Summer streak crucial for NBS regulars to gain points (cont'd)

But it's Pos. 7-12 that could really see things get jumbled. Only 37 points separate seventh-place Mears and 12th-place David Ragan. A good finish could propel Ragan into the top 10 considering that Mears and Burton are staying in Pocono for the Cup race this weekend.

That said, a good finish is something that has eluded Ragan as of late. After a pair of decent runs at Richmond and Darlington, he followed with a 25th at Charlotte and a crash at Dover (32nd). He crashed and finished 36th in the April race at Nashville.

"I am hungry for a good finish this week," Ragan said. "The key to success will be taking care of our equipment and racing a little smarter than the two previous weeks. It is very important to get back on the right foot this weekend."

To do that, he'll be among the nine drivers traveling between Nashville and Pocono to compete in both races. Auggie Vidovich will be his substitute for any practice and qualifying time he will be forced to miss.

Whether the traveling will take its toll or not remains to be seen. It hasn't in the past. Edwards won last year's June race after traveling between both locations.

"It's not too bad," said Clint Bowyer, who has never finished worse than fifth at Nashville and will pull double-duty this weekend. "Our plan was to use Richard's [Childress] jet but he's out of the country, so Kevin [Harvick] has agreed to let me use his plane and it's a little faster than mine. A fast airplane helps, and Kevin's is plenty fast."

But it's not airplanes with which the Busch regulars are concerned. The only travel they're focused on is getting to the front of the pack on Saturday and gaining ground in the standings at the end of the night.

"Our team is growing every week," Ambrose said. "I'm feeling more comfortable behind the wheel and we're starting to run better in practice and qualifying as well. It's just a matter of time before we turn all that promise into great results."

That time has come.