Atlanta is the fastest track in NASCAR, with worn, abrasive pavement and multiple grooves from top to bottom, all the better to let drivers hang it all out. And no one loves to run fast and wild more than NCTS points leader Kyle "Rowdy" Busch, who this week will again be piloting Billy Ballew's No. 51 Toyota Tundra.

"It is great racing and it is fun to be able to go out there and run with these guys in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series," said Busch, who won the fall NCTS races at the 1.54-mile track in 2005 and '07. "Anytime I can race with Billy Ballew, it is a lot of fun. We race to try to win, of course, every time we come out so to be able to go out there and have fun and race for points and for wins, it's great."

Busch can expect some stiff competition Friday night from the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Tundra driven by "The Onion," Todd Bodine, who opened the season with his first Daytona victory in 34 attempts and followed it up by coming in second to Rowdy in Southern California. "First place one week, second the next - that's how you win championships," said Bodine, who won both an NCTS race at Atlanta and the series championship in 2006.

Two other past Atlanta race winners and series champions worth keeping an eye on are reigning series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 30 Camping World/VFW Chevrolet) and former series champion Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota).

Hornaday's new teammate, three-time series champion Jack Sprague (No. 2 American Commercial Lines/RVs.com Chevrolet), will be looking for his first victory at the lightning-fast quad oval track. "I think we are going back to Atlanta even better than we tested," Sprague said. "We need to begin to get the ball rolling in the right direction this season and I think this weekend is the perfect place for us to do that."

Also not to be counted out are the three Roush Fenway Racing Ford F-150s driven by Travis Kvapil (No. 09 Zaxby's Ford), Colin Braun, (No. 06 Con-way Freight Ford) and Erik Darnell No. 99 National Tool + Equipment Ford).

The Roush Fenway gang got off to a horrible start at Daytona, where all three trucks were wrecked in the race. But the squad rebounded admirably at Southern California, with Kvapil seventh, Braun ninth and Darnell 11th.  If they keep trending in the right direction, sooner or later, one of them will win a race.

One other thing to remember about Atlanta: It produces great racing. All seven NCTS races at AMS have been decided by less than one  second at the checkered flag, with the winning pass always coming with 12 or fewer laps to go.

"The American Commercial Lines 200 should be another exciting race, as AMS always seems to have," said NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Director Wayne Auton. "With a test earlier this year at AMS, teams are really geared up for this event. With the new rules packages in place for 2008 and a California race under their belts, teams are working on figuring out the aero along with the horsepower these engines are producing and how it will impact the racing. I expect, and people will agree, it will be a very competitive race."

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDTV.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com.  He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.