Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Tony Stewart — Stewart followed up his runner-up finish at Talladega with a smooth fourth at Kansas, which extended his points lead considerably, from a narrow four points to a safe 75-point cushion. While dealing with an electrical problem throughout the race, Stewart still managed to lead a lap for the all-important five bonus points.
"And the end of the Chase," says Stewart, "I'm hoping to cash in those bonus points for my second Cup title, as well as a few free air miles."
Stewart won't make the mistake of "sitting on his lead," and will continue to attack. With 21 top-10s in 30 starts, it's very rare to find Stewart outside of the top 10. He only finished 24th this spring in the Coca Cola 600, but soon after that, went on the tear that vaulted him to the top of the points.
2. Ryan Newman — Newman stumbled to a 23rd-place finish, fighting a non-responsive car all day. However, he held on to the number two position in the points, but lost 71 points to Stewart. Sunday started off on a bad note for Newman, as he started from the back of the field after changing a transmission. Then, on lap 16, Newman was collected in a spin, and his car suffered front fender damage.
"We've got a name for that kind of luck in this business," says Newman. "It's called 'Kurt Busch' luck, when things go from bad to worse."
Newman won the pole this May in Charlotte, and followed up with a fifth at the checkered flag. He would definitely enjoy a replay of that weekend.
3. Greg Biffle — Biffle's runner-up finish in Kansas moved him past Rusty Wallace and Jimmie Johnson to number three in the points. Biffle led 47 laps on his way to his 12th top-five of the year, second only to Stewart's 15, and shaved 10 points off his deficit to Stewart.
"Not bad for a car I wrecked in Charlotte while testing," says Biffle. "Now that's what I call 'shaking a car down.'"
Biffle finished 33rd in Charlotte last fall, but scored a sixth there this spring. With only two top ten finishes thus far in the Chase, he can't complain about his points position. An ideal finish at Charlotte would be one with Stewart in his rear mirror.
4. Rusty Wallace — Wallace finished seventh in Kansas, a bittersweet result since all six drivers ahead of him are in the Chase, therefore he gained ground on only Kurt Busch, Jeremy Mayfield, and Ryan Newman. With Mark Martin's win, Wallace is now the only driver in the Chase without a victory this year.
"This is NASCAR," says Wallace. "You don't need to win to be champion. A lot of the guys out here are winners, but there not champions. Like my boy, Ryan Newman."
Wallace finished 10th this spring in Charlotte, and has two wins in his career at the Concorn, NC track. With a good result in Charlotte, Wallace can head to Martinsville, one of his favorite tracks, with the momentum to make a serious push in the points.
5. Mark Martin — Martin bagged his first win of the year, and first since the June 2004 race in Dover, with a convincing victory in Kansas. Martin led 139 of 267 laps, and led a Roush Racing sweep of the top three spots, with Tony Stewart finishing fourth to deny a top-four sweep. Martin cut 25 points into Stewart's points lead, and moved up two positions to seventh.
"Have I made up my mind whether I'm returning to race next year?" asks Martin. "I don't even remember. But this win might be enough to convince me to stay. I've still got it."
Martin won this year's all-star race in Charlotte, so the blueprint to that victory should be fresh in his mind.
6. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished sixth, and, like Wallace, gained no ground on Tony Stewart, but did bounce back nicely from his 31st in Talladega, and now heads to his favorite track in Charlotte.
"But most importantly," says Johnson, "I wasn't wrongly accused of causing any wrecks. At 190 miles per hour, nose to tail, three wide, one hand on the wheel, and the other hand giving someone the finger, can you honestly tell who was at fault in a situation like that?"
In last year's Chase, Johnson won in Charlotte, then followed that by sweeping to victory in the next two races. If there ever was a time to make a move, this is it for Johnson.
7. Carl Edwards — Edwards earned his third consecutive top-10 of the Chase, and maintained his hold of sixth in the points, 95 short of Stewart. He was third in line of a 1-2-3 Roush finish, as Jack's team reestablished their influence on the Chase.
"Was there ever any doubt that we would bounce back?" asks Edwards. "If we can pull off a Roush 1-2-3 sweep in all of the next six races, one of us is bound to catch Stewart."
Can Edwards continue his hot streak? Odds are good — he finished third in May in his first Cup race in Charlotte. He's raced his way into contention in the last three weeks.
8. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth was the fourth of four Roush driver in the top five, finishing fifth and leading 71 laps after starting from the pole. He made waves in the Roush camp by refusing, while leading, to allow teammates Biffle and Edwards to pass to collect five bonus points.
"Look," says Kenseth, "I admitted I was wrong. Let's just say it was a forced apology. I don't want to rock the boat, but I believe there is a place for charity, and the race track is not that place, teammate or not."
Kenseth is still trying to recover from his 35th at Dover. A few more top fives should do the trick.
9. Jeremy Mayfield — What's Mayfield's lucky number? Could it be 16? Possibly, because he just scored his second 16th-place finish of the Chase, to go along with a 14th and a seventh. Where's all that taking him?
"Nowhere, fast," replies Mayfield.
That's right. Mayfield dropped to ninth in the points, 157 out of first, and is trailed only by Kurt Busch, 224 back. In May, Mayfield finished fourth in Charlotte. To establish himself as a viable contender, he needs a finish no worse than that, and hope those ahead in the points have miserable days.
10. Kurt Busch — Can Busch's luck get any worse? A week after a flat tire cost him the lead at Talladega, lightning struck again as a flat on lap 77 dropped him a lap down into 39th position. Although he battled back to finish 14th, Busch lost ground to everyone, and remains tenth, 224 from the lead.
"Can a driver get a little sympathy?" asks Busch.
Yeah, I guess we all feel a little sorry for you, Kurt. Wait a minute, no we don't. You still made $138,425.00. I don't consider that "bad luck."
Busch has this to look forward to: he can finish no worse than he did the last time out in Charlotte. An early wreck left him with a 43rd-place finish.
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