Chase for the Championship
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)
| Final standings (after Chase race 10 of 10) | |||
| 2011 Sprint Cup champion | |||
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Tony Stewart Points: 2,403; Wins: 5 Behind first: -- Last race: First at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 5-9-19 Avg. finish: 12.0 |
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| Best of the rest | |||
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Carl Edwards Points: 2,403; Wins: 1 Behind first: -- Last race: Second at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 1-19-26 Avg. finish: 9.3 |
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Kevin Harvick Points: 2,345; Wins: 4 Behind first: -58 Last race: Eighth at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 4-9-19 Avg. finish: 11.5 |
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Matt Kenseth Points: 2,330; Wins: 3 Behind first: -73 Last race: Fourth at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 3-12-20 Avg. finish: 12.2 |
2 |
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Brad Keselowski Points: 2,319; Wins: 3 Behind first: -84 Last race: 20th at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 3-10-14 Avg. finish: 14.8 |
1 |
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Jimmie Johnson Points: 2,304; Wins: 2 Behind first: -99 Last race: 32nd at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 2-14-21 Avg. finish: 11.9 |
1 |
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Points: 2,290; Wins: 0 Behind first: -113 Last race: 11th at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 0-4-12 Avg. finish: 14.5 |
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Jeff Gordon Points: 2,287; Wins: 3 Behind first: -116 Last race: Fifth at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 3-13-18 Avg. finish: 13.0 |
3 |
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Denny Hamlin Points: 2,284; Wins: 1 Behind first: -119 Last race: Ninth at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 1-5-14 Avg. finish: 16.0 |
1 |
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Ryan Newman Points: 2,284; Wins: 1 Behind first: -119 Last race: 12th at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 1-9-17 Avg. finish: 14.0 |
1 |
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Kurt Busch Points: 2,262; Wins: 2 Behind first: -141 Last race: 34th at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 2-8-16 Avg. finish: 14.6 |
3 |
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Kyle Busch Points: 2,246; Wins: 4 Behind first: -157 Last race: 23rd at Homestead Wins-Top 5s-Top 10s: 4-14-18 Avg. finish: 13.0 |
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