight week, he remained among the top 10; highest spot was fifth after his exciting victory at Darlington; recorded only one top-10 finish in 13 starts at Talladega, sixth in October 1997; last season, he was 18th in this race after qualifying 35th and 15th in October after starting 16th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Restrictor plate racing is his forte; won the last three Winston Cup races at Talladega and enter this weekend third in the series points standings; is the highest position he held since second after the opening race in 2001; was ranked 38th following Rockingham, but has made a dramatic climb thanks to finishes of sixth or better in four of his last five races; trails Kenseth by 166 points and Busch by 11 as he comes to the track he has dominated recently; shares record with Buddy Baker for most consecutive wins at Talladega Superspeedway; in six starts here, Dale Jr. led five races for 392 laps; in last season's two races here he led 240 of 376 laps; was runner-up at Texas to Ryan Newman for his third top five of the season.

Bill Elliott
His record-setting qualifying mark of 212.809 mph in 1987 still stands; won a race known as the Winston 500 at the time but none since at Talladega; leads all drivers with four poles in this event; overall, he has two wins, eight poles, 10 top-fives and 22 top-10 finishes at the track; also won the Winston race in 1985, but was not among the top 10 in either race at the superspeedway last year; led 43 of the first 46 laps at the Samsung/Radioshack 500 before engine failed and finished last.

Jeff Gordon
Moved up four more positions to sixth in the standings thanks to the third-place effort at Texas; this is the highest ranking of the season to this point to keep with the pace in the title race last season when also was ranked sixth; owns two wins and 10 top-10 in 20 starts at Talladega; wins came in this race in 2000 and the July event in 1996; last season, he was fourth in the Aaron's 499 but 42nd in the fall race; finished among the top seven in four of his last six starts at Talladega and has led in 15 of his 20 starts.

Kevin Harvick
He'll participate in his second International Race of Champions (IROC) Series race of the year on Saturday; the weekend will conclude with the Aaron's 499 on Sunday; was 28th in the race last April; best finish in four career starts is 12th, which came in this event in 2001; Chevrolet will contain same chassis used at Daytona where he started 31st and finished fourth; finished sixth in his first IROC race of 2003 in Daytona, leading the middle portion of the 40-lap shootout before loosing the draft late.

Jimmie Johnson
Managed to score his fourth top 10 of the season with an eighth-place finish at Texas last Sunday; climbed one spot to fifth in the points, 205 out of the top position; joined Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip as the only drivers to be ranked in the top 10 of the standings all season long; Johnson has been in the top 10 for 40 consecutive races dating to his 2002 rookie season; logged an eighth place result in this race last year, but was only 37th in October.

Matt Kenseth
The sixth-place finish at Texas was his series-leading sixth top-10 of the year; holds a significant 155-points lead over second-place Kurt Busch after seven races; maintained the top spot for the fourth straight week; has a pair of top-10 finishes in six career starts at Talladega, with both coming in the fall event (4th in 2001 and 10th in 2000); has led at least two laps in all six of his starts; last season he finished 30th in the Aaron's 499 and 14th in the fall race; has not finished better than 18th in the spring race; was second in the championship hunt at this stage last season.

Ryan Newman
Recorded his second career victory Sunday by taking the flag at the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway; led 77 of 334 laps and it was his first win in a Dodge Intrepid; jumped seven positions to eighth in the standings, 242 points behind leader Matt Kenseth; had mixed results in last year's starts at Talladega; last in the Aaron's 499, but an improved seventh-place finish in the October race.

Tony Stewart
After two straight DNFs (Did Not Finish) dropped him from second to seventh in points, a strong run at Talladega is sorely needed; logged three second-place finishes at the track (both races in 2001), as well as a fifth and sixth in eight career starts; three results, however, were 29th or worse which can be attributed to the "big wrecks" here and with circumstances of the situation beyond control; looks to avoid the big accident and perhaps work his way to the first victory in a restrictor-plate race.

Michael Waltrip
Despite a 17th place at Texas, he mainatined his fourth spot in the points; trails Kenseth by 192 points and is 37 behind Busch; along with Jimmie Jonhson and Tony Stewart, they are the only drivers to be ranked in the top 10 all season; has been strong on restrictor-plate tracks like his DEI teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., but his wins came at Daytona; last season he was one of four drivers to register top-10 finishes at both events held at Talladega; second in the spring and eighth in October; in 34 careers starts at Talladega, he has 11 top-10 efforts.