The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is coming off of it’s last bye week of the year. In the off week however the NASCAR Nationwide Series kept us on the edge of our seats with a thrilling photo finish at Montreal. However this week is a totally different beast as NASCAR rolls into one of the fastest tracks on the circuit Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Emory Health Care 500.

Here are five things to keep an eye on this weekend.

Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

1. Harvick and Gordon Have Clinched Their Spots In Chase, Who’s Next?

Nine of the ten remaining spots in the chase can be clinched this weekend, but none of the drivers in those spots are quite locked in just yet. One slip up and they could be facing elimination themselves, as Jamie McMurray among others are beginning to breathe down the necks of those currently inside the top-12.

Here are this weekends clinching scenarios (Finishing Position a driver needs without leading a lap to clinch):

Kyle Busch – 40th or better (No laps led)

Carl Edwards – 21st or better (No laps led)

Denny Hamlin – 20th or better (No laps led)

Tony Stewart – 19th or better (No laps led)

Jeff Burton – 17th or better (No laps led)

Matt Kenseth – 15th or better (No laps led)

Jimmie Johnson – 10th or better (No laps led)

Kurt Busch – 9th or better (No laps led)

Greg Biffle – 4th or better (No laps led)

Clint Bowyer is the only driver currently inside the top-12 in the standings who cannot seal his spot this week. Also don’t forget these drivers must still push for victories in these last two races before the chase, because when the chase begins the drivers will be seeded by their total of victories on the season.

Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

2. Atlanta Is Historically A “Photo Finish” Track

In 1997 Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured to it’s current layout, and since then the track has played host to three of the closest finishes in NASCAR history.

The track has been compared to a rubber band. At points the lead stretches out, but by the end it compresses back and the race is on. Considering the Nationwide Series just had a photo finish last week in Montreal, it is conceivable that we could be treated to the same thing this weekend.

Here are three of the notable photo finishes at Atlanta:

2000 Cracker Barrel 500 – Dale Earnhardt defeated Bobby Labonte by just 0.010 of a second.

2001 Cracker Barrel 500 – Kevin Harvick edged Jeff Gordon narrowly by 0.006 of a second for his first career win.

2005 Golden Corral 500 – Carl Edwards got his first career victory by 0.028 of a second over Jimmie Johnson.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

3. Can A “Fan Favorite” Driver Finally Win?

So far in 2010 five of the most popular drivers in the sport have been shut out of victory lane. This is something that has gone kind of under the radar with some of the great racing we have seen, but through 24 races Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, and Kasey Kahne all remain win-less.

Can that trend turn around this week?

Here is a look at each driver’s career stats at Atlanta:

Jeff Gordon – 34 Starts, 4 Wins, 14 Top5s, 23 Top10s, 12.4 Average Finish

Tony Stewart – 23 Starts, 2 Wins, 8 Top5s, 13 Top10s, 12.0 Average Finish

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 22 Starts, 1 Win, 8 Top5s, 10 Top10s, 12.0 Average Finish

Kasey Kahne – 13 Starts, 2 Wins, 6 Top5s, 8 Top10s, 16.0 Average Finish

Mark Martin – 49 Starts, 2 Wins, 14 Top5s, 23 Top10s, 17.3 Average Finish

As you can see that each of the five superstars have won at Atlanta in the past. Maybe just maybe one of them can get off the schnide this weekend.

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

4. Will Some Drivers Help Solidify Their Plans For 2011 With A Good Run?

Drivers such as Elliott Sadler and Scott Speed have uncertainty heading into next season. If either one of them or the whole slew of drivers looking to land a ride for next season can perform well, it will go a long way to getting them into a car full-time.

The demand for Sadler may have gone up recently as he has shown what he can do in good equipment. He has had great runs in the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series driving for Kevin Harvick.

Sadler of course announced weeks ago that he would not be returning to Richard Petty Motorsports next season. Meanwhile Scott Speed still hasn’t officially lost his ride, yet all signs point to him being the odd man out with Kasey Kahne moving to Red Bull Racing in 2011, along with the announcement that Brian Vickers will be back.

If Speed shows some speed this weekend, could he possibly take over the 19 car next year? We’ll have to wait and see.

RubbingsRacing.com Managing Editor Chris Smith At The Spring Atlanta "Tweetup"

5. Big Announcement And Giveaways From RubbingsRacing At Atlanta

This weekend RubbingsRacing.com will be teaming up with Jeff Gluck of SBNation.com to have a tweetup. This tweetup is open to any and all NASCAR fans. During this tweetup there will be a huge announcement of a new member of the RubbingsRacing.com staff that will be very recognizable among race fans. Also included will be numerous giveaways including merchandise from Amp Energy and signed souvenir packages.

The tweetup will take place Sunday at 4:00 PM ET, at Gate 15 of the race track. Make sure to plan your weekend accordingly and spread the word!

If you have any other questions concerning this tweetup contact Christopher Smith on twitter, his username is @Rubbings.

By: Dave Thompson

Kyle Busch came out on top after a battle with his rival and series point leader Brad Keselowski to win the Food City 250 Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The two raced side-by-side for 10+ laps when Busch appeared to have cleared Keselowski but Busch’s car got a little loose and Keselowski made contact with Busch. Busch wasted no time and immediately retaliated send Keselowski into a spin.

Keselowski would go on to finished 14th. In his post race interview, Keselowski said stated “just hard racing man. I was going for it. I was on the outside, he was on the inside, and he got a great run though (turns) 1 and 2. He did a good job. He got up………almost cleared me and kind of took for granted that I would let him in line and I didn’t. That’s his right; nothing to complain about. We’re going to keep working on the Discount Tire Dodge for next week, the week after and every other week.”

Jason Leffler, Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edwards completed the top-5.

Kasey Kahne had a strong car early on in the race but his night ended on lap 81 when he, Justin Allgaier and Trevor Bayne tried to make it three wide down the frontstretch and into turn 1. Kahne was pinned to outside and forced into the outside wall. The right side of his car jumped the SAFER barrier and Kahne took a wild ride on his driver’s side down the track. Fortunately, Kahne was not injured.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who found himself a lap down early to then race leader Kyle Busch, rebounded for a 4th place finish.

Elliott Sadler had another solid performance for Kevin Harvick, Inc. this time in the #33 Rheem Chevrolet. Sadler, the polesitter for the race, led 26 laps and was competitive all night. Sadler said in his post race interview that the car was great but he may have used up the brakes late in the race and the car got a little too tight to keep pace with the 18.

To end the show for the evening, Busch provide the crowd with his traditional bow with an added bonus, his impersonation of Brad Keselowski crying. Some cheered the performance, others booed but as always Kyle Busch put on a great show on and off the track.

By: Dave Thompson

The IRWIN Tools Night Race first practice is complete at Bristol Motor Speedway with some definite surprises. David Gilliland shocked the field laying down the fastest lap early in practice and hold that top spot throughout the two hour practice session. Gilliland was a full second faster than the second spot with a speed of 120.543 mph. We will have to wait and see if he can maintain that level of speed during second practice and qualifying.

Another surprise in the second spot was Robby Gordon. He ran just nine laps in the 07 and parked the car, satisfied with his top lap speed of 119.529 mph. Gordon is in the #07 this week with Kevin Conway piloting the #7 this week. Conway was second to last in practice and although he ran 55 laps he was unable to improve on his fastest lap at 115.702 mph.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was satisfied with his car in practice but the team still plans to make some minor adjustments before the second practice. He capped his practice with a top speed of 119.470 mph and completed 80 laps.

Jeff Gordon finished fourth in practice. Gordon completed just under a 100 laps during the practice with a top speed of 119.455 mph. Look for Gordon to contend for the pole later this afternoon.

Rounding out the top five, surprising many at the track, was AJ Allmendinger with a lap speed of 119.254 mph. Allmendinger stuggled during the two hours practice session turning his car not once but twice coming out of turn 4. Despite his fifth position, Allmendinger seemed frustrated with the cars handling througout practice.

Other notables:

Jimmie Johnson, the spring race winner, finished in 7th position.

Team Red Bull had a great practice with Scott Speed in 9th and Reed Sorenson 11th.

March polesitter Joey Logano was 32nd.

One of the favorites this weekend, Kyle Busch was 28th.

Points leader Kevin Harvick finished 39th and battled a loose car throughout practice.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide teams invaded Michigan this past week, while the Camping World Truck teams tackled ‘The Lady In Black’. A lot of things happened, as is the case with any given race weekend, but there are five things that stood out more than anything else.

Photo Credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images for NASCAR

1. Kasey Kahne, and Paul Menard have found a home for the 2011 season

This past week silly season, which has been in full swing all season long it seems, began to look a little clearer. Months of speculation on where Kasey Kahne would drive in 2011 finally came to an end, as it was announced he would be driving for Team Red Bull while he awaits his shot to take over for Mark Martin at Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.

Kahne has driven the No. 9 car since he came to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2004, but his departure has left a vacancy at Richard Petty Motorsports… and it’s not the only one.

Kahne’s RPM teammate Paul Menard also announced his departure from the team this week. Menard will be taking sponsorship from his father’s company (Menards) with him to Richard Childress Racing next season, as they try to expand to four teams again.

Now the only question is who will take their spots at Richard Petty Motorsports?

Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

2. Ryan Newman and Joey Logano will not be exchanging Christmas cards this year

During Sunday’s Sprint Cup series race at Michigan, Joey Logano got loose early on in the event which led to contact between he and Ryan Newman.

Newman, who is looking to make the chase, spun out, and had to work his way from the back of the pack to finish a disappointing 23rd on the day.

Following the race the two drivers exchanged words in a heated confrontation.

Logano attributed the incident to Newman’s habit to race people too hard, too early in the race. Whatever the case the two will most likely not be swapping Christmas cards, but it will be interesting to see if they do swap paint at Bristol.

Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

3. Roush-Fenway Racing is heating up heading into the chase

All season long the Roush-Fenway Racing teams have struggled, due to horrible handling cars, however there has been a turnaround as of late.

This all came to a head this week at Michigan when Roush-Fenway had all four of it’s cars finish inside the top-12 Sunday. Three of their cars finished inside the top-five. The team obviously took pride in wanting to do well for their car owner, who returned to the racetrack for the first time since being injured seriously in a plane crash, and they did just that.

Throw in the fact that Greg Biffle got the team’s first victory of the Sprint Cup season last week, and Carl Edwards has finished inside the top-ten more than anyone over the last six races, and what you have is a team that could sneak up on some people when the chase begins.

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t “chase worthy” this season

Time is winding down for any driver to try to attempt to work their way into the chase for the championship, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. was inside the top-12 just a five races ago.

Since then though the team has collapsed under the pressure, and has finished 19th or worse in every race. As a result Earnhardt has now plummeted from 11th in the standings all the way down to 17th.

Now that he sits 129 points outside the chase with just three races remaining… it appears that this will be another season to forget for NASCAR’s most popular driver.

Photo Credit: Mary Ann Chastain/Getty Images for NASCAR

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

5. Points leaders are where they are for a reason

This weekend it was a clean sweep for the point leaders in NASCAR competition. Todd Bodine took the checkers in the Camping World Truck race at Darlington, while Brad Keslowski was victorious in the Nationwide race at Michigan, and Kevin Harvick silenced his doubters by winning Sunday’s CARFAX 400.

What this really tells us all, is that these guys are in the points lead for a reason… they are the best this year in their respective series.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into Pocono Raceway for the 66th race at the storied triangular race track. This week the feature of ‘NASCAR Flashback’ is the 2001 running of the Pennsylvania 500.

It was an overcast day in Long Pond, Pennsylvania and everyone was hoping to just get a full race in. However in the end weather wouldn’t even be a factor.

Todd Bodine started the day from the pole in his No. 66 Kmart Ford, but after leading the first two laps Bodine would be shuffled to the back. He would eventually fall out of the race on lap 128 with handling issues and would finish last on the day.

Jeff Gordon, who was looking to capture the points lead with a good run dominated on the day. By lap 115, Gordon had already paced the field for 90 laps, and it appeared that he wouldn’t be denied on this day.

However it wouldn’t be that easy, as things would begin to get crazy on the track.

On lap 151 there was a huge pileup that took out Dale Jarrett, Kevin Lepage, Ward Burton and Jeff Burton. The melee was triggered when Ward Burton checked up for Stacy Compton getting loose, and his brother Jeff tagged him. According to Jeff Burton the incident was all his fault.

“Ward Checked up, and I didn’t get checked up. So I ran into the back of Ward and started it.” Jeff Burton said.

All of the leaders would stay out under this caution, but just laps later the caution would come out yet again with Gordon still leading as debris would fall from Dale Jarrett’s car.

Under this caution, a bit of strategy would take over that would shuffle Gordon way back in the pack to 21st.

Just about the entire field opted for two tires or fuel only while Jeff Gordon had already made the decision to take four tires. Johnny Benson stayed on the racetrack to gamble on fuel mileage. Benson’s gamble was quite the gamble, as people who pitted under this caution weren’t even guaranteed to make it to the finish on fuel.

We would go back to green with Johnny Benson as the leader. It took Dale Earnhardt Jr. a few laps to cut his way from third place on the restart to the lead, but the reason was strategic. Earnhardt decided to draft behind Benson for a few laps to help him save fuel to get him to the finish.

Earnhardt of course had lost his father on the final lap of the Daytona 500, and was just weeks removed from his dramatic victory in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. So the sentimental favorite held the top spot with just 31 laps remaining.

Earnhardt was actually beginning to build a little bit of a lead on Benson. When all of a sudden with 30 laps to go the caution would come out one last time, when Kurt Busch’s tire flew off of his car. This tightened the field back up, for one final shootout.

Earnhardt would maintain the lead on the restart, and would look to have an easy path to victory, until a new challenger emerged.

The new challenger was the 2000 champion Bobby Labonte. With 27 laps to go Labonte blew by his teammate Tony Stewart for third, and he would do the same to Johnny Benson with 21 laps to go. Labonte now sat in second-place, and was now the fastest car on the track, but he had a 2.4 second deficit to Earnhardt to overcome.

Lap-by-lap Labonte was chipping away at the lead as Earnhardt Jr. had began to start backing down his pace to save fuel. With eight laps to go the lead was cut down to just over a second, and then with four laps to go Labonte was right on Earnhardt’s bumper.

At this point Earnhardt decided to throw fuel mileage away, and the race was on.

For two laps Labonte raced Earnhardt hard, trying to force him into a mistake. However coming off of turn heading to the start finish line with two to go Labonte finally got around Earnhardt for the lead, but Earnhardt wouldn’t concede.

Earnhardt would give his car all it had into turn one, and actually fought his way back in front of the No. 18 car of Labonte. The two made contact and Earnhardt began to block for his life.

Labonte would pass Earnhardt for the final time the next turn, and would go on to his third career Pocono victory, and first victory of the 2001 season.

An ecstatic Labonte credited having a good long-run car for his win in victory lane.

“I tell you what man, It was uh, Good god it was tough there at the end. Our car was great all day on the long-runs.” Labonte said.

He continued by saying that sometimes you feel bad beating the better car for the win.

“Out running Jr. there at the end, you don’t want to beat some people sometimes when they have a good car, and he had a great car.” Labonte said.

Earnhardt made it to the line on gas and finished second. Following the race Earnhardt remained upbeat by saying that earlier in the race he would have loved to of just been third. He did mention that he thought he could hold Labonte off for the win.

“Well I thought we could hold him off there.” Earnhardt said. “I tried to block him, but he wouldn’t let me.”

 Tony Stewart finished third, Bill Elliott was fourth, and Johnny Benson somehow made his fuel last for fifth-place.

Jeff Gordon would rebound to finish eighth after dominating by leading 121 of the 200 laps on the day, and would take the loss in stride.

“It’s disappointing because we had a good car, but it show how competitive this sport is.” Gordon said.

Gordon dominated, but in the end Earnhardt and Labonte stole the show.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads back to Pocono Raceway for the second time this season. Even if the track isn’t known for overly exciting racing recently, there are more than enough storylines to keep you intrigued this weekend.

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

1. Hamlin Returns To Pocono Looking To Heat Back Up

Last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams visited Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin racked up his fourth win of the season, and looked to have a stranglehold on the entire series.

Hamlin would repeat the next week at Michigan for win number five on the season, however now five races later Hamlin finds himself returning to Pocono as a man trying to find his way.

Over the last five races, Hamlin hasn’t even sniffed victory lane. Finishing inside the top-ten just once, he has averaged a finish of 19th during this stretch. Heck it was even announced this week that he was one of two drivers fined by NASCAR for making disparaging remarks about the sport. Pocono couldn’t come soon enough.

Denny Hamlin has done remarkable things at the 2.5 mile triangular shaped track in his career, including a clean sweep of both events here in his rookie season. In just nine-starts Hamlin finds himself second on the all-time win list at the track, trailing just Bill Elliott who has five wins in 48 career starts.

Expect Hamlin to buck the current trend of mediocrity this weekend.

2. McMurray Clawing Back Into Chase Contention

Jamie McMurray has done what only two other drivers have done in the history of NASCAR… win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season joining Dale Jarrett (1996), and Jimmie Johnson (2006). In addition to that what he has effectively done is put himself right back in the thick of the race to the chase.

Going into the Brickyard McMurray was mired back in 18th in the standings and a whopping 181 points out of 12th. However after Sunday he jumped two spots forward to 16th in the standings, and is now 151 points back from 12th in the standings.

Don’t think about counting him out, because we all did last season when he was released by Roush-Fenway Racing, and since then he has gone on a career revival. Not only that, but moral at the shop must be extremely high, as they played a part in Chip Ganassi’s historic accomplishment as well.

Ganassi is the first car owner to win the Daytona 500, Indy 500, and Brickyard 400 all in the same season. And don’t forget that McMurray finished second in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this season. Had he won that, we’d really be talking history.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

3. Jimmie Johnson Uncharacteristically Inconsistent

Jimmie Johnson has five wins in 2010, but after the Brickyard he also has seven finishes outside the top-20 this season.

Johnson is of course chasing an unprecedented fifth consecutive championship, but if the team performs such as a yo-yo in the chase it could be good night for the 48.

Heading into Pocono Johnson has finished outside the top-20 three consecutive races, but what’s ironic is that this streak began after two consecutive victories.

Which Johnson shows up at Pocono?

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

4. Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Swapping Places?

Heading into the Brickyard 400 Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat 13th in the championship standings, while Mark Martin was 14th. However leaving the two have in effect swapped spots.

It is really strange when looking at the two drivers, who’s cars are fielded from the same shop, because when one does well the other is on the other end of the spectrum. This week was no exception as Martin finished 11th, while Earnhardt was swept up in an accident with Juan Montoya.

In fact just once this season have both drivers actually finished inside the top-10 in the same race. That race was Texas where Martin finished sixth and Earnhardt eighth. Can these drivers shake the odd voodoo, that hasn’t allowed them both to co-exist atop the scoring pylon this season?

I don’t know for sure, but if they want any chance at making the chase they better hope so.

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

5. Tony Stewart Poised For Victory Lane?

Pocono Raceway is special for Tony Stewart, as it was the scene of his first points paying win as a driver/owner in 2009.

Well Stewart not only finished third here earlier in the season, but he comes into the race on his annual ‘Summer Surge’. Smoke may actually be the hottest driver on the circuit, and he’s hardly being talked about. In his last nine races he has racked up seven top-ten finishes, and has climbed to ninth in the point standings.

Remember earlier in the season when he was way, way, way back, and we were asking what was wrong with him?

I’m sure he remembers that too, but he kicked it into another gear and is showing the hunger worthy of a Burger King sponsorship. I’d be willing to bet that his first win of the season comes very soon, if not this weekend.

By: Holly Blake / Dave Thompson

Jamie McMurray added his name to the NASCAR record books today by winning the Brickyard 400. He previously won the Daytona 500 in February. Only 2 other drivers had accomplished both in the same year, Dale Jarrett in 1996 and Jimmie Johnson in 2006.

The day began with rain showers that dampened the track and grounds of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  As is tradition though, the cannons went off at 7:00 a.m. sharp signaling the opening of the gates.  The rains subsided and the sun finally came out to allow the track to dry and the festivities leading up to the race were under way.  Heat had been the topic of conversation throughout the weekend and was no different at race time.  The humidity, while decreasing slowly was still very high and the track temperature was reported at 115 degrees at the start of the race.

Indianapolis Colts’ own Dallas Clark waved the green flag and the race was on but short lived as the first caution of the race was thrown before lap one was even completed.    As the field exited turn two, Kyle Busch lost control and clipped Sam Hornish Jr. in the right rear.  Elliott Sadler dove low to the grass to attempt to avoid the cars in front of him and collected Reed Sorenson, David Reutimann, Bobby Labonte, and Todd Bodine.    Sadler and Sorenson were more heavily damaged but both managed to return later to run laps.

There was a total of six cautions during the race – four of them due to debris on the track.

Hendrick Motor Sports as a team didn’t have a very good day at The Brickyard with Mark Martin in the highest finishing position at 11th.  Defending race winner, Jimmie Johnson managed a 22nd place finish after an extended pit stop on lap 118 to replace both front shocks put him a lap down to the leaders.  Jeff Gordon finished 23rd after struggling with tire and handling issues for most of the race.  And finally, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in the 27th place two laps down.  He started the race in the 17th position and had worked his way up to the 13th spot when he was caught in an accident with Juan Pablo Montoya.

Montoya started from the pole and led for 86 laps and seemed to be the car to beat.  He was dominant and had solid pit stops which got him back on track and kept him in the lead up until the last pit stop, when the decision was made by crew chief Brian Pattie to take four tires when several of the other lead lap cars chose to take two.   He restarted on lap 143 in the 9^th position.  On lap 146, Montoya slapped the safer barrier turn 4 and lost control of the car collecting Earnhardt Jr., who got into Marcos Ambrose.  The incident ended Montoya’s day.

Greg Biffle had a decent day finishing 3^rd.  He started in the 7^th position and ran in the top 10 and led 38 laps.   Post race comments from Biffle, “We would have won that race if we would have put two tires on and that’s just as simple as it gets”.

Richard Childress Racing continued to show consistency not only qualifying all three cars in the top 10, but also finishing all three cars in the top 6, with Kevin Harvick finishing 2^nd, Clint Bowyer 4^th, and Jeff Burton 6^th.   In the post race conference Harvick said, “We didn’t have a winning car, but Gil (Martin) gave us a chance to win by putting two tires on and giving us track position.”   Harvick went on to say they had a top 5 car all day but didn’t think they were as fast as the 16 and 42, and even the 1.

Harvick was asked if there was concern about the lack of wins not piling up like some of the other guys have done, yet the team is consistent. Do they feel confident competing in the chase?  His response was, “You know we’ve won a couple times this year, been in contention to win a few more. I didn’t see the 48 or the 11 today, so … you figure it out”.

Kyle Busch was the highest finishing Toyota with an 8^th place finish.  Despite being the cause of the first caution he was able to work through traffic and rebound nicely.

Post race comments from Busch were; “We had trouble on restarts especially through turns 1 & 2.  All in all we came back and bounced back solidly so that was good.  We needed a good run, it’s been a while”.

Kurt Busch was the highest finishing Dodge driver with a 10^th place finish. He started the race in 14^th.

Kurt Busch’s comments after the race were that the car was good early on and he came up through the pack.  Some damage on one of the restarts to the front and rear of the car, (he was hit from behind and ran into a car in front of him) causing enough damage that he was unable to be aggressive at the end.

“That’s probably the hardest 10^th we’ve had all year”, Busch said.

During the post race winner’s press conference, Jamie McMurray was asked (in summary) you’ve won Daytona and now the Brickyard.  At the end of the race what was going through your mind?  McMurray and crew chief Kevin (Bono) Manion had thought it was going to be a big deal to get on the pole at The Brickyard 400. He said he didn’t sleep that night. He ran 200 qualifying laps in his mind trying to get a rhythm down.  He talked to Manion, the next morning who also admitted not sleeping the night before. McMurray qualified 4^th.  He went back to the motorhome and talked to his wife Christy admitting he was torn up that he wasn’t going to win the pole.  She said, “Heck with the pole, win the race.”  And he did.

The 2009 Chase For The Sprint Cup Competitors. Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

There is a heck of a battle going on for the final spot in the Chase For The Sprint Cup, and we are entering a five race stretch without an off-week. It all begins this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

What we virtually have going into this pivotal stretch is eight drivers vying for three spots inside the top-12 in the standings. Pretty cramped huh?

These drivers are: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, David Reutimann, Ryan Newman, and Kasey Kahne.

Currently these eight drivers are separated by just 179 points. Edwards, Biffle and Bowyer find themselves inside the chase while the others are outside looking in, however a lot can change quickly in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

So I know what you’re asking who is in and who is out? Well let’s look to the past to see if we can get a glimpse into the future.

Over the next five races here are the career average finishes at these tracks for these drivers:

Carl Edwards, 10.66

Mark Martin, 11.70

Greg Biffle, 16.56

Clint Bowyer, 16.96

Kasey Kahne, 17.40

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 17.74

Ryan Newman, 17.86

David Reutimann, 24.14

So if the past holds true over the next five races for these drivers… what would the point standings look like heading into the final two races before the chase?

10. Carl Edwards, +164 points to chase

11. Mark Martin, +38 points to chase

12. Greg Biffle, +6 points to chase

————Chase Cutoff————–

13. Clint Bowyer, -6 points to chase

14. Dale Earnhardt Jr., -36 points to chase

15. Ryan Newman, -120 points to chase

16. Kasey Kahne, -126 points to chase

17. David Reutimann, -207 points to chase

As you can see Carl Edwards would look virtually safe with two races remaining according to past results, and David Reutimann would look like a huge long-shot… however every driver would still mathematically have a shot at making the chase with two races remaining. However as we all know things don’t always go according to plan.

This is where we have to begin weighing in the intangibles. Here are my thoughts on what will happen the rest of the way to the chase.

Carl Edwards has led just four laps all season long, has had two DNFs (Did Not Finish), and lets not forget that Chicago was just his second top-five finish of the entire season.

Throw into the mix that Carl is hated by Kevin Harvick, and has had run-ins with Kurt Busch, and of course the on-going saga with Brad Keselowski and what you have is a pretty big list of people waiting in line to kick his butt. In my opinion that is not a good recipe when trying to make the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

Mark Martin has performed mediocre for the majority of the season when you compare 2010 to his monstrous 2009 campaign. However when you look closer at it, if ‘the kid’ can avoid trouble on the track he could sneak into the chase with the durability of Hendrick engines.

Don’t forget he and Kasey Kahne are the best of this group as far as top-five finishes go this season… each of them have five.

Greg Biffle is a true wild card in this entire deal. Not because of his talent, the guy can certainly wheel the car. However Roush-Fenway Racing has been behind the eight ball all season long, and just when it appears he has a good run going… poof goes an engine.

Biffle has ten, top-ten finishes on the season, but over the past three races his best finish is 16th and he has had two DNFs over the last six races. I don’t like what I’m seeing and if this trend continues count Biffle out of the chase.

Is there anyone in this field that has been unluckier than Clint Bowyer? Bowyer saw great runs mired at both Infineon and Daytona and as a result he sits just outside of the chase. However I see Bowyer overcoming and pushing his way back into the chase with ease.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been riding a roller coaster all season long. He is either really really good, or really really bad. Which Earnhardt will show up over these next five races? That remains to be seen, but the good news for Earnhardt is that he is coming off of his best four race stretch of the season before the debacle at Chicago.

The saving grace for Earnhardt is that he has been running at the conclusion of every race thus far this season. Call me crazy, but I think the 88 team will do just enough to make it into the chase this season.

Ryan Newman for the majority of the season was inside the chase, while his owner Tony Stewart was not. Over the past few weeks the two have virtually flip-flopped and now Newman is left wondering what has gone wrong. Good news: Newman got his first win since the 2008 Daytona 500 this year. Bad News: He will not make the chase.

Kasey Kahne has arguably been the best performing car from this entire group all season long… just luck hasn’t been on his side. He was sent nearly out of the track at Pocono on the final lap, and he had an FR9 engine expire on him at New Hampshire. If Kahne can bide his time, avoid trouble on the track, and the engine holds together he’s a lock in my opinion… but that’s easier said than done.

David Reutimann, the feel good story of the year… and last year. Reutimann is coming off of his second career victory at Chicago, and now finds himself in the thick of the chase hunt. However this is precisely where he was last year, when things fell apart. I like the guy, and his Michael Waltrip Racing team is getting stronger, but I think its still a year or two away from them being in the chase.

So there you have it I have Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne in the chase after Richmond heading into the chase. What’s your take? Who do you see making it in? Who will come up just short? Let your voice be heard below.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

The Lifelock.com 400 at Chicago started off very dull, and looked to be a snoozer. However things changed around quickly when the sun went down. Several of the point leaders had extremely rough nights, and we ended the night with an unlikely winner.

Jimmie Johnson has never won at Chicagoland Speedway, but his season has been all about firsts.

Already in 2010 he has won at Bristol and a road course for the first time in his career, and earlier this week he became a father for the first time.

Well after leading 92 laps early it appeared he would add another first to his season. That is until things went sour…

On a green flag pit stop Johnson missed the pit road entrance, and from there he never really rebounded.

Johnson would get spun on lap 136 when Martin Truex Jr. took the air off of his spoiler. Johnson’s shot at the win ended not long after that when he cut a tire down and slapped the wall. Johnson would go on to finish 25th.

Johnson’s misfortunes handed the lead over to polesitter Jamie McMurray, who would hold the top spot for 72 circuits, until Jeff Gordon snagged the lead away. Gordon would hold the lead up until David Reutimann blew past him with 55 laps to go.

Reutimann wouldn’t look back and would cruise to his second career Sprint Cup Series victory.

This is sweet redemption for Reutimann, who got his first victory by virtue of mother nature. With this victory he can now silence all of the naysayers.

“I felt like there was a cloud over it (His first win), no pun intended, but a dark cloud hanging over our head with that win at the 600. Everybody just says, Yeah, you guys won, but. Rodney Childers won me that race. He made the right calls. He won me the race tonight. We win and lose as a team.” Reutimann said. “Now I’m just wondering like, Okay, here you go, just leave me alone. We won the race. We did a good job. Everybody did a good job. Everybody around me worked together to get us where we are.”

Not only that, but Reutimann has now fought back into chase contention. With Seven races until the chase he sits 15th in the standings, less than 100 points out of the chase for the Sprint Cup.

Crew chief Rodney Childers was extremely emotional following the victory. He explained that even though the team struggled on pit road, there was a pretty good reason.

“You know, we struggled a little bit on pit road, but those guys did a good job. Our jackman had a little tumble on his bike this week, had a concussion, had to have some guy fill in.” Childers Said. “Anytime you have one person change, it kind of gets everything off kilter. It was just a fun night and David did a really good job. Probably had the worst interview ever after the race. He doesn’t know that yet.”

Carl Edwards came home just over a second behind Reutimann in second-place for just his second top-five finish of the season.Not only did he double up on his total top-five finishes on the season Saturday, but Edwards actually doubled his amount of laps led on the season (From two to four).

Edwards was just happy to be up front again.

“It’s nice. It’s great to run up front. These guys are so nice and polite up there in front of the race. You can race hard, but everybody — it’s just fun.” Edwards said. “Good to have a fast racecar. It felt good to be able to focus on little things like my line, how I was driving the car, pushing the pedals, rather than how I was going to stay on lead lap. That’s nice.”

Edwards continued by saying, “So hopefully we can apply what we learned tonight, go faster.  That’s a lot of fun.”

Jeff Gordon came up a little short of winning again finishing third. This race was the 600th career start for Gordon, which seems unbelievable. It feels like just yesterday the kid from California with the cheesy mustache was wheeling that rainbow painted car around the track.

As hard as it is to believe that Gordon has eclipsed the 600 starts mark, Gordon joked about how he feels old enough to of started 600 races for sure. Then he talked a little bit about winning again.

“Man, I do when I get out of that racecar and everything aches. No, you know, I mean, I’m still enjoying the sport very, very much. I feel like I’m way more comfortable with where I’m at in the sport today. That’s fun. I like that. I like all the years of experience that now I get to benefit from.” Gordon said.

“But, like I said, the only thing I’d change right now is getting some of those wins back. It’s tough. It’s very competitive. We know we got to pick up the pace. Yeah, 600, that’s a lot of races, that’s for sure.” Gordon continued.

Gordon was followed by Clint Boywer who now has jumped up into the chase, and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five.

In addition to Jimmie Johnson several other chase contenders had rough, rough nights.

Kevin Harvick, the point leader coming into this race had a dismal performance and had to take his car to the garage during the event due to a bad fuel pump. He would get the car back on track, but would finish 34th 16 laps off the pace.

Harvick still nurses a 103 point lead after this race, but this was not a shot of confidence for the team.

Kurt Busch had handling issues all night long. In fact at one point Busch’s team changed suspension parts under caution. Busch told his team on the radio that it felt like he was running a Nationwide car in this race. Kurt finished 26th two laps down.

Greg Biffle had a great run going, but his FR9 engine began to come undone late in the race. With 42 laps remaining Biffle’s engine expired and as a result he finished the race in 35th. Biffle explained that this is a huge hit to his chase hopes.

“We blew the engine. That is what happens when you have brand new product. There is a little trial and error.” Biffle said. “We don’t have a lot of miles on these engines. It seemed like we broke something in the valve train or something. It is unfortunate. That will hurt our chances in the Chase you know. We had a great car and coming into tonight I was really excited about it, so this is really disappointing. I guess tonight just wasn’t our night.”

The final chase contender who had a rough night Saturday was Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt had just worked his way to 11th in the standings last week after four straight great runs. Well his car was loose all day and night long, and he could only muster a 23rd place finish. As a result of his poor finish Earnhardt now has dropped to 13th in the points which puts him outside of the chase.

Two drivers who deserve a pat on the back after impressive finishes are: Paul Menard and David Ragan.

Paul Menard ran well all night long en route to a 10th place finish. Menard was excited that the team unloaded early in the week with a fast car, and they were able to capitalize on it.

“It was solid. We were very close when we unloaded and did some little things all through practice that helped.” Menard said. “We were able to run top-10 all night. It was pretty uneventful really but it was a good car and I am really happy with that.”

David Ragan was finally able to shake off bad luck that has plagued him the past few weeks with a 12th place result. According to Ragan his team is making some strides.

“Yes, we see it; I don’t know if everyone else sees it, but we do.” Ragan said. “Certainly our engineers and everybody back at the chassis shop and engine shop are working hard and we had the new Ford engine tonight. We’re making progress, but at the same time, everyone else is also making progress. It was good to see some Fords up there in the top 10. We’ll have the week off to think about this race and then we’ll head to Indy to try and get one.”

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

By: Toby Christie

There is a reason you must watch a race, not just look at the boxscore on Monday morning. That reason was shown Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

A quick look at the box score would show you that Kevin Harvick started first and led the most laps en route to his second victory of the season, but that doesn’t tell you anything about how he got there.

Harvick, along with the other lucky few who finished this race had to dodge several huge accidents, including a late 19 car pileup that wiped out over half of the field.

This race marks the last for Daytona’s current track surface which was paved back in 1978. Harvick, who has led the point standings for the majority of the season will now add 10 more bonus points to his campaign when the chase begins.

Kasey Kahne came home second followed by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-five.

According to Kasey Kahne slipping in oil actually kept him from being swept up in a lap 117 crash.

“I hit oil or had to be something on the racetrack because the car just incidentally spun, and I hit the wall, and other cars were doing it, too.” Kahne said. “So I kind of missed the wreck because of that, because we were slowed up, as well, so it actually worked out for us or I would have actually been in that wreck with McMurray and Ragan and those guys.”

Jeff Gordon finished third, but he just feels relief to be running near the front at the end of a restrictor plate race again. In fact the last time that Jeff Gordon had finished in the top-ten in a restrictor plate race was back in 2007.

“Man, I’m just happy to survive one of these restrictor plate races. It’s been a while since we’ve done that.” Gordon said. “We had a pretty good night, car drove good, especially on the long runs, and we avoided the big ones and got ourselves in a good position to win the race.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admitted after the race that his car wasn’t as good as he would of liked this week, but he is glad he has luck on his side for a change. Earnhardt with a fourth-place finish now finds himself 11th in the point standings and in control of his destiny as far as the chase is concerned.

Earnhardt jumping into chase contention came at the expense of his teammate Mark Martin, who fell out this week. Martin had a rough night, and was involved in two accidents. The second one, which was in fact ‘the big one’ sent his night up in flames… literally. The kid finished in 28th position.

Kyle Busch looked like the car to beat early in the event, but he made contact with Juan Montoya down the back stretch with 94 laps remaining. The contact sent Busch hard into the outside wall ending his night. Busch left Daytona frustrated with a 40th place finish, and after his crash he hinted that he had some help in the crash.

“I took myself out on purpose.” Busch said very sarcastically.

However a look back at the tape revealed that Busch indeed drifted up into Montoya, causing the incident.

Clint Bowyer was running up front on the final restart, but he was shuffled back quickly when the green flag came out. Bowyer of course came into this race looking for a spot in the chase, and he was right in position to grab one of those spots. However on the final lap Bowyer was clipped and sent spinning through the backstretch grass and out of contention.

Bowyer would finish a disappointing 17th.

Steve Park made his return to the Sprint Cup Series Saturday driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing, and I must say I am impressed. Park dodged all of the insanity through the evening, and brought the car back in 13th place without a scratch on it. This goes a long way for this team as they are usually on the start and park agenda.

Kevin Conway was also able to survive to get an impressive finish. The driver of the Extenze Ford grabbed his best career finish with a 14th place effort. Not only was this the best finish ever for Conway, but it was also the best finish that his team (Front Row Motorsports) has ever recorded between their three cars.