The first 26 races determine which drivers, based on overall points,
will compete for the Nextel Cup championship during the final 10 races.
All drivers in the top 10 in points and any other drivers within 400
points of the leader qualify.
Before Race 27, the points are adjusted for all drivers who qualified
for the Chase. The first-place driver in the standings begins with 5,050
points; the second-place driver starts with 5,045, and so on, with
five-point drops continuing through the list of title contenders. If at
the end of the final 10 races there is a tie, the first tiebreaker is
number of wins, then number of second-place finishes, then number of
thirds, etc.
(Standings under the traditional points system)
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Official Chase standings (through Chase Race 8 of 10)
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Championship contenders
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Jimmie Johnson
Points: 6,297
Behind first: --
Last race: 38th at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 1st, 1st, 4th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 5.4 (12 starts)
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Mark Martin
Points: 6,224
Behind first: -73
Last race: Fourth at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 5th, 14th, 1st
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 9.0 (25 starts)
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Jeff Gordon
Points: 6,185
Behind first: -112
Last race: 13th at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 13th, 41st, 25th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 10.9 (21 starts)
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Kurt Busch
Points: 6,126
Behind first: -171
Last race: First at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 23rd, 2nd, 3rd
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 12.5 (13 starts)
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2
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Tony Stewart
Points: 6,119
Behind first: -178
Last race: Sixth at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 14th, 22nd, 2nd
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 10.1 (15 starts)
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Juan Pablo Montoya
Points: 6,061
Behind first: -236
Last race: 37th at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 16th, 17th, 24th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 21.4 (5 starts)
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2
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Greg Biffle
Points: 6,050
Behind first: -247
Last race: Eighth at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 9th, 11th, 5th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 14.9 (11 starts)
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Denny Hamlin
Points: 5,975
Behind first: -322
Last race: Second at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 3rd, 5th, 6th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 10.4 (8 starts)
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3
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Ryan Newman
Points: 5,973
Behind first: -324
Last race: 12th at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 43rd, 34th, 16th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 22.9 (14 starts)
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1
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Kasey Kahne
Points: 5,898
Behind first: -399
Last race: 33rd at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 36th, 13th, 13th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 19.5 (10 starts)
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1
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Carl Edwards
Points: 5,857
Behind first: -440
Last race: 39th at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 4th, 4th, 10th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 13.0 (10 starts)
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1
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Brian Vickers
Points: 5,777
Behind first: -520
Last race: 26th at Texas
Last three at Phoenix: 25th, 42nd, 19th
Avg. finish at Phoenix: 19.3 (10 starts)
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