Tony Stewart is all smiles as the series heads to Kansas; his average finish there is 8.5 in four races. Credit: Autostock

Chase Line: Kansas

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

Edwards was the big winner at Talladega

Inside the Chase Point standings after 'Dega No. Driver Pts. Behind 1. T. Stewart 5,519 -- 2. R. Newman 5,515 -4 3. R. Wallace 5,443 -76 4. J. Johnson 5,437 -82 5. G. Biffle 5,421 -98 6. C. Edwards 5,419 -100 7. M. Kenseth 5,408 -111 8. J. Mayfield 5,407 -112 9. M. Martin 5,381 -138 10. Ku. Busch 5,339 -180 • Race Results, click here • Cup Standings, click here Victory LaneDale Jarrett celebrates his second win at Talladega Talladega tumbleRiggs goes for a wild ride and Rusty, Johnson collected UAW-Ford 500Catch all the 'Dega highlights with TrackPass Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Carl Edwards still is 100 points out of first place, but I never would have dreamed that he would have exited Dover and Talladega with top-10 finishes.

Edwards got very lucky at Dover when he got a much-needed caution late in the race, but at Talladega, he ran in the top 20 the entire day. It was just his fifth career restrictor-plate race, and his fifth-place finish was very impressive and very unexpected.

Five of the last seven races will be contested on 1.5-mile tracks, and that is where Edwards has excelled, and he has to feel good about making a serious title run.

Everyone in the Chase is expected to have at least one poor finish, and it's hard to imagine Edwards slipping before the tour hits Martinsville in three weeks.

Kenseth is poised for another run

It is scary to think where Matt Kenseth would be in the points without all his Dover problems, because Kenseth's run at Talladega kept him in the title chase.

Kenseth is going to be tough as nails at Kansas. He had one of the most dominant cars I've ever seen when he led the most laps at Chicagoland in July.

Talladega was the perfect place for Stewart

A lot of people signaled the alarm button when Tony Stewart finished 18th at Dover, but I still feel Stewart easily is the title favorite.

His car at Dover was mediocre, but it looked worse because we are used to seeing Stewart run in the top five every week.

It was fortunate for Stewart that Talladega was the next race on the schedule, because his runner-up run again gives him momentum for the stretch run.

I doubt he lost much momentum after Dover anyway, and his performance at Talladega solidified the No. 20 team as the best team on the restrictor plate tracks.

Kansas is a lot like Chicagoland, and Stewart drove a backup to a fifth-place run there in July -- and Stewart probably would have won that race if he had stayed out on old tires late in the event.

Stewart's riveting performance at Chicagoland was an eye-opener for those that thought Roush Racing was unbeatable on the 1.5-milers.

Wallace isn't done yet

E-MAIL •   Send Ryan your thoughts ...

I am sure a lot of people are ready to write off Rusty Wallace after his 26th-place run at Talladega, but I don't think this team has peaked yet.

Wallace is a lot like Edwards in the fact that Wallace has some very friendly tracks coming up. Wallace has been very strong on flat tracks, and since he is still only 76 points back, a win at Martinsville or Phoenix is going to go a long way.

The Charger has slowly gotten better at the 1.5-mile tracks, and Wallace has been adept at scoring decent finishes at those tracks this year.

I will be very surprised if Wallace doesn't lead a lot of laps at either Martinsville or Phoenix, and if he can get back on the consistency trail, he is going to be very close heading into Homestead.