Dale Earnhardt Jr. has dropped to 15th in the Nextel Cup standings. Credit: Autostock

Several drivers need to pick up the Chase

It's halfway to NASCAR's 2005 Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, and everything is not going as planned for some of the stock car sport's top drivers.

Under the playoff format adopted last year by NASCAR for its top series, the top 10 drivers and any others within 400 points of the leader after the 26th race of the season -- the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 10 -- will be eligible to race for the title over the final 10 races.

With the first 13 races in the books, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Bobby Labonte are among the drivers on the outside of the Chase looking in.

Earnhardt and Kenseth were both part of the inaugural Chase, finishing fifth and eighth, respectively, in the final standings. Labonte missed the Chase last year, finishing 12th.

Earnhardt, who swapped team members and cars with DEI teammate Michael Waltrip during the winter and then fired crew chief Pete Rondeau a couple of weeks ago, is probably the biggest disappointment of the early season.

Little E won six times last year, but has yet to visit Victory Lane this season and is 15th, 418 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt, generally considered the most popular driver in the series, has even been booed by fans.

But there's 13 more races, beginning Sunday at Pocono, to make up ground and get things going in the right direction. So Earnhardt, now working with veteran crew chief Steve Hmiel, remains optimistic.

"Yeah, as much as we've struggled, we're 15th and still less than 100 points from sixth," Earnhardt said. "I feel like we can make that up pretty quick; just need a couple good races here the next two or three weeks and we'll be right back in it.

Matt Kenseth has just two top-10 finishes in 2005. Credit: Autostock

"We don't think week to week. We're thinking long term. We're trying to do what's best for our race team, and what gives us the best chances of getting into the Chase for the Championship."

Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, has been an even bigger disappointment. While his four Roush Racing teammates -- four-time winner Greg Biffle, veteran Mark Martin, reigning champion Kurt Busch and newcomer Carl Edwards -- have excelled all season and reside among the top 10, Kenseth is 22nd, 617 points behind Johnson.

Kenseth has managed only two top-10 finishes this season, but one of them did come last Sunday at Dover, where he was seventh.

"I'm glad to be going into Pocono with a solid finish under our belts," Kenseth said. "It has been a tough season for us so far, with some of our cars not running great, and other times just having rotten luck.

Bobby Labonte has failed to finish six races, four with engine problems. Credit: Autostock

"Our focus is to consistently finish in the top 10 and work our way into the Chase. We're bringing my favorite car to Pocono to build on the momentum we created at Dover."

Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, is having an even worse year then Kenseth. With four engine failures and two crashes already this year, he is 29th, 720 points out of first. It's a deep hole, but things have looked up recently, with all three of his top-10 finishes, including a second-place run at Charlotte, in the last six starts.

"The guys have worked hard," Labonte said. "We've managed to get a little bit of momentum after the poor start to the year we had. ... We need to get our cars better and have a good summer stretch. We'll keep working hard and see what happens."

Among the drivers within striking distance of Chase eligibility heading into Pocono are another former champion, Dale Jarrett, as well as Jeff Burton, Waltrip, Kasey Kahne and rookie Kyle Busch, all within 158 points of 13th place Jamie McMurray, who is 376 points behind Johnson.