Evaulating The 12 Drivers in NASCAR's Chase For The Sprint Cup: Week 2
Another race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, another victory for Jimmie Johnson.
The dominance of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet has become old hat over the years, both in the points race and in individual races.
In the 62-race history of NASCAR's six-year-old playoff system, Johnson has won 19 events. That's nearly one-third of the events ran throughout the fall.
However, after Sunday's victory in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, is Johnson back in the saddle en route to another Sprint Cup Series title?
Let's have a look at how the Chasers stand heading into next Sunday's event at Kansas Speedway.
12. Clint Bowyer (-235 Points Behind Leader)
1 of 12
After losing 150 points and crew chief Shane Wilson (pending appeal) for six races due to rules infractions discovered following last weekend's victory in Loudon, N.H., Bowyer's chances to win a championship were given the figurative death penalty.
A 25th-place finish at Dover certainly won't help the team's morale, despite Wilson staying atop the pit box due to Richard Childress Racing's pending appeal.
The key for Bowyer the rest of the way is to play spoiler -- along with non-Chasers -- to his 11 fellow Chasers still in position to win.
One way the Emporia, Kan.-native can do this is a victory at his home track next Sunday, which would give him a career-high two wins this season.
However, if Wilson's punishment is upheld, it is unknown if likely replacement Scott Miller could replicate the success maintained by the team throughout the season.
11. Matt Kenseth (-165 Points Behind Leader)
2 of 12
The photo to the left describes Kenseth's Sunday drive at Dover. After missing pit road on lap 184, the left front tire blew out on the No. 17 Ford, ruining a top-10 finish.
Although the 2003 champion salvaged an 18th-place finish by the wave of the checkered flag, he's now almost a complete race behind the leader in the points race.
In order to stay in the hunt, the No. 17 will need a great run in Kansas next weekend -- a track where Kenseth has two top-5 finishes and three top-10 finishes in nine career starts.
10. Tony Stewart (-162 Points Behind Leader)
3 of 12
After two races, the No. 14 Chevrolet team is in great danger of eliminating themselves from the Chase.
Following a 24th-place finish in Loudon, the driver-owner Stewart finished 21st on Sunday, two laps behind the victorious Johnson.
Stewart is in the same boat as Kenseth -- "Smoke" will need an outstanding finish at Kansas to stay in the Chase hunt.
Unlike Kenseth, it seems likely that Stewart will be able to rebound, with two career wins and six top-10 finishes in nine career starts, including a victory in last season's race.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
9. Greg Biffle (-140 Points Behind Leader)
4 of 12
Despite a pair of top-20 finishes (17th at Loudon and 19th at Dover), the No. 16 Ford team is starting to fall back in the Chase -- mainly because those top-20 finishes aren't top-10 finishes.
It would be surprising if Biffle doesn't chart a top-10 finish at Kansas. Over the past six races in Kansas City, he has five top-3 finishes including a victory in 2007.
8. Jeff Gordon (-83 Points Behind Leader)
5 of 12
If the Chase for the Sprint Cup relied solely on consistency, Jeff Gordon would be a virtual lock to win the title this season. The four-time Cup champion has 10 top-5 and 14 top-10s this season, including a 9th-place finish at Loudon. Despite an 11th-place finish at Dover, he still finished on the lead lap -- something he has done in 26 of 28 races.
However, the component of winning is involved and Gordon is in danger of his second winless season in three years.
Gordon may have a chance to finally visit Victory Lane at Kansas, where he won two straight races in 2001-02 and has three-straight top-5 finishes.
7. Jeff Burton (-80 Points Behind Leader)
6 of 12
The wily veteran in this year's Chase field, Burton finished runner-up to Johnson at Dover. Being able to stay away from the drama between Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick may have been a blessing for the Caterpillar team, as the team racked up its second consecutive 2nd-place finish at the "Monster Mile."
Kansas has been a struggle for the South Boston,Va.-native over the years -- he has just two top-10 finishes in nine career starts.
6. Carl Edwards (-73 Points Behind Leader)
7 of 12
Edwards continued his second-half consistency at Dover, tallying a top-5 finish Sunday. In the last 11 races, the Columbia, Mo.-native has eight top-10 finishes.
However, Edwards hasn't done a victory backflip after a Sprint Cup race since Nov. 2008. He may be due for one at Kansas next weekend, as the No. 99 Ford has four top-10 finishes in the last five races at the track.
5. Kevin Harvick (-65 Points Behind Leader)
8 of 12The video to the left may sum up Harvick's weekend instead of a 15th-place finish that dropped him three spots in the Sprint Cup points standings.
After intentionally making contact with Denny Hamlin during practice on Saturday, "Happy" just started NASCAR's next feud in retaliation to comments made by Hamlin regarding RCR's behavior at the track.
While Harvick has two top-10 finishes in nine starts at Kansas, the bigger storyline will be what occurs when the No.11 Toyota and the No.29 Chevrolet get close to each other during the race.
4. Kurt Busch (-59 Points Behind Leader)
9 of 12
A fourth-place finish Sunday moved Busch into the respective position in the Chase standings. While Kyle continues to make headlines with his Nationwide Series dominance, Kurt is the Busch brother quietly putting together a solid run towards his second Sprint Cup Series title.
Busch will attempt to collect his first top-10 since 2004 at Kansas next week.
3. Kyle Busch (-45 Points Behind Leader)
10 of 12
While Kyle Busch broke a record he co-owned with Sam Ard with his 11th Nationwide Series victory of the season on Saturday, he failed to make much of an impact on the Sprint Cup side of things, finishing 21st.
The 30-point cushion he carried into the Chase is working to Busch's benefit, as he remains in contention heading into Kansas, a track where he has just one top-10 in six career starts.
2. Jimmie Johnson (-35 Points Behind Leader)
11 of 12
There isn't much to say about Johnson that I already didn't cover in the introduction.
He won the 2008 event at Kansas, which is enough to strike fear into the heart of the other 11 Chasers.
1. Denny Hamlin (Leader)
12 of 12
Hamlin continued the impressive model of consistency and victory that has carried him thus far in the 2010 season, notching a 9th-place finish at Dover.
In order for Hamlin to hold off a charging Johnson for at least another week, he will need to better his career-best 5th-place finish at the track that he earned last season.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
