Evaluating Chase chances for these drivers with two races to go

The Sprint Cup Series' last summer vacation is over and now comes a 12-week run to the final checkered flag at Homestead in mid-November.

But for a number of drivers, the next two races at Atlanta and Richmond are do-or-die time.

Only two races remain to decide the 12 drivers who will compete in this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup with the clock set to strike midnight after race No. 26 of the season -- a week from Saturday night in Richmond.

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Two drivers have already punched their tickets to the dance with Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon locked into the Chase. For all intents and purposes, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth are also in and only a meltdown of epic proportions would derail that group's chances.

Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle are also pretty safe although on a little bit less solid ground than those ahead in the standings. Catastrophe in both of the next two races needs to be avoided or consider that trio in the Chase as well.

Clint Bowyer is on the hot seat holding down the 12th position but even he maintains a seemingly comfortable margin. Jamie McMurray is 100 points behind in 13th place and no driver has ever made up that much ground with two races left in the regular season to break into the Chase lineup. Kasey Kahne overcame a 90-point margin in 2006.

Mark Martin is 101 behind while 15th-place Ryan Newman is 118 off Bowyer's pace.

It would be an historic accomplishment for anyone to overtake Bowyer and steal a Chase position away but this topsy-turvy NASCAR season has proven anything's possible.

Here's the tale of the tape for these Chase contenders heading into the final two races of the regular-season campaign:

Clint Bowyer

The good news for Bowyer is that both Atlanta and Richmond are two of his favorite tracks on the schedule, which means an additional shot of confidence.

"I love Atlanta and Richmond and run well there," Bowyer said. "With any luck at all, we'll be in this thing."

Clint Bowyer, who holds the 12th and final Chase spot, has had success at the remaining tracks. (Getty Images)

But he'll have to overcome some recent disappointments at Atlanta where he's finished 29th and 23rd in his last two starts.

"We always run well there," said Bowyer, who has a 16.4 average finish in his Atlanta Cup career. "We had some bad luck the last couple times out that we'll need to avoid."

He's a former Richmond winner, and Bowyer thinks the solid run of his Richard Childress Racing teammates this year will also be a benefit to his run into the Chase.

"We just have the ability to share so much information between the three of us that it's a huge advantage," Bowyer said of teammates Jeff Burton and Harvick. "The whole team has just been so good this year I'm really feeling good about playing this thing out the next two weeks and getting into the title picture."

Jamie McMurray

The big-race winner -- with victories in the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 already this year -- has also been one of the circuit's hottest drivers in recent weeks. McMurray has rattled off four top five finishes in the last six races, including the Indianapolis win, and is hoping to ride that surge into the Chase field. But he's also taking the approach of keeping things in perspective.

"[Crew chief Kevin Manion] Bono certainly is worried about it," McMurray said. "I remember the stress that goes along with that, and I'm really fortunate this year that we were able to win those two big races, because if we don't make the Chase, it's not going to be devastating."

Neither Atlanta nor Richmond have been particularly strong tracks for McMurray who carries a 20.9 average finish into Sunday night's trip to the Georgia track.

Mark Martin

The storybook season of a year ago is but a memory for Martin who has endured a 2010 full of disappointment, mechanical issues and frustration. But the veteran driver continues to bring a positive attitude to the track and his team, and knows that even if he can overcome the odds of just qualifying for the Chase, performance will need to improve to have any shot at running for a championship.

"It's real different than last year," Martin said. "Last year, it was so intense because we knew that if we got in the Chase, we could win it and nearly did. It would have been a major crime to have missed the Chase last year.

"This year, we have got to continue to build momentum quickly if we make the Chase to be relevant once we get in, and that's what important to us."

In his last 20 Atlanta starts, Martin has averaged a finish just over 20th, but did finish fifth in last year's Labor Day weekend event.

Ryan Newman

Like Martin, Newman has had a hard time replicating the success of 2009, when both he and teammate Tony Stewart made the Chase in the first year of Stewart-Haas Racing's operation. Although he won at Phoenix in April, Newman has lacked consistency with just seven top 10 finishes in 24 races which has added up to his deficit in the Chase standings. Newman's tangle with Joey Logano at Michigan earlier this month cost him a chance at a solid finish that would have certainly helped his Chase aspirations. But he refuses to look for any excuses and remains focused on somehow finding a spot inside the Chase lineup.

"We've got a championship, a Chase effort we're going after. I'm not in a position to be giving up," Newman said.

Garage chatter

• Elliott Sadler's future is still up in the air but the veteran driver feels he's closer to having his 2011 plans firmed up. Speculation is Sadler is the odd man out at Richard Petty Motorsports, which is expected to shrink from a four-car effort next season with drivers A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose. Sadler could wind up running with Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide or Truck Series but hasn't ruled out another Cup ride.

"I have really enjoyed running up front in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series these last few weeks," Sadler told Sirius NASCAR Radio, "and I'm hopeful that within the next couple of weeks, I can say ... this is what I'm going to do in 2011.'"

• The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has implemented a multi-truck qualifying system in recent weeks which is reportedly being considered for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series next year. The format calls for two vehicles on track simultaneously in an effort to speed up the qualifying session with the order of time trials based on the last practice session starting with the slowest time and progressing to the truck with the fastest lap. There is also speculation the trucks may add a heat race type format to selected events next year with the field broken into two preliminary events before competing in the weekend's main race.

• The IZOD IndyCar Series has still not released its 2011 schedule but it appears The Milwaukee Mile will indeed return to the slate and take the traditional post-Indy 500 slot, which if true will certainly raise the ire of Texas Motor Speedway officials who have claimed that coveted position on the calendar. The addition of Milwaukee would mean the end to Chicagoland Speedway's IndyCar weekend.