Last week's selection Jimmie Johnson duly obliged at 8/1, his second race in a row, and there is no reason why he can't go in again this week. The track at Atlanta is nearly identical to Charlotte, where he swept the season last year, while he has finished 3rd and 4th in his last two races here.

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series – MBNA 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway

Event details: Sun Oct 31 - 12:30 pm EST (NBC)/16:30 GMT

Last week's selection Jimmie Johnson duly obliged at 8/1, his second race in a row, and there is no reason why he can't go in again this week. The track at Atlanta is nearly identical to Charlotte, where he swept the season last year, while he has finished 3rd and 4th in his last two races here.

Now he is on a roll, Johnson is the sort of driver who could easily go on win the remaining four races of the season, although he would still need help from the others to win the championship outright. Last week's win may have moved him up four places in the standings, but he only gained 20 points on leader Kurt Busch, who continued his remarkable run of consistency with another great run at Martinsville.

Busch's position was strengthened further when several of his rivals for the championship fell away last week, and he could close the door on them with a win in Atlanta. He won this race two years ago while enjoying a similarly impressive run then like he is now.

A driver not in the chase is Bobby Labonte, but considering he is one of the best ever on the track must come into calculations this week. Labonte has six wins over his career, the last coming in the spring last season, and he has only four shots before going winless on a season for the first time since 1994.

Nigel's Checkered Flag – Jimmie Johnson @ 8/1, Bobby Labonte @ 14/1.

 Bet365 MBNA 500 prices

Dale Earnhardt Jr. 11/2, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne 7/1, Jimmie Johnson 8/1, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart 9/1, others on bet365 website