Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Tony Stewart — Stewart padded his lead in the points from five points to 20 with a second-place finish and the all important bonus points for leading a lap, and leading the most laps. Stewart was passed by Ryan Newman with two laps to go, spoiling a Stewart sweep of the New Hampshire races this year.
"That's was some hard driving," admits Stewart. "Don't think for a second that if we weren't in the Chase, one or both of us would have been in the wall."
Stewart is off and running towards his second Cup championship. He has a string of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes. If that streak stays alive, he will be nearly impossible to catch.
2. Ryan Newman — Newman finished round one of the Chase in the best way possible: winning. The last man in the Chase, Newman battled Tony Stewart hard in the final 10 laps, edging past on lap 299 for the win, his first victory since September of last year at Dover.
"And guess what race is up next?" asks Newman. "Dover. You know, the race I won last year."
Newman may have finally found his groove after misplacing it for all of this year. The question remains whether he can hold on to it for nine more races.
3. Greg Biffle — Biffle battled with teammate Matt Kenseth for third at the end, finally settling for fourth place, which left him second in the points, twenty behind Stewart. It was Biffle's sixth-straight finish of sixth or better.
"But I just can't seem to make up any ground on Stewart," complains Biffle. "I finish fourth, he finishes second. The more weight he puts on, the faster he gets."
Dover should present a setting for Biffle to cut into Stewart's lead. He won at Dover in early June, starting second and leading the most laps.
4. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth continues to rise up the point standings, moving from eighth to fifth with his third place at New Hampshire. Kenseth hasn't finished out of the top seven in the last five races, and continues to look like one of the top three contenders for the Cup.
"As long as the title stays in the Roush camp, I'll be happy," says Kenseth. "Wait, who am I kidding? I'd run over my grandmother to win it. You saw the way I raced Biffle, my teammate, there at the end. I'll give no quarter."
Back in June, Kenseth finished seventh at Dover, which was his best finish up until that point, and only his second top-10. From that point, he reeled off nine more top-10s.
5. Rusty Wallace — Wallace started seventh at New Hampshire, and finished sixth, while suffering the displeasure of watching Ryan Newman win the race. After falling a lap down near the midway point, the No. 2 Miller Lite team battled back, grabbing a "Lucky Dog" free pass to get the lap back.
"It was really fun battling Mark Martin down the stretch," says Wallace. "We showed all these young, stupid, brash, idiotic hotheads that you can race hard, yet clean, and not cause a wreck."
Anything in the top 10 will keep you in the hunt for the Chase. Wallace did just that, and he can expect a similar result in Dover, where he finished fifth in the June race.
6. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson's eighth-place finish was his best in the last four races, but not good enough to advance in the points. Johnson dropped two spots to sixth, but is only 53 points behind Stewart.
"I think it's safe to say that is 'striking distance,'" says Johnson. "And speaking of striking distance, how about the arm on that Robbie Gordon. If you're going to throw your helmet at someone, that is the way to do it. And Michael Waltrip even ducked!"
Johnson finished fourth at Dover in June after starting on the pole. A top-10 is likely, but J.J. must finish in front of those above him in the points for the top-10 to matter.
7. Mark Martin — Martin finished seventh at New Hampshire, leading 31 laps in a car from the camp of teammate Kurt Busch. Martin is in sixth, trailing Tony Stewart by 54 points.
"As long as we're in the top 10," says Martin, "we should be fine. We just want to qualify for the Chase. What? The Chase has already started? Oh, dear. Well, as Murtagh says over and over in the Lethal Weapon series of movies, 'I'm getting too old for this #$%&.' And I am."
Hey, Mark, you're never too old to show these young bucks how to win. So, go out and win one for the old guys.
In his last three races at Dover, Martin has not finished worse than third. He could make a substantial jump in the standings with such a finish this Sunday.
8. Kurt Busch — Feud alert! Feud alert! Busch was wrecked just three laps in at New Hampshire when Scott Riggs got loose in turn two and bounced Busch into the wall. While his car was in the garage for major repairs, Busch sauntered over to Riggs' pit area and engaged in a Sunday afternoon conversation with Riggs' crew chief, Rodney Childers.
"Why can't Busch be a man like other drivers?" says Childers. "You know, get back out there and wreck Scott if you've got a problem. Or throw your helmet at him, then utter a profanity on national TV. Don't come see me. Heck, I didn't hear a word Busch said, anyway. I had my headphones on."
Busch fell to 10th in the points, 142 behind Stewart. Now, his entire Chase strategy changes and he must race more aggressively to make up points. He began the Chase last year with six-straight top-10s, and a run like that would definitely put him back in contention.
9. Jeremy Mayfield — Mayfield began his quest for the Chase with a 16th-place finish that could have easily been a top-five had the final caution not flown. Mayfield was fourth when the yellow came out, and elected to pit. However, most of the other frontrunners stayed on the track, and Mayfield was left to scramble for 16th.
"To pit, or not to pit," says Mayfield. "That is the question. Unfortunately, it seems I never have the right answer. I guess anytime you're all alone on pit road, you are in trouble."
Now eighth in the points, Mayfield now must take a few more chances and hope for some attrition up front. Another finish outside the top-10 may ruin his Chase hopes completely.
10. Carl Edwards — Handling problems plagued Edwards and the No. 99 Home Depot Ford all day in New Hampshire, resulting in a 19th-place finish. Not a disastrous outcome, but certainly not the one Edwards was looking for in his initial race as a Chase participant.
"Not exactly what we were looking for," says Edwards. "But hey, at least I'm not Kurt Busch. That's disastrous."
Edwards is 109 points behind Stewart, in ninth-place. While winning the cup is highly unlikely, a finish in the top-six is not. Basically, this year is a training ground for Edwards, who, next year, is likely to have more of an impact in the Chase.
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