DRIVER: Carl Edwards
CHASE POINTS: tied for first, 5220
CAR: No. 99 Office Depot Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 8
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (spring 2007)
LAST WEEK: Edwards took advantage of points leader Kyle Busch's struggles, taking third-place behind teammate Greg Biffle. Not bad for a driver who admits his car was "terrible" in practice. Has plenty of momentum heading to Dover, where he finished second in the spring race.
CHASE CHATTER: "It's a huge relief to have finished this race without any issues," Edwards said. "My guys did awesome."
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DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson
CHASE POINTS: tied for first, 5220
CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 13
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (3 times)
LAST WEEK: The hard-charging Johnson appeared ready to win his third straight race, leading 96 laps in New Hampshire. A couple of late cautions, however, bunched the field and opened the door for Biffle to slip by with 12 laps remaining.
CHASE CHATTER: "The last three or four months we've been making a lot of progress," Johnson said. "At Brickyard we were able to show that when we get it right, we can go out and race for these wins and in some cases do it in a dominating fashion. So the million-dollar question is: Can we do it during this final 10 (races) and over a long enough period of time during this final 10 to be the champions?"
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DRIVER: Greg Biffle
CHASE POINTS: third, -30
CAR: No. 16 3M Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 6
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 12
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (spring 2005)
LAST WEEK: This year's Clint Bowyer? Biffle stunned the field in New Hampshire, sweeping by Johnson for the lead to pick up his first win of the season to surge from ninth to third in the standings. The schedule gets friendly too. He'll soon head back to Kansas, his last victory before winning at New Hampshire.
CHASE CHATTER: "I felt like we were a definite threat for the Chase if we made it because of the momentum we've had and how good the (Chase) race tracks are for me," Biffle said. "There were some that I was a little nervous about, and one was Loudon. We've gotten through the one a little better than I expected, which is here, so I feel like we're definitely the dark horse."
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DRIVER: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
CHASE POINTS: tied for fourth, -50
CAR: No. 88 AMP Energy-National Guard Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 17
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (spring 2001)
LAST WEEK: Steady as usual, Earnhardt ran up front most of the day, leading twice for 79 laps but couldn't bring it down the stretch on his way to a fifth-place finish, his ninth top-five this season. Heads to a track at Dover where he hasn't won in seven years.
CHASE CHATTER: "I told Dale Jr. before the race in New Hampshire if he finishes fifth every week from here on out, we'll be sitting at the head table," crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said.
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DRIVER: Jeff Burton
CHASE POINTS: tied for fourth, -50
CAR: No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
TEAM: Richard Childress Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 29
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (fall 2006)
LAST WEEK: Fell back a little early, but looked strong on long green-flag runs on his way to a fourth-place finish in New Hampshire. Just another day in the office for one of the Sprint Cup's most consistent drivers.
CHASE CHATTER: "It's just too early to be, you know, deciding who is going to win, and who is not going to win," Burton said. "It's just way too early."
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DRIVER: Denny Hamlin
CHASE POINTS: sixth, -72
CAR: No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None.
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 5
BEST DOVER FINISH: 4th
LAST WEEK: Concerns about fuel mileage forced Hamlin to pit off sequence at New Hampshire, and a pair of late cautions allowed the field to make late fuel stops. Hamlin finished ninth, his 15th top-10 this season.
CHASE CHATTER: "It's a tough way to end, but we got a top-10 and that keeps us right in the middle of the Chase," Hamlin said. "We know we can build on that and we know we are running really well right now."
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DRIVER: Tony Stewart
CHASE POINTS: seventh, -73
CAR: No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 19
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (twice)
LAST WEEK: "Smoke" gained a spot despite an erratic day in New Hampshire. Was among the leaders early, but dropped back after bumping into Johnny Sauter while leaving the pit box. His eighth-place finish means he's still winless on the season.
CHASE CHATTER: "I got a drive-through penalty that got us way behind," Stewart said. "We had some bad luck and then I made our problem worse with the speeding penalty. To fight back to eighth I'm pretty happy with that."
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DRIVER: Kyle Busch
CHASE POINTS: eighth, -74
CAR: No. 18 M&Ms Toyota
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 7
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 7
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (spring 2008)
LAST WEEK: Busch's first postseason start began with a whimper and a clang. A broken bolt on his front sway bar sent him to the back of the field early, and things didn't get any better when he spun out later in the race on his way to a 34th-place finish.
CHASE CHATTER: "(Crew chief) Steve (Addington) and all the guys have given me great stuff this year, so one problem isn't going to deter me," Busch said. "I believe in these guys. Whenever we've had a bad race, we've been able to put it behind us the next week."
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DRIVER: Clint Bowyer
CHASE POINTS: ninth, -83
CAR: No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet
TEAM: Richard Childress Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 4
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 5
BEST DOVER FINISH: 8th
LAST WEEK: The last man into the Chase hoped to repeat his stunning win in New Hampshire last fall. It never happened. He muddled through and avoided a major mistake on his way to a 12th-place finish, but hardly looks like a threat to get crack the top five.
CHASE CHATTER: "I'll be honest, I'm disappointed to have finished 12th," Bowyer said. "I think we had better car than that. Our pit strategy didn't work out as well as we hoped. We'll be better next week at Dover."
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DRIVER: Kevin Harvick
CHASE POINTS: 10th, -86
CAR: No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
TEAM: Richard Childress Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 15
BEST DOVER FINISH: 3rd
LAST WEEK: Struggled early with control problems, and even worried that he wouldn't be able to keep the car on the track until the competition caution on lap 35. Managed to fight the car to a 10th-place finish.
CHASE CHATTER: "(Crew chief) Todd (Berrier) and the guys kept working on our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet all race long, but we just couldn't quite get it where we needed to be," Harvick said. "We were in trouble on the restarts. It is a top-10 but it is not what we wanted."
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DRIVER: Jeff Gordon
CHASE POINTS: 11th, -99
CAR: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 31
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (four times)
LAST WEEK: Gordon could get nothing going in New Hampshire, stumbling to 14th place. Needs to make a move quickly to have any shot at getting back in it, a daunting task considering he still hasn't won this season.
CHASE CHATTER: "We shake off every race that is behind us -- whether we win or finish 40th," Gordon said. "We are a dangerous organization and we enter each race thinking we can win. And that's what we hope to do at Dover." ------
DRIVER: Matt Kenseth
CHASE POINTS: 12th, -177
CAR: No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER DOVER STARTS: 19
BEST DOVER FINISH: 1st (spring 2006)
LAST WEEK: Kenseth entered the Chase saying he wasn't sure if he could be competitive. He wasn't in New Hampshire, struggling in the middle of the field before being taken out in a crash on his way to a 40th-place finish and his first DNF of the season.
CHASE CHATTER: "We just really have to approach it one week at a time and work as hard as we can every week to get our cars better," Kenseth said. "If we can get our cars better and run up front, most of the time things like this won't happen."
Bowyer at ease headed into final qualifying race
Official: Estoyanoff Agrees Terms With Panionios
Biffle the unheralded driver lurking in top 10
