Six points separate Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the margin between first and second has not been this close since 2007. This week NASCAR heads to Alabama and historic Talladega Superspeedway for 500 miles of restrictor plate action on Halloween Sunday at 1:15 p.m.

Gamblers investing in the outcome of the Amp Energy Juice 500 should keep in mind that Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to notch five top-five finishes in last five consecutive Chase races. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch has finished in the top-10 once in the past eight restrictor plate races while Carl Edwards has not had a top-10 finish in his last seven Talladega races. Jeff Gordon, the top restrictor plate racer in history, has finished 19th or worse in his past five races at 'Dega and has only one top-10 finish in his last 11 restrictor plate races.

Who will win the Amp Energy Juice 500?

The Sprint Cup has come down to a three-driver Chase as drivers that are now triple-digits behind the leaders have virtually no chance of beating chasers Johnson, Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick with four races remaining in the 2010 season. The top three Chase drivers have higher average finishes at Talladega than you might expect: Johnson has an average finish of 17.8, Hamlin has an average finish of 19.3 and Harvick has an average finish of 15.5. For nine of the 12 chase drivers Talladega is their worst track of the remaining four Chase tracks.

Take 'Smoke' for instance. Tony Stewart won a few weeks back at Kansas and was poised to make a run, but since then he's been in a downward spiral and finished at Martinsville in 24th last week. Stewart most likely won't improve on this at 'Dega since he has finished outside the top-15 in every race since his win in 2008.

Then there is Kyle Busch, at 172 points back and fourth place in the Chase. He should be a lot of fun to watch with his bump-n-run style (that is, if he isn't ahead of the pack). Kyle finished last week in fourth and probably figures if he can win the next four races he can win the Sprint Cup. Kyle's aggressiveness could pay dividends on Sunday, but recent history shows that he hasn't excelled at restrictor plate tracks. 

Jamie McMurray, on the other hand, has quickly replaced Jeff Gordon as the restrictor plate king by virtue of being this race's defending champion as well as winning the Daytona 500 this year. McMurray also finished second at Talladega in April. Look for McMurray to honor Dale Earnhardt on Sunday as his car will be painted in the exact scheme of the Intimidator's car when he won his last race at Talladega 10 years ago. Time flies, huh? 

In fact, three of McMurray's six wins have come at restrictor plate tracks. Perhaps this can be seen as a breakthrough year since McMurray has won as many races this year (three) as he has in the seven previous years in NASCAR. The Earnhardt-Genassi team has provided an incredible package for the No.1 Cheverolet, but McMurray has proven that he is able to adapt to restrictor plate tracks better than the other drivers on the circuit.

Pick! Jamie McMurray, No.1, +800

Amp Energy 500 Lucky Dog Long Odds Special

Joey Logano didn’t avoid the 'big one' in April and got his first DNF at 'Dega. However, Logano still has two top-10s in his last three races at the superspeedway. He notched a third-place finish last October and a ninth-place finish the previous April. In five starts at Talladega Logano has an average finish of 8.8 and has a driver rating of 85.3. This is better than both Harvick and Johnson. More importantly, Logano has been racing well and last week at Martinsville recorded his second straight top-10 finish and has finished in the top 10 in three of the past five races. Joe Gibbs has a great restrictor plate package so it will be interesting to see if Logano will be able to capitalize on Halloween. After all, orange and black are Halloween colors.

Pick! Joey Logano, (No. 20), +3000

Amp Energy 500 - Top Three Finish

A big question is if Harvick will sweep Talladega this year. With virtually everyone in the Chase eliminated, Harvick has done a good job maintaining pace with Johnson and Hamlin. Harvick is currently in third place in the Sprint Cup standings and needs a combination of things to happen on Sunday. Ideally, Johnson and Hamlin will both wreck each other in the 'big one,' leaving the race open for Harvick to win. While Harvick doesn't need to make up the entire 62 points on Sunday, it might be his best chance with only three races remaining after 'Dega. Harvick's Cup hopes literally rest upon how well he does on Sunday. He won from the four-hole in April, so perhaps he can complete the Dega-Double on Sunday.

Pick! Kevin Harvick, (No. 29) +150

Amp Energy Juice 500 Odds* for Top Three Finish
Talladega Superspeedway - October 31, 1:15 p.m.

Kevin Harvick +150
Jamie McMurray +250
Tony Stewart +250
Kyle Busch +250
Dale Earnhardt Jr +300
Kurt Busch +350
Jeff Gordon +350
Juan Pablo Montoya +550
Carl Edwards +550
Clint Bowyer +600
Jeff Burton +600
Denny Hamlin +750
Jimmie Johnson +750
Greg Biffle +750
Joey Logano +900
Matt Kenseth +900
David Ragan +900
Ryan Newman +900
Kasey Kahne +900
Mark Martin +900
zx Field (Any Other Driver) +1500
AJ Allmendinger +1500
David Reutimann +1500
Brad Keselowski +1500
Martin Truex Jr +1500
Paul Menard +1800
Elliott Sadler +1800
Aric Almirola +2200
Marcos Ambrose +3000
Bobby Labonte +3000
Travis Kvapil +3000
Regan Smith +3000
Scott Speed +3000
Sam Hornish Jr +3000

Amp Energy Juice 500 Odds* to Win
Talladega Superspeedway - October 31, 1:15 p.m.

Kevin Harvick +500
Jamie McMurray +800
Kyle Busch +800
Tony Stewart +800
Dale Earnhardt Jr +1000
Kurt Busch +1200
Jeff Gordon +1200
Carl Edwards +1800
Juan Pablo Montoya +1800
Clint Bowyer +2000
Jeff Burton +2000
Greg Biffle +2500
Jimmie Johnson +2500
Denny Hamlin +2500
Ryan Newman +3000
Joey Logano +3000
Kasey Kahne +3000
Mark Martin +3000
Matt Kenseth +3000
David Ragan +3000
Brad Keselowski +5000
Martin Truex Jr +5000
AJ Allmendinger +5000
David Reutimann +5000
zx Field (Any Other Driver) +5000
Paul Menard +6000
Elliott Sadler +6000
Aric Almirola +7500
Bobby Labonte +10000
Scott Speed +10000
Regan Smith +10000
Marcos Ambrose +10000
Travis Kvapil +10000
Sam Hornish Jr +10000

*Odds courtesy of Sportsbook.com