Not much should be different this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the 1.54-mile quad-oval in Hampton where the top two series in NASCAR roar into town to tackle NASCAR’s fastest facility.

While the marquee event at Atlanta is Sunday’s MBNA Bass Pro Shops 500 at 12:30 p.m., the weekend is packed with events leading up to the climactic race on Sunday.

Friday features qualifying for Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 Busch event during the afternoon, followed by Winston Cup qualifying night at 7:05 p.m., when 50 cars will attempt to make the 43-car field for Sunday’s race. Following qualifying, the Goody’s Dash race, the Brawny 150 will begin.

Friday will be the first time qualifying will be run under the lights at Atlanta. Last year’s qualifying session for the event was slated for Friday night, but rain washed out the event, lining up the field by owner points.

While Matt Kenseth is enjoying a 240-point lead in Winston Cup competition over Kevin Harvick, the same cannot be said for the Busch Series.

Although Brian Vickers, who celebrates his 20th birthday this weekend, holds the top spot, only 44 points separate him from fifth place Scott Riggs. David Green, Jason Keller and Ron Hornaday Jr. fill out the second, third and fourth spots in the standings.

With the points race being so close, one bad day can severely damage any given driver’s hopes of winning a title. Of the five front-runners, only Green has a Busch Series title to his name.

“I’m sure all of us in the top-five feel (pressure) right now, but at the same time, all of us know that this will come down to Homestead (Florida, the last race of the season),” Hornaday said.

“It’s just a matter of how many of us will still be in the hunt. It may be all five of us, or it may be just two or three of us,” he said. “One thing is for sure. I don’t want to lose this championship. We have worked way too hard.”

The close competition will make for an interesting look for Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 at 1 p.m.

It is an event that also will include Winston Cup regulars Kenseth, Harvick and Michael Waltrip.

Also in the mix will be two Georgia natives attempting to make the race — Ron Young and Jimmy Henderson, who are both from nearby Conyers.

They aren’t the only Georgians in the race this weekend at Atlanta. Aside from long-time Winston Cup veteran Bill Elliott, Buckshot Jones will attempt to make Sunday’s race in a car owned by Waltrip. He’ll be sponsored this weekend by Atlanta-based Aaron’s Sales and Lease Ownership.

Jones drove a car for Waltrip in last month’s EA Sports 500 at Talladega, leading 19 laps before damage from a cut tire ended his day early.

“Atlanta’s always a big weekend for us with Home Depot’s headquarters being down there, and Coca-Cola’s headquarters being down there. It’s a big weekend for us,” Tony Stewart said.