With only a handful of races left till the Chase, we're sizing up the competition -- who's up, who's down, who's rising and who's falling.
Currently in: Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle.
Movin' on up: Denny Hamlin, seen at right contemplating the nature of reality, edged ever closer to Kurt Busch in the No. 4 spot with a victory on Monday. Kasey Kahne and Juan Pablo Montoya further solidified their Chase positions by rising one and two spots, respectively.
Bottoming out: Bad news for David Reutimann, who lost three positions in his hunt for the Chase and now sits in 16th position. Further up the list, but still falling, were Carl Edwards, Mark Martin and Greg Biffle losing one spot and Ryan Newman continuing his slow slide by losing two spots.
On the bubble: Clint Bowyer just made things a whole lot more interesting with his third-place performance yesterday. There are now just 20 points that separate the four under-the-cut'ers -- Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Bowyer and Reutimann -- although they all sit at least 101 points outside the Chase. What this means is that these guys not only have to keep their eyes on their own finish but on each other. Going to be a nerve-wracking few weeks here coming up.
Outlook: I still think Kyle Busch is going to make it into the Chase, but who gives? I think Kenseth is the likeliest to crack and fall short, but with a bad race, as Reutimann showed, anybody can plummet. Carl Edwards, in sixth, is less than 100 points ahead of the cut line, and it only gets hairier from there. Keep watching ...
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