NASCAR'S Nextel Cup Chase Update
The 10 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, in order of points standings as reported by AP:
DRIVER: Tony Stewart
CAR: No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet
CHASE POINTS: First, 5,519
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 5
WHAT HAPPENED: Stewart regained the points lead with a second-place finish at Talladega. He nearly won the race, leading 65 laps before losing a last-lap battle with Dale Jarrett. But it was as good as a victory for the Joe Gibbs Racing team because they successfully battled an overheating engine to salvage the day. He takes a four-point lead over Ryan Newman into Kansas, where Stewart never has finished lower than 14th.
SPEAKING: "At Kansas, we're back in control. There are still things out there that can screw up your day, but they're minimal when compared to what we dealt with at Talladega," Stewart said.
DRIVER: Ryan Newman
CAR: No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge
CHASE POINTS: Second, 5,515
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
WHAT HAPPENED: Newman finished a career-best fourth at Talladega and was briefly awarded the points lead until a NASCAR scoring change bumped him into second behind Stewart. His race was not without incident _ he was blamed for causing an eight-car accident that collected teammate Rusty Wallace and Chase driver Greg Biffle. Now he heads to Kansas, where he has one victory and a pair of runner-up finishes in four previous starts.
SPEAKING: "We're not feeling any pressure and we're not putting any pressure on ourselves. We said in the beginning of the Chase, 'Let's have some fun.' That's what we've been doing and it's working so far," Newman said.
DRIVER: Rusty Wallace
CAR: No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
CHASE POINTS: Third, 5,443
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
WHAT HAPPENED: Wallace had a difficult race at Talladega after his car was damaged in an accident that Newman started. He finished 25th and will close his NASCAR career without ever winning a restrictor-plate race. But Wallace still has a chance at the Nextel Cup title and is spending all of his time trying to do so.
SPEAKING: "We're in the Chase for the championship and I'm just focused. I'm working hard to get myself content (so) after the last race at Homestead, I can walk away going `I can feel perfect.' I'm still trying to win a championship, so when it's over they're just going to have to pull me out of the car and say `It's done,'" Wallace said.
DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson
CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet
CHASE POINTS: Fourth, 5,437
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 4
WHAT HAPPENED: Johnson lost the points lead by finishing 31st at Talladega. He drew the ire of his fellow competitors, who accused him of causing the first big accident just 20 laps into the race. After initially shirking responsibility for the accident, Johnson watched the replays and now takes responsibility for causing it. But he knows the issue will follow him to Kansas, and will try hard not to let it bother him.
SPEAKING: "I feel bad, I don't know what else I can say. I started a wreck and took out a lot of good cars. I'm taking the responsibility. It's not going to just disappear over the course of a week. I've just got to get in there and do my job and do the best that I can and try to get a couple weeks behind us and move on," Johnson said.
DRIVER: Greg Biffle
CAR: No. 16 National Guard/Subway Ford
CHASE POINTS: Fifth, 5,421
POSITION CHANGE: None
WHAT HAPPENED: Biffle's car was damaged at Talladega in an accident he accused Ryan Newman of causing. His team made enough repairs for him to return to the track and run for points, and he ended up finishing 27th. He can make up ground this weekend in Kansas, where he led 64 laps last season and finished third.
SPEAKING: "I like racing at Kansas, it's a nice facility and the track suits my driving style. We had some rough luck at Talladega and Kansas could be the race that gets us back on track," Biffle said.
DRIVER: Carl Edwards
CAR: No. 99 Office Depot Ford
CHASE POINTS: Sixth, 5,419
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2
WHAT HAPPENED: Edwards had a quiet day at Talladega, avoiding the many wrecks and popping up in the lead pack late in the race. He finished fifth to gain two spots in the standings. Edwards, a Missouri native, is looking forward to racing at Kansas, where he has just one career start.
SPEAKING: "It's my hometown track so it will be neat having so many family and friends there. I think we have a really good car for this weekend. We made it through what I think have been three of our biggest hurdles in the Chase so far, so the entire team is looking forward to going racing at the kind of track where we've been successful in the past," Edwards said.
DRIVER: Matt Kenseth
CAR: No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford
CHASE POINTS: Seventh, 5,408
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2
WHAT HAPPENED: Kenseth was in contention to win at Talladega before settling for third after losing the battle with Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart on the final laps. He was originally awarded fifth place, but a post-race review of the final lap bumped him up two spots in the finishing order _ and two spots in the points standings.
SPEAKING: "We are relieved to be finished with Talladega. It was disappointing, though, to lose the lead on the last lap and not end up in Victory Lane. Our momentum is good right now going into Kansas _ our cars have been strong, the pit stops have been fast and this whole team is just focused every week on getting the best finish possible," Kenseth said.
DRIVER: Jeremy Mayfield
CAR: No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
CHASE POINTS: Eighth, 5,407
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
WHAT HAPPENED: Mayfield had a quiet day, never really challenged and wound up an uneventful 14th. He dropped one place in the points. Mayfield has three top-10 finishes in four previous starts at Kansas.
SPEAKING: "We feel our two bad days are over with a 16th at New Hampshire and a 14th at Talladega. We got out of those with clean finishes so we need to move on. We just need to stay quiet and run our race," Mayfield said.
DRIVER: Mark Martin
CAR: No. 6 Viagra Ford
CHASE POINTS: Ninth, 5,381
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 5
WHAT HAPPENED: Martin's day at Talladega ended just 20 laps into the race when he was involved in the accident Johnson started. He'll try to make up ground in Kansas, but it might be difficult: He has finished in the top 10 just once _ in the track's 2001 debut.
SPEAKING: "We are looking forward to getting back out on the track and getting to race some. We didn't get a lot of laps last week at Talladega _ I don't think I even broke a sweat," Martin said.
DRIVER: Kurt Busch
CAR: No. 97 Irwin Industrial Tools/Sharpie Ford
CHASE POINTS: Tenth, 5,339
POSITION CHANGE: None
WHAT HAPPENED: Despite being involved in a single-car crash at Talladega, Busch's crew managed to repair his car and help him to an eighth-place finish. He'll need to do better at Kansas, and his team had a successful test there in preparation for it.
SPEAKING: "We tested at Kansas a few weeks ago with a new car and one that we've run a few times this year, and Kurt liked the one that we've ran a lot this year. We worked a lot on our setups during the test because we know this racetrack will get tight as the day goes on," said crew chief Jimmy Fennig.
