Ryan Newman's trouble on tracks like Atlanta have him falling out of Chase contention. Credit: Autostock

Chase Line: Texas

Newman barely hanging on

Ryan Newman can look back on the 1.5-mile tracks as the reason he isn't closer to the championship lead with three races to go.

Newman has been unbeatable on qualifying day at places like Atlanta Motor Speedway, but his car never seems to handle well for the first hour of the race, much less for more than 500 miles.

Carl Edwards has three wins this year. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Chase Point standings after Atlanta Pos. Driver Behind Finish 1. T. Stewart -- 9 2. J. Johnson -43 16 3. G. Biffle -75 7 4. C. Edwards -107 1 5. R. Newman -107 23 6. M. Martin -143 3 7. M. Kenseth -155 5 8. R. Wallace -257 37 9. Ku. Busch -260 36 10. J. Mayfield -310 38 • Official Results, click here • Official Standings, click here Chasers at Texas Driver No. W T-5 T-10 T. Stewart 7 0 1 4 J. Johnson 4 0 1 4 G. Biffle 3 1 1 1 C. Edwards 1 0 0 0 R. Newman 4 1 1 1 M. Martin 9 1 3 4 M. Kenseth 6 1 1 2 R. Wallace 9 0 3 4 Ku. Busch 5 0 1 4 J. Mayfield 9 0 1 2 Victory LaneCarl Edwards celebrates his Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 win Early troubleChase driver Rusty Wallace gets caught in a wreck on Lap 5 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Newman nailed the wall midway through the MBNA Bass Pro Shops 500 on Sunday, and he finished two laps down. He lost 44 points to leader Tony Stewart.

With two of the three races being contested on high-banked, 1.5-milers, Newman's team needs to fix the problem. Newman has been as good as anyone on the flat tracks, but even if he wins and leads the most laps at Phoenix, it won't help him much if he finishes 16th at Texas.

Wallace will have a hard time finishing better than eighth

Rusty Wallace had a good shot at a top-five points finish until his early wreck at Atlanta. As it is, he is more than 100 points out of seventh place, and it will be very hard to make that up in just three races.

I doubt an eighth-place points finish will bother Wallace very much if he can get a win in one of the final three races.

Wallace was pretty good at Texas in the spring, but his last true shot at winning is at Phoenix. Penske Racing has been one of the best teams on flat tracks, and Wallace will have a good shot at winning as long as he can qualify well.

Edwards' confidence sky-high

One might expect that Edwards is feeling intense pressure to rally and win the title, but his I-am-happy-to-be-here attitude will only help him close the gap.

It should be smooth sailing for Edwards from here on out. He obviously is going to be very tough at Texas and Homestead, but he won't have a problem with Phoenix either, since Roush Racing has always been solid at the flat one-miler.

Edwards was seventh at Phoenix in the spring. He is going to need help from those ahead of him in the standings, but I feel Edwards will finish the year within 100 points of the lead.

Anything can happen at Texas

Texas Motor Speedway is hard on motors and hard on bodies, and its ultra-fast, grippy surface makes it more venerable to pit strategy than Atlanta.

Five guys blew motors in the spring race at Texas, including Tony Stewart, but Joe Gibbs Racing's motor troubles were more of a first-half problem.

Ryan Smithson is a senior writer for NASCAR.COM. Chase Line appears each Monday for the remainder of the season. The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.