Updated Sept. 1
And then there was one.
One race for a handful of drivers to keep their championship dreams alive.
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| Bowyer heads to Richmond with one victory in '08 -- at the Virginia track. (Getty Images) |
A maximum of 161 points can be gained by one driver on another, so that leaves Tony Stewart (138 points ahead of 13th David Ragan), Matt Kenseth (+109), Jeff Gordon (+102), Denny Hamlin (+93) and Clint Bowyer (+17) within range of losing their spots in the top 12 should disaster strike at Richmond.
Hamlin knows as well as anybody how quickly fortunes can turn there. Back in May he dominated at the track, leading the first 381 laps only to be derailed by a flat tire less than 20 laps from the end.
"We led every lap it seemed like in the spring and ended up finishing 28th or something (24th)," Hamlin said. "So, you never know what can happen. I wish I had probably a 130-point lead, you pretty much lock yourself in when you have a buffer like that."
Kasey Kahne, 48 points behind Bowyer in 14th, joins Ragan as the only other driver outside the top 12 who could sneak his way into the Chase if things fall his way.
| Chase standings | |||
| Driver | Points | Deficit | |
| 1. Jimmie Johnson | 6,684 | --- | |
| 2. Carl Edwards | 6,615 | -69 | |
| 3. Greg Biffle | 6,467 | -217 | |
| 4. Kevin Harvick | 6,408 | -276 | |
| 5. Clint Bowyer | 6,381 | -303 | |
| Complete Chase | Traditional points | |||
"We gained a little in the points tonight, but not enough to make that much of difference," said Kahne, who finished eighth at California on Sunday, two spots ahead of Bowyer and five in front of Ragan. "I said earlier in the week that not only do we have to run well to catch the guys in front of me, but they have to stumble a little to help us make up points. Tonight was pretty much a draw."
Kahne has actually been in this position before, racing his way into the Chase with a third-place run at Richmond in 2006. With only 10 drivers making it that season, Kahne ousted Stewart, who had entered the race eighth, 45 points ahead of Kahne. But Stewart finished a distant 18th, not nearly good enough to save his title hopes.
While Bowyer mathematically is the easiest for Ragan and Kahne to catch, at the very least, he can take solace in knowing he's the most recent winner at Richmond.
That's right, Bowyer was the one able to take advantage of Hamlin's flat -- as well as a little dustup between Earnhardt and Busch -- to steal the victory back in May.
"It's going to be a battle right down to the end," Bowyer said. "Anything can happen in Richmond. But nonetheless, there is a little bit of confidence knowing you're coming off a win there."
Power Rankings after California:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 1 |
| Even if Johnson were to finish last and Mark Martin were to win and lead the most laps in the next race at Texas, he would still hold the points lead by 23 points. | ||
| 2 | Mark Martin | 2 |
| There was a time when Martin had a bit of luck at Talladega. From 1988 through 2001 he had 18 top 10s in 28 races. In 12 races since 2002, he has just two top 10s with nine finishes outside the top 20. | ||
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 3 |
| He has four victories in his past 12 trips to Talladega. However, he finished outside the top 10 in the eight races he did not win, with finishes of 19th or worse in his past four visits. | ||
| 4 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 4 |
| He captured second at Talladega in the spring of 2008, but has finished no better than 15th in his other five visits to the track. | ||
| 5 | Tony Stewart | 5 |
| Though he won last fall at Talladega, he has finished 22nd or worse in five of his last seven trips to the track with three DNFs by way of crash. | ||
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | 6 |
| He has led at least one lap in all eight of his visits to Talladega, but has just two top 10s to show for it with six finishes of 21st or worse. | ||
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 7 |
| He has three finishes of 21st or worse in his past four visits to Talladega after finishing outside the top 10 just three times in his first 14 trips. | ||
| 8 | Kasey Kahne | 8 |
| Sunday marked his second second-place finish at Talladega. In 12 starts at the track, those are his only top 10s. | ||
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 9 |
| His 36th-place finish Sunday was his sixth of 33rd or worse in 16 starts at Talladega. "We had this race back here in the spring and complained about cars getting airborne and now ironically I'm the guy that gets upside down," Newman said. "I wish NASCAR would do something. It was a boring race for the fans. That's not something anybody wants to see; at least I hope not. If they do, go home because you don't belong here." | ||
| 10 | Kyle Busch | 10 |
| His win in the spring of 2008 is his lone top 10 finish in 10 starts at Talladega. | ||
| 11 | Carl Edwards | 11 |
| After three consecutive top 10 finishes at Talladega between 2005-06, he has finished outside the top 10 in his past six trips to the track, but at least he wasn't flying into the catchfence like in his last visit. | ||
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | 12 |
| Like his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate Edwards, he had three consecutive top 10 finishes at Talladega between 2005-06, but has failed to finish in the top 10 at the track since. | ||
| 13 | Greg Biffle | 13 |
| Finished a Talladega career-best fourth on Sunday, his second consecutive top 10 at the track after finishing no better than 13th in his first 12 visits. | ||
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | 14 |
| He won't complain too much about a 12th-place finish considering he has finished 35th or worse in four of his eight visits. | ||
| 15 | Kevin Harvick | 15 |
| His 21st-place finish Sunday was his fifth consecutive finish of 20th or worse at Talladega. He has been running at the finish of all 18 of his starts at Talladega. | ||
