As in previous road course races this season, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart were the class of the field at Watkins Glen. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) » More Photos

Here are the favorites for this weekend's race.

JEFF GORDON With a 303-point lead over Denny Hamlin, whatever happens this weekend, Jeff Gordon will leave the Brickyard Sunday with the Nextel Cup points lead. Gordon, who grew up in nearby Pittsboro, Ind., would also like to leave with a record fifth Brickyard trophy, something that's a distinct possibility. Gordon's statistics here are as dominating as his record: Four wins in this race, while only Jarrett has won it more than once; 433 laps led, compared to 186 led for No. 2 man Jarrett; and most poles, with three. At the Brickyard, Gordon is the man.

Considering also that Gordon has series highs in victories (four), top-five finishes (12) and top 10s (17) in the first 19 races of 2007, yeah, it's safe to say he is the favorite again this year. But he's not the only one, and being without crew chief Steve Letarte, who remains on suspension, won't help him on Sunday, either.

TONY STEWART Stewart is NASCAR's equivalent of the angry dog asleep in the corner: He can go ignored for a while, but wake him up and suddenly all hell breaks loose. Zero for 18 to start the season, Stewart won in dominating fashion in the last race in Chicago and now looks like he might be poised to put together the kind of hot streak he did in the summer of 2005, when he won this race and the championship both.

Stewart, an Indiana native, knows more than anyone what winning here means and it would not at all be surprising see him to score Brickyard victory No. 2 here on Sunday. In fact, there are two groups of favorites for this race: Gordon and Stewart, and the rest of the field.

KEVIN HARVICK Harvick's having a big-race year, just as Jimmie Johnson did last year. Like Johnson in 2006, Harvick so far this season has won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge, two of the premier races on the calendar. Harvick hopes to do what Johnson did in '06 and add a Brickyard win and a series championship. Both are possible.

Harvick has a strong track record at Indy, having won here in 2003 and finishing worse than 11th just once in his career here. He finished third here last year, another reason to give him serious consideration.

MATT KENSETH Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, has never won at Indy, nor has his Roush Fenway Racing squad. Normally, that would mean automatic disqualification from serious consideration on Sunday. But in his last five Brickyard races, Kenseth has two runner-up finishes – including last season – as well as a third and a fifth. Four top-fives in five races earns Kenseth a slot among the favorites.

DENNY HAMLIN Hamlin was only raced here once, finishing 10th here last year. But he loves Pocono, a flat track where he won twice last season, and the whole Joe Gibbs Racing squad is on a roll. He well could be a force to be reckoned with again on Sunday.

Whatever happens, it will be a big weekend of racing at IMS, arguably the most famous race track in the world. Stay with SPEEDTV.com for complete coverage of all the action on and off the track this weekend from the Brickyard.

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