Hendrick Motorsports' title hopes took a hit as one-two punch Kyle Busch (5) and Jimmie Johnson (48) crashed at Loudon. Credit: Autostock

Cross' Words: Loudon

Jimmie Johnson on Sunday proved prophetic when he said on the TNT pre-race show that, "you can't win the championship today but you can lose it."

Kyle Busch and Johnson have joined the ranks of the other 33 drivers who will be spectators during the final nine races of the Chase. In short: Their championship hopes are kaput.

Inside the Numbers 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup Pos. Driver Behind Finished 8. K. Kahne -110 ? 9. J. Johnson -139 ? 10. Ky. Busch -146 ? 2005 Chase for the Nextel Cup Pos. Driver Behind Finished 9. C. Edwards -109 3rd 10. Ku. Busch * -142 10th * -- Started 8 of 10 Chase races. 2004 Chase for the Cup Pos. Driver Behind Finished 8. T. Stewart -124 6th 9. R. Newman -136 7th 10. J. Mayfield -142 10th

After separate crashes at Loudon, Busch is 146 points behind and Johnson trails by 139 as the Cup Series moves to Dover. Certainly Busch and Johnson believe they still can mount a charge and win the Cup at Homestead. Hey, no one said they were quitters.

The fact is no one has been able to bounce back from a triple-digit deficit after Race 1 of the Chase to finish better than third in the final point standings (chart at right). It's a fact of the point system: Bad finishes do more to harm drivers' title aspirations than victories do to boost those hopes.

However:

• In 2005, Carl Edwards left New Hampshire 109 points down then rallied during the last nine races to pull within 35 points of Tony Stewart in the final standings.

• In 2004, Johnson was 247 points out of first with six races remaining. He eventually lost the championship to Kurt Busch by just eight points.

Can Kyle Busch or Johnson turn the tide? History doesn't bode well for either driver, but they have one thing in their favor: Both drive for Hendrick Motorsports, which isn't a five-star organization by default.

And there are worse places for these two drivers to begin their trek back into contention than at Dover. Johnson has three wins and seven top-10 finishes in nine starts at the Monster Mile, while Busch has three top-fives in as many starts.

But here's all you need to know: Stats are for losers.

Say Anything

Sylvania 300 Official Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kevin Harvick Chevy 2. Tony Stewart Chevy 3. Jeff Gordon Chevy 4. Denny Hamlin Chevy 5. Brian Vickers Chevy • Complete results, click here • Official standings, click here Victory LaneKevin Harvick celebrates his win at Loudon Set backChase contender Jimmie Johnson slams into the wall Tough racingChaser Kyle Busch crashes and takes a spin Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I finally have the answer to the question people always ask: 'If you could change one rule, what would you change?' I'd have made this race a two race deal. I'd have had the rest of the field run their own 200-mile race and then I would have had the top 10 guys run their own 200-mile race."
-- Tony Stewart

Figuratively Speaking

146 -- Points behind for 10th-place Kyle Busch, the most a Chase driver has trailed after one race in the three years of the 10-race playoff system. In 2004, Jeremy Mayfield was 142 points behind after Loudon; Kurt Busch also trailed by 142 last year.

Fast Facts

• Kevin Harvick has won back-to-back races and three of the past six with 11 consecutive top-15 finishes. He has out-scored all drivers in the past 10 races -- scoring 1,585 points -- 118 more than Denny Hamlin, his nearest competitor.

• After his fourth-place run at Loudon, Denny Hamlin now has 14 top-10 finishes this year. He is second the point standings -- his career-best points position -- after Race 1 of the Chase. Hamlin has top-15 finishes in 17 of the past 18 races.

• Matt Kenseth, who finished 10th on Sunday, now has five consecutive top-10 finishes, the longest current streak. He has 17 top-10s this season, one less than Jimmie Johnson.

Up Next

Dover | 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday | TNT

Inside the Numbers Neighborhood Excellence 400 June 4, 2006, at Dover Pos. Driver 1. Matt Kenseth 3. Kevin Harvick 4. Jeff Burton 5. Kyle Busch 6. Jimmie Johnson 7. Kasey Kahne 9. Mark Martin 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 11. Denny Hamlin 12. Jeff Gordon ALSO •   Get your tickets •   Book your travel

• Each of the 10 Chase driver finished 12th or better at Dover on June 4 (chart at right). ... That'll make for some fine fantasy fodder.

• Kasey Kahne will make his 100th Cup start at Dover, while Jimmie Johnson will make his 175th start. Jeff Green will make his 225th start.

• There have been five different race winners in the past five races at Dover, and nine of the past 11 Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position, including seven from the top five. Both of the races won from outside the top-10 were won from the 19th starting position.

• Only seven of the 73 race winners at Dover started from a starting position outside the top 15; and 24 of the 73 race winners started from the front row.

• Rick Hendrick leads all owners with 10 victories at Dover: Jeff Gordon (four), Jimmie Johnson (three), Geoffrey Bodine (one), Ricky Rudd (one) and Ken Schrader (one). Gordon has led 2,198 laps at Dover, the most of all active drivers.

Mailbag

I'm a huge Dodge fan, and have followed the Evernham cars since Dodge came back. But what has happened with the Dodge program? It seems to have lost its luster over the past two seasons. Sure, Khane has five wins but every other team fielding a Dodge has struggled. Not one Dodge team, including the No. 9 team, has had any sort of consistency all year long. Why is Dodge's program falling so far behind, and will Toyota's arrival next year lead to Dodge pulling out as a manufacturer?
-- Jeremy

Inside the Numbers Top Dodge drivers in 2006 * Driver W T-5 T-10 K. Kahne 5 9 14 Ku. Busch 1 5 8 R. Newman 0 2 7 S. Riggs 0 1 7 R. Sorenson 0 1 5 Totals 6 18 41 * -- Through Race No. 27

Earlier this year there were rumblings that a manufacturer was going to pull out of NASCAR, and Dodge was the name most often associated with those rumors. However, Dodge has repeatedly said it will continue its NASCAR program.

Certainly Dodge has been anything but Ram Tough this year. Aside from the No. 9 of Kahne, the only Dodge team in the Chase, the brand's next four teams have combined for only one win, nine top-five finishes and 27 top-10s.

Every time I read a story where somebody think the Chasers should have their own points system, the worse that idea sounds to me. Imagine you're down to five laps to go at New Hampshire, a non-Chaser is leading and a chaser is running second. That Chaser is going to have no motivation to try to pass the leader and risk wrecking and/or losing spots. Money? No way, he'll settle for less money at that race if it gets him closer to the big money at the end of the season. Now imagine the ninth Chaser finishes 25th, and the 10th finishes 43rd. If they are on their own 10-1 system, there is only a one-point difference between these two guys; 25th isn't great, but it's a lot better than 43rd, and the points rewarded should reflect that. If these guys are on their own points system, they would have no incentive to race non-Chasers, broadcasts would ignore non-Chasers even more than they do already and races would be boring. There needs to be one system -- for Chasers and non-Chasers -- to keep the racing good.
-- Kyle

I can't buy into the Chase drivers being under their own points system, especially the 10-9-8, etc. idea. Be sure to weigh in with Marty Smith and this week's Last Lap topic.

E-MAIL •   Send Duane your thoughts ...

It looks as if Kevin Harvick will win the 2006 Busch Series championship. Last two years was Martin Truex Jr. 2003 was Brian Vickers. 2002 was Greg Biffle. 2001 was Kevin Harvick. 2000 was Jeff Green. None of these drivers were Cup regulars the years that each won the Busch championship. Now this year, Harvick will win the championship and, as of now, there are eight Cup regulars in the top 10. It seems as if the Busch Series is just another practice for the Cup drivers. There should be a rule where the Cup drivers in Busch can drive and win a race, but not win any points toward the championship.
-- Keith

Not gonna happen. The Cup drivers are in the Busch Series because of sponsorship deals; there are big dollars tied to these Cup drivers / Buschwhackers -- and the sponsors expect a high return on the dollars. And this isn't NASCAR's fight, either; team owners decide who drives the cars -- not the sanctioning body.

Tube Time

• Someone has a lot of time on their hands, but it's good fodder for the "too many commercials" crowd. Cheryl Walker has a breakdown of Sunday's race. The most interesting tidbit: On average there were 9 minutes of commercials in 30 minutes -- less than a primetime sitcom.

• If you're looking for something to do about 10 p.m. Monday, tune in to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on NBC. OK, so I'm a boob-tube goob, but I'm a big fan of Bradley Whitford (he played Josh Lyman on The West Wing). If you've longed for more from Aaron Sorkin, this is must-see TV.

Fantasy Perspective

• Kyle Busch has three top-five finishes in three races at Dover. He finished second in his first two races, in 2005, and followed with a fifth-place finish in June. Jimmie Johnson has four consecutive top-10s at Dover, while Mark Martin has five, the longest current streak.

Celebrity Chase Tracker

Points are awarded for each correct pick; one point is awarded for each correct pick in Week 1, two for each correct pick in Week 2 and so on through the final race on Nov. 19. Each correct pick of the race winner earns the contestant five bonus points. Correctly predicting the 2006 Cup champion is worth 20 points.

Star Gazing Celebrity Chase Tracker Pos. Celebrity Pts. 1. Tom Brady 6 2. Steve Smith 3   Jerry Stackhouse 3 4. Alan Embree 2   Mike Hampton 2 6. Johnny Damon 1   Marcus Giles 1   DeAngelo Hall 1   Scottie Pippen 1 10. Larry Fitzgerald 0   William Henderson 0   Jackie Joyner-Kersee 0   Grady Little 0   Derek Lowe 0   Brad Maynard 0   Floyd Mayweather Jr. 0   Shawne Merriman 0   Jake Peavy 0   Aaron Taylor 0   Dominique Wilkins 0

With one race completed in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has jumped out to an early lead in the Chase Tracker game. Brady was the only competitor to pick Kevin Harvick to win the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire. Brady also picked Harvick to lead the standings after New Hampshire, earning him six points.

Brady is one of 20 prominent athletes competing in the Chase Tracker game. Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers and STAR Motorsports and Jerry Stackhouse of the Dallas Mavericks and STAR Motorsports share second place with three points. Alan Embree of the San Diego Padres and Mike Hampton of the Atlanta Braves picked two of the top 10 positions correctly. Also earning points in week one were Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees, DeAngelo Hall of the Atlanta Falcons, former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen and Marcus Giles of the Atlanta Braves, all scoring one point.

And Finally ...

From The Associated Press:

MESA, Ariz. -- A 22-year-old woman was arrested after authorities say she tried to hire someone to kill another woman whose photo appeared on her boyfriend's MySpace.com Web page.

Heather Michelle Kane was booked Sept. 12 for investigation of conspiracy to commit murder, Mesa Detective Jerry Gissel said.

Kane was arrested after she met an undercover Mesa police detective at a grocery store, gave the officer $400 and offered to pay an additional $100 once the woman had been killed, according to court records.

The records say Kane gave the undercover officer photographs taken from her boyfriend's social networking Web page of the woman she wanted killed. She also requested a photo of the woman's dead body.

It wasn't clear if the boyfriend and the targeted woman were romantically involved, Gissel said.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.