It’s a brand new race
. Time for Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart to awaken from their slumber. Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Martin can truly start cutting loose again. It’s time for Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne to find consistency.
Going into that first "Chase Race", here are the drivers who, in this observer’s opinion, are the men of the moment, the drivers with "mighty mo’" at their backs:
The Big 10
#10- Greg Biffle (ranked 9th last week)- While his 13th place run at Richmond was less than awe-inspiring, it may surprise you to find out "The Biff" has an average finish of 10.4 over his last five races. Neither he nor teammate Carl Edwards can be taken that seriously in the Chase, BUT weren’t we saying that last year, just before Biffle ran off with two wins?
#9- Kasey Kahne (ranked 4th last week)- It’s good to have old
"Triple K" back in the Chase again, but it would be easier to be more excited if he were a little more consistent. The presence of the "cookie cutters" in the Chase work to Kahne’s advantage, he just needs to even it out a little more.
#8- Ryan Newman (ranked 10th last week)- Hail, hail to the "Rocketman." After a lousy stretch of races, he’s come back to life with a pair of top 10s. Do I think he’ll win? No- but I do think he is the winless driver most likely to win in the Chase.
#7- Kurt Busch (unranked last week)- Busch’s presence bumps Juan Pablo Montoya out of the top 10. How he runs at a place where he’s strong like New Hampshire will tell us how long the "Blue Deuce" stays in serious contention. Lately, it’s been one up, one down. Kurt won’t be able to run with the big dogs with a record like that.
#6- Tony Stewart (ranked 5th last week)- Before you get you knickers in a twist, remember we’re talking about "Mr. Right Now" as opposed to "Mr. Right." I always get nervous when a team starts dinking around right before the playoffs. Oh, he should be there all right, but at the moment, the "Rushville Rocket" isn’t sailing as fast as his counterparts.
#5- Jimmie Johnson (ranked 8th last week)- Remember what I said about Stewart, same deal for Johnson. In 5 out of his last 6 races, Johnson has finished outside the top 10. Those aren’t winning habits. It’s lunch pail time now. While still being the man to beat, he’ll have more competition than he’s ever had.
#4- Jeff Gordon (ranked 7th last week)- He’s good this season, but is he good enough? If "Big Daddy" is, then its’s going to be a fun, 5-man battle for the title from where I sit now. Gordon’s in the mix for sure. With all the years where he’s won lots of races and come up short (1996 & 2007 come to mind) wouldn’t it be odd if Gordon won the Chase with just one win for the season? I don’t THINK that will happen, however, truth is stranger than fiction.
#3- Mark Martin (ranked 3rd last week)- It will be interesting to see how Martin runs now that he’s in. The equipment is there, the skill is there, but what about the luck? What about that killer instinct? Though they’re teammates, I believe Gordon and Johnson would run Martin off the road to win a championship. History says Martin wouldn’t. A lot of upcoming tracks play to his strengths, but he’ll have to be good every week, so much so that a bad run at a wild card track like Talladega wouldn’t throw him off.
#2- Brian Vickers (ranked 2nd last week)- Of his last nine races, Vickers has produced seven top tens. The trick with guys like Vickers and JPM is not letting themselves be satisfied with just making it. What has started must be finished. What Vickers has started is quite impressive though.
#1- Denny Hamlin (ranked 1st last week)- Six straight top 10s 
and two recent victories is how you get someone’s attention. Hamlin has come to crash the party once thought to be the exclusive company of Stewart, Johnson and Gordon. Add Martin and this kid to the mix, and we may just have some fun this year.
FALLING OFF THE PACE
Juan Pablo Montoya gets dinged for his pedestrian performance at Richmond and he’s also the victim of the numbers game, as I felt Kurt Busch raced his way back in to the "Big Ten." Like Martin, like some of the others, Montoya can have some fun now. Now we’ll see what he’s really got.
DISTANT THUNDER
The big 10 is not the exclusive property of the Chase guys. Kyle Busch will not simply go away and may break his way back into this top ten with more runs like he had last week. Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer have had some real moments lately.
PHOTO CREDITS- JPM leads at Indy by Jamie Squire/ Getty Images. Kahne by Jason Smith/ Getty Images for NASCAR. Johnson’s win at Dover by Nick Laham/ Getty Images. Hamlin by Todd Watshaw/ Getty Images.
