A glance at the 12 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship heading into this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway (in order of points):
DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson
CHASE POINTS: first, 5,575
CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 13
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 1st (Fall 2006)
LAST WEEK: The two-time defending champion proved he's still the man to beat, leaping into first-place with a victory at Kansas, his fifth of the season.
CHASE CHATTER: "I wish we could say we were holding out and waiting for this part of the season, but we've been so far behind that we've just been playing catch-up and things have come together at the right times," Johnson said.
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DRIVER: Carl Edwards
CHASE POINTS: second, -10
CAR: No. 99 Office Depot Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 13
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 5th
LAST WEEK: Went for broke during the final lap of last week's race in Kansas, trying to pass Jimmie Johnson on the apron only to slide up the track and into the wall. Recovered quickly to finish second.
CHASE CHATTER: "It was very frustrating finishing second," Edwards said. "We just did the best we could. Wins here feel so good just because of how many people come here that I know and grew up with."
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DRIVER: Greg Biffle
CHASE POINTS: third, -30
CAR: No. 16 3M Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None.
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 11
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 13th
LAST WEEK: Proved he's in it to win it, finishing a strong third behind Johnson and Edwards at Kansas. Heads to a track, however, where he's struggled during his Sprint Cup career.
CHASE CHATTER: "At the end there, it felt like Dover all over again, me and Jeff Gordon fighting for third and fourth place," Biffle said. "It was a pretty hard-fought battle, but I ended up getting by him on the last lap going to the stripe."
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DRIVER: Jeff Burton
CHASE POINTS: fourth, -121
CAR: No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
TEAM: Richard Childress Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None.
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 29
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 3rd
LAST WEEK: Another top-10, his 15th of the season, but has steadily lost ground to the top three during the first three weeks of the Chase. Needs to find some magic at a track where he has yet to win during his long career.
CHASE CHATTER: "We just have to find a way to make some speed," Burton said. "Mile-and-a-half tracks have been our weak point. When they drop the green (flag) with 40 laps to go, it just kills us."
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DRIVER: Kevin Harvick
CHASE POINTS: fifth, -136
CAR: No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
TEAM: Richard Childress Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 15
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 2nd
LAST WEEK: Notched his ninth straight top-10 with a sixth-place finish at Kansas and remains one of the Chase's most pleasant surprises. Will need to get it going quickly, however, if he wants to make any kind of charge at the top.
CHASE CHATTER: "We just need to find one more small thing and I think we could grab a win," Harvick said. "We are running solid week-in and week-out and we still have the front-runners in our sights."
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DRIVER: Jeff Gordon
CHASE POINTS: sixth, -143
CAR: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 31
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 1st (six times)
LAST WEEK: Remained winless in 2008 after fourth-place finish at Kansas, but crept up another two spots in the Chase race despite battling a serious head cold all weekend.
CHASE CHATTER: "We didn't have enough for those leaders, but we had a really solid and strong effort," Gordon said. "We were racing all the guys we're racing in the Chase anyway, so it's just all about solid performances and trying to get that win."
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DRIVER: Clint Bowyer
CHASE POINTS: seventh, -164
CAR: No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet
TEAM: Richard Childress Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 5
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 9th
LAST WEEK: Slipped a spot after 12th-place finish at Kansas, thanks in part to a costly speeding violation on pit road that dropped him back to 16th on a restart with less than 50 laps remaining.
CHASE CHATTER: "I just kept making mistakes all day long; guess I sped off of pit road there at the end and pretty much ruined our chances at a good finish," Bowyer said. "The Jack Daniel's Chevrolet was fast. We tried hard and dug deep but the driver kept making mistakes."
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DRIVER: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
CHASE POINTS: eighth, -190
CAR: No. 88 AMP Energy-National Guard Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 17
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 1st (five times)
LAST WEEK: Earnhardt Jr. picked up a spot in the Chase race, but still finished behind nine other Chase drivers on his way to 13th at Kansas.
CHASE CHATTER: "I think an average driver would have finished about 35th," Earnhardt Jr. said, jokingly. "I told my guys that. I don't know, we had fun regardless. The car wasn't that good. We just made the best of it."
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DRIVER: Matt Kenseth
CHASE POINTS: ninth, -192
CAR: No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 17
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 3rd
LAST WEEK: The guy who said he wondered if he could even be competitive in the Chase has his answer. His second straight top-5 shows the Roush Fenway formula is working.
CHASE CHATTER: "With 10 races to go in the Chase and being so far behind from New Hampshire, you just can't afford to have any mistakes," Kenseth said. "We'll just move on from here and dig hard next week, and try to get 'em again."
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DRIVER: Denny Hamlin
CHASE POINTS: 10th, -243
CAR: No. 11 FedEx Toyota
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 5
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 3rd
LAST WEEK: Got back on track a little bit with an 11th-place finish at Kansas, working his way through the field after qualifying 30th.
CHASE CHATTER: "We fought handling all day, but made gains and to finish 11th makes for an OK day," Hamlin said. "It's not what we needed to fight for a championship but for the day we'll take it, hopefully put it behind us and look ahead to Talladega."
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DRIVER: Tony Stewart
CHASE POINTS: 11th, -255
CAR: No. 20 Home Depot Toyota
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 4.
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 19
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 2nd (six times)
LAST WEEK: Pretty much removed himself from the Chase race with a 40th-place finish at Kansas. Got tangled up with Brian Vickers on lap 191 and damaged the splitter, losing valuable laps while it was fixed.
CHASE CHATTER: "We've just not had any luck all year," Stewart said. "It seems like the races that we do get ourselves in good position, then toward the end something bad happens and we get out of that position."
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DRIVER: Kyle Busch
CHASE POINTS: 12th, -311
CAR: No. 18 M&Ms Toyota
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 7
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: 1st (spring, 2008)
LAST WEEK: His Chase woes continued with a 28th-place finish at Kansas, as fuel pressure and handling problems made the going rough. The once seemingly invincible Busch is now just playing out the string.
CHASE CHATTER: "It was just really inconsistent," Busch said. "Sometimes it was loose, sometimes it was tight. I couldn't get it to turn in the center of the corner and it just turned into a long day."
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