Chasing the Cup

Gordon holds one-point advantage heading to Talladega

A glance at the 10 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup, in order of points:

Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images

• Points: first, 5,371
• Position change: plus 2
• Hometown: Vallejo, Calif.
• Age: 33
• Car: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet
• Crew chief: Robbie Loomis
• Best championship finish: 1st (1995, '97, '98, 2001)
• What happened: Started 21st at Dover, and his team worked on the car the entire race to grab third place.
• He said it: "I think top-five consistency, a top-five average, is going to win the championship. Ten guys is a lot of guys and somebody is going to get away without having trouble. If it's a guy who is finishing top-five or top-seven, then they're going to be real tough to beat," said crew chief Robbie Loomis.

Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch Donald Miralle/Getty Images

• Points: second, 5,370
• Position change: minus 1
• Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.
• Age: 26
• Car: No. 97 Sharpie Ford
• Crew chief: Jimmy Fennig
• Best championship finish: 3rd (2002)
• What happened: Busch struggled on long runs at Dover, but after starting 13th, managed a fifth-place finish. He's not putting too much stock in his standing, though, knowing Sunday's race at Talladega could change everything.
• He said it: "We're second in points by a single point, but I have a feeling that could change pretty drastically considering how these restrictor-plate races tend to go."

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

• Points: third, 5,353 points
• Position change: minus 2
• Hometown: Kannapolis, N.C.
• Age: 29
• Car: No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet
• Crew chief: Tony Eury
• Best championship finish: 3rd (2003)
• What happened: Earnhardt had handling problems late in the race at the Monster Mile and was eventually lapped. Still, he finished ninth.
• He said it: "Ninth? We finished ninth? ... Well, I'll take that. It keeps us close in the Chase and I think it's going to take a steady run of top-10s and top-fives to win this thing."

Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson Chris Stanford/Getty Images

• Points: fourth, 5,314
• Position change: plus 1
• Hometown: El Cajon, Calif.
• Age: 28, will be 29 on Sept. 17
• Car: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet
• Crew chief: Chad Knaus
• Best championship finish: 2nd (2003)
• What happened: Johnson was penalized for speeding on pit road, yet still finished 10th. He jumped one spot in the standings and trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammate by 57 points.
• He said it: "Ill definitely be looking for my teammates [at Talladega] because I know I'll be safer around them. They won't be taking chances. I'm certainly hoping the 24 is lined up behind the 48 to push me to victory."

Mark Martin

Mark Martin Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images

• Points: fourth, 5,314
• Position change: plus 2
• Hometown: Batesville, Ark.
• Age: 45
• Car: No. 6 Viagra Ford
• Crew chief: Pat Tryson
• Best championship finish: 2nd (1990, '94, '98, 2002)
• What happened: Martin was the second best car at Dover, never having the little bit extra to challenge for the win. No matter. He climbed two spots.
• He said it: "We've continued to have very fast race cars, and the team enjoyed one of its best days in the pits at Dover. We've come a long way since Daytona and we are just going to have to keep fighting and see what happens down the road."

Elliott Sadler

Elliott Sadler Darrell Ingham/Getty Images

• Points: sixth, 5,275
• Position change: none
• Hometown: Emporia, Va.
• Age: 29
• Car: No. 38 M&M's Ford
• Crew chief: Todd Parrott
• Best championship finish: 20th (2001)
• What happened: Sadler was also flagged for speeding on pit road, which halted what was shaping up to be a promising day at Dover. He ended up in 20th at the end of the race and failed to gain any ground in the chase.
• He said it: "I know there are a lot of teams in this chase feeling a lot of pressure but for some reason, our team isn't feeling any more pressure than we normally would. At Dover, we had a bad race. We lost 20 points alone because of the speeding ticket NASCAR gave me for running too fast on pit road."

Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth Darrell Ingham/Getty Images

• Points: seventh, 5,272
• Position change: minus 3
• Hometown: Cambridge, Wis.
• Age: 32
• Car: No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford
• Crew chief: Robbie Reiser
• Best championship finish: 1st (2003)
• What happened: The reigning series champion took the biggest hit of all chase contenders when he wrecked trying to enter pit road. He finished 32nd and plummeted in the standings.
• He said it: "We just need to go out this week and try to run up front. We need to stay out of trouble all day long and a lot of times that's a factor that's out of your hands, but we have to do our best."

Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

• Points: eighth, 5,264
• Position change: plus 1
• Hometown: South Bend, Ind.
• Age: 26
• Car: No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge
• Crew chief: Matt Borland
• Best championship finish: 6th (2002, '03)
• What happened: Newman did everything he could to get back in the chase: He won the race at Dover. Still, his climb back into it will be long and hard. He's still 107 points behind the leader and not too thrilled with Talladega coming up next.
• He said it: "I'd rather not have [Talladega] on the schedule, period. It's part of what NASCAR decided to make one of the final 10 and also decided to make it part of the schedule. We'll just take it for what it's worth."

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart Chris Stanford/Getty Images

• Points: ninth, 5,236
• Position change: minus 1
• Hometown: Rushville, Ind.
• Age: 33
• Car: No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet
• Crew chief: Greg Zipadelli
• Best championship finish: 1st (2002)
• What happened: Stewart started 23rd, finished sixth and lost ground in the chase. A week after a wreck intentionally caused by Robby Gordon derailed Stewart's championship hopes, the two tangled slightly on the track at Dover.
• He said it: "I'm not sure I'd call ourselves a favorite, but I think all you have to do is look at our record and you can probably tell where we're going to be. We're pretty consistent about where we end up at Talladega."

Jeremy Mayfield

Jeremy Mayfield Darrell Ingham/Getty Images

• Points: 10th, 5,214
• Position change: none
• Hometown: Owensboro, Ky.
• Age: 35
• Car: No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
• Crew chief: Kenny Francis
• Best championship finish: 11th (1999)
• What happened: Mayfield began the weekend by winning the pole and ended it with a seventh place finish. He's still got a long way to go: He's 157 points behind the leader.
• He said it: "We know if we dig down, we can and we will get the job done."