There are only a handful of races left before we start the Chase, so let's take a look at who's up, who's down, who's in and who's out.
Who's in: Tony Stewart, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth.
Movin' on up: Greg Biffle hauled himself back into the Chase with a fine performance on Sunday at Indy. Mark Martin also put a little distance between himself and the cut line, moving up two spots to No. 9. Jimmie Johnson edged out his teammate Jeff Gordon to take over second place, and keep an eye on Carl Edwards, who's edging on up the standings despite still going without a win this year.
Bottoming out: Well, Kyle Busch has had a bit of a down year, but once the Chase comes around, he'll -- what? He's not in the Chase right now? Are you serious? (Stop laughing, haters!) Yes, the D00D is currently sitting 14th, more than 80 points out of the Chase. Ouch. He plummeted four spots, continuing the slow slide he's suffered all season long.
On the bubble: Busch is obviously the most significant name who's fallen outside the Chase in recent weeks; he now sits behind David Reutimann, and if someone had told you before the season that would be the case in August, you'd have spit hot coffee. Still, spots 6-12 stay within 100 spots of the cut line, and as we saw this week, you can drop in a hurry.
Outlook: Barring catastrophe, the top half of the Chase is secure, but from Hamlin on down, it's still anybody's race. One bad race, and you're on the outside. So nobody can sit still, and there are at least two drivers who are going to be extremely disappointed come Chase time.
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