NEXTEL CUP

Chase Field May Be Its Strongest Yet

By TONY FABRIZIO The Tampa Tribune

Published: Sep 10, 2007

RICHMOND, VA. - Kyle Busch tapped into his reserve of dry wit when asked who should be favored in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship.

"If you asked the fans, it's Dale [Earnhardt] Jr., even though he's not in," he cracked.

Earnhardt didn't make it, so no matter how hard the throngs of red-cooler-carrying fans pull for him during the final 10 races, he won't have a shot at the championship.

But of the 12 drivers who did make the Chase field that was finalized after Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400, there are at least six who could win it without anybody considering it a major upset: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch.

Four of them are former Nextel Cup champions, as is fellow qualifier Matt Kenseth.

Kyle Busch, who joins his brother in the field, likes the guy who's having his most-consistent season since winning his fourth championship in 2001.

"To me, it's probably Jeff because he's finished in the top 10 in every race but four this year," Busch said. "He's just been there every single week. So he's going to be hard to beat."

Gordon has led the standings most of the year and had to give up his 312-point advantage over second-place Stewart when the points were reset for the top 12 drivers.

Certainly, he's one of the favorites. But most would probably point to defending champion Johnson, who earned his Nextel Cup series-high sixth victory Saturday night at Richmond and will start the Chase with a 20-point head start over Gordon.

"The favorite has got to be Jimmie Johnson," said Mark Martin, a three-time Chase qualifier who's running a limited schedule this year. "Those guys just seem like, no matter what happens, they can find a way to get a good finish. Somehow, some way, they can run like junk all day and all of a sudden, he's in the top 10 with 20 to go."

Teammates Gordon and Johnson also have the advantage of Hendrick Motorsports' slight superiority with the car of tomorrow, which will be used in five of the 10 races.

But then nobody would dare overlook Stewart, who won the Chase in 2005 and, after missing it last year, won three of the final 10 races. Stewart arguably is the most-gifted driver on the circuit and he's driving for a team, Joe Gibbs Racing, that has won three of the past seven championships.

And Stewart isn't the only threat from Gibbs. Teammate Hamlin has followed his sensational rookie season by racking up the third-most points through the first 26 races this year.

And then there's Edwards and Kurt Busch, who may be the biggest beneficiaries of the Chase this year. Both got off to slow starts, but both have been hot in recent weeks and get to start the Chase only 40 points behind Johnson.

Not yet mentioned are Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and veteran Jeff Burton. The only Appalachian States in the field are Martin Truex Jr. and winless Clint Bowyer.

"It's a really stout field," Johnson said. "You're seeing a lot of teams hit their stride. The 2 [Busch] has been strong, the 99 [Edwards], the 20 [Stewart], the 11 [Hamlin] has been consistent all year. This is going to be the most competitive Chase we've seen."

CAREER BEST: David Ragan finished a surprising third in Saturday night's race, but he wasn't the only rookie to score a career-best finish. Zephyrhills' David Reutimann topped his previous best with a 13th after managing to steer clear of the numerous wrecks that took place in traffic.