Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.

	Busch

Kurt Busch
Came .620 second short of his second career victory in this race last year, when Jimmie Johnson upstaged him on pit strategy; led the most laps; a 28th-place finish at Martinsville dropped him two positions to fifth in the series points standings; trails leader Matt Kenseth by 205 points.

Ricky Craven
Lost three positions in the standings to ninth after 27th-place result at Martinsville in the last race; has been in the top 10 since winning at Darlington and reached a season-high fifth; is ahead of last year's pace in the standings when he was ranked 15th at this stage of the season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The third-place finish at Martinsville where he led a race-high 190 laps, moved him closer to being ranked No. 1 for the first time in his NASCAR Winston Cup career; it was his third top-five in a row and a series-leading fifth; reduced Kenseth's lead from 129 to 51 points; not a factor in last year's race at California Speedway when he finished 36th after qualifying ninth; took what he described as the hardest hit of his career in the race after colliding with Kevin Harvick, who had blown a tire on his car; Dale Jr. suffered a concussion as a result of the major impact and struggled for several month thereafter; best start at track was ninth last year, best finish was third in 2001.

Jeff Gordon
The Vallejo, California native has done well at his home track, winning in 1997 and 1999; also started from pole in 1998; has an average finish of sixth and has led the most laps (331); comes off victory at Martinsville Speedway, his 62nd career checkered flag in the Winston Cup; moved up to third place in the standings through nine races.

Kevin Harvick
Entering this event sixth in the points race, well ahead of last year's pace when he was 29th at this stage of the season; looking to move into the top five for the first time since being ranked fourth following the season-opening Daytona 500, but will need to turn his fortunes around at California Speedway; finished 35th a season ago as a result of an accident and was 25th in 2001.

Dale Jarrett
One of the few drivers that have competed in each of the six Winston Cup races at California Speedway since 1997; has placed outside the top 10 just twice and both were due to engine problems; qualified third last year and finished sixth after leading 50 of the 250 laps; won the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway on February 23 for his only top five effort of the year.

Jimmie Johnson
Returns to his Southern California roots as he is from nearby El Cajon; in his first start at the track last year he made the best of it by claiming the Auto Club 500 for his first Winston Cup victory in Chevrolet co-owned by another California native Jeff Gordon; led 62 laps en route to victory; Johnson, Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip are the only drivers to be ranked in the top 10 after all races this year; Johnson has been in the top 10 for 43 straight races dating back to last season; is 40 points behind Gordon in fourth place.

Matt Kenseth
Took the Winston Cup points lead after the fourth race and has held the position since then; leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 51 points; finished in the top-10 in the last seven races; best finish at California Speedway in Winston Cup racing was third in 2000; last year he started 20th and finished there; will pull double duty this weekend, also running in Saturday's Busch Series CaliforniaSpeedway.com 300, a race he won in 1999 and 2000.

Mark Martin
California Speedway is one of his favorite tracks; nearly won here in 1997 when the speedway was added to the Winston Cup schedule, but fell short of fuel mileage and placed 10th; made up for that a year later when he took the checkered flag after starting third; and also finished fifth in last year's NAPA Auto Parts 500.

Elliott Sadler
Has been 10th in the standings the past two races after recording top-five finishes; but has struggled at the 2-mile oval where he has not finished better than 21st (1999) in four starts at the track; last season, he qualified a personal best of seventh, but engine problems relegated him to a 39th-place finish; will sport the pedigree Brand colors this weekend as he will visit a plant that produces the dog food in Vernon, California before heading to the track; next week, Sadler Fan Appreciation Day will take place from 1:00-6:00 pm on April 30 at Sadler Auto Center in Emporia, Virginia.

Tony Stewart
One of three drivers to be ranked all season long in the top 10; is five points behind sixth-place Kevin Harvick and 33 behind Kurt Busch in fifth; qualified in the top eight and finished among the top 10 in three of four career starts at speedway; was fourth in 1999 and 2001, also with a 10th in 2000; last year he placed 29th; will make 150th career start; on Friday he will throw out the ceremonial pitch when the Boston Red Sox visit the World Series champion Anaheim Angels.

Michael Waltrip
Remained one of three drivers to be in the top 10 the entire season to this point; also one of three to hold the No. 1 ranking at any point during this season; is just nine points behind Harvick and four behind Stewart in the standings. posted personal bests for qualifying and race finish last season at California Speedway, starting sixth and finishing 10th; also led two laps, his first at the oval; prior to last year, in five starts, he had registered just one finish better than 20th, an 11th in 1997.