Ryan Newman somehow managed a fifth-place finish at Dover, and now is only 12 points off the Chase pace. Credit: Autostock

Chase Line: Talladega

NASCAR.COM's Ryan Smithson gets inside the Chase for the Nextel Cup every Monday.

Newman the big winner at Dover

How Ryan Newman finished fifth at Dover is beyond me.

Inside the Chase Point standings after Dover No. Driver Pts. Behind 1. J. Johnson 5,362 -- 2. R. Wallace 5,355 -7 3. R. Newman 5,350 -12 4. M. Martin 5,341 -21 5. T. Stewart 5,339 -23 6. G. Biffle 5,339 -23 7. J. Mayfield 5,281 -81 8. C. Edwards 5,259 -103 9. M. Kenseth 5,238 -124 10. Ku. Busch 5,192 -170 • Official results, click here • Official standings, click here Chase reactionNewman, Kurt Busch, Martin and Wallace react to their runs Final lapsKurt Busch struggles and a green-white-checker finish MBNA RacePoints 400Get all the highlights from The Monster Mile Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

His car was absolute junk the middle part of the race, but with 100 laps to go, the No. 12 Dodge finally started to get dialed in. Newman and teammate Rusty Wallace were the two fastest cars on the track by the end of the race.

Winning the pole helped Newman considerably. He was able to get five bonus points by pacing the first 30 laps, and his prime pit stall at the head of pit road enabled him to get off and on pit road cleanly all day.

Newman could have easily finished 15th on Sunday at Dover, and that would have been a failure because he has to maximize his points before the season hits the 1.5-milers, where Penske Racing has been inconsistent all year.

Penske traditionally is not a strong restrictor-plate team, but Newman is feeling a lot better about his Talladega chances after qualifying fifth there in May.

No repeat for Busch

As unfair as it is, Kurt Busch won't be winning a second title in 2005, even though his team is running as well as anyone.

Busch led a staggering 193 laps Sunday. It was a performance that should have vaulted him back into contention, but when you get trapped on pit road during a caution, there is not much you can do about it.

Busch's 23rd-place finish makes him the only driver to start the Chase with two finishes out of the top 20.

Busch is now 170 points out of the lead. That isn't an overwhelming number, but he's simply got to pass too many people to get back into the top spot.

Wallace is consistent

I am about this close to jumping on the Wallace bandwagon. I am still not sold on him winning a second Cup title, but it will be hard to keep him out of the top five the way he is running.

Considering Wallace started the Chase with five Roush drivers staring at him, Wallace's steady runs the past two weeks have been remarkable.

Wallace hasn't won this season, but the only drivers who have more top-10s are Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. It is kind of shocking to see "16" next to Wallace's name in the top-10 column.

E-MAIL •   Send Ryan your thoughts ...

Johnson ready to streak

Jimmie Johnson's team is streak-prone, and that is bad news for everyone.

If you're Tony Stewart or Greg Biffle, Johnson is probably the last guy you wanted to see win at Dover.

Johnson famously got off to a lackluster start in last year's Chase, and he missed the title by a scant eight points despite a string of four wins in five races.

Hendrick Motorsports has just one car in the Chase, but I don't think that is going to hurt Johnson much. He still has three other guys to draw info from, and Kyle Busch's test notes from Dover was a big reason for Johnson's win.