by John Wiedemann
7/31/2008 Six left, as the Chase contenders leave the dust from Indy behind, it’s on to another big flat track – Pocono. Who is in, on the bubble and out of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship? It was a strange race at Indy, and it caused some Chasers big problems.
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RacingNation.com Power Rankings – Race For The Chase Kyle Busch Kyle dropped a little but still has 642 points over the cutoff position. So, with six races to go he really just needs top twenty finishes to remain in the Chase. Don’t expect Kyle to settle for top 20s though. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale gained another 60+ points on the bubble at the end of the day at Indy. He even closed in a bit on Busch. Jeff Burton Burton finally got a top ten again. Obviously it wasn’t a typical race, but the result should make the #31 team and it’s fans happy. Jimmie Johnson Oh what a win will do for you. Jimmie moved up a spot in the standings, gained over 100 points on the bubble and added 10 points to his total for when the Chase kicks off. Carl Edwards Even though Carl dropped a spot, his run demonstrated how strong that team is. They should be licking their chops for Pocono. Jeff Gordon Adding 80+ to his point total over the twelveth spot, Gordon should look at Indy as a success. While not in the comfort level yet, a couple top ten finishes will go a long way to getting him there. Greg Biffle Biffle is another driver that helped himself out at Indy. Biffle added 60+ points to give him a 98 point cushion between himself and the bubble. Denny Hamlin The move of the week belongs to Denny Hamlin. Going into the Brickyard race Hamlin was on the bubble. His third place run and laps led moved the #11 up four spots and 91 points out of twelveth. Just goes to show you what a great run can do. And it should remind you how quickly points and positions can disappear as well. Kasey Kahne Kahne jumped two spots to ninth in the standings with a seventh place finish at Indy. His position is still precarious, but for now, he is safe by 79 points. Much better than the 12 point difference of last week. Tony Stewart Stewart remains in the tenth position and increased his point diferential to the bubble by a slight 12 points. His 23rd place finish coupled other drivers misfortuned leaves him with a very scary 37 point cushion. Matt Kenseth Just one flat tire dropped Matt 3 spots in the standings and cost him 30 points. The difference in Kenseth currently in 10th and Kevin Harvick in thirteenth is six points. Clint Bowyer Clint is back inside the Chase but he is on the bubble. Two points make up the difference between happiness and disapointment. Kevin Harvick Harvick has been playing at the bottom of the Chase and right now is out of it. At this point, the positions between tenth and fourteenth could change weekly. David Ragan Ragan moved up a spot after Indy and has closed to within 56 points of the top twelve. A strong run at Indy could bode well for a strong run at Pocono and a shot at returning to the Chase. Brian Vickers Problems under the hood at Indy were a huge blow to Vickers chances of making the Chase. Currently 132 points out of twelveth, it is now all out time for the Red Bull driver. Ryan Newman Newman picked up 45 points at Indy and if he continues to make up that kind of ground, he can get back in it. Ryan is 144 points out. If the Chase Started Now: 1. KYLE BUSCH 5070 2. JIMMIE JOHNSON 5020 CARL EDWARDS 5020 KASEY KAHNE 5020 5. DALE EARNHARDT, JR 5010 JEFF BURTON 5010 DENNY HAMLIN 5010 CLINT BOWYER 5010 9. JEFF GORDON 5000 GREG BIFFLE 5000 TONY STEWART 5000 MATT KENSETH 5000