Indianapolis begins stretch run for Chase candidates

Now it's time to get serious about racing.

The scene is set. With only seven races remaining in the Sprint Cup Series "regular season," this Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the perfect place to kick off the stretch run that leads into the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

No one has to remind Jeff Gordon of all this. A native of California, he moved to Indiana when he was 5 years old -- initially with the idea of someday racing open-wheel cars in the Indianapolis 500 at the famed venue.

For a variety of reasons, that never transpired. Gordon ended up climbing into stock cars instead, and soon was off on what has become one of the finest Cup careers in the history of the sport. Once the NASCAR boys started coming to Indy to race in 1994, it seemed only natural that Gordon would quickly establish himself as the most successful stock-car driver at the track.

He has done so, winning the inaugural event there and eventually a total of four times. No one else has won at Indy more than twice.

"Every time you go around there," said Gordon, a gleam in his eye, "there is just something about it that gets you fired up."

Gordon is not alone in that sentiment, plus it's time for everyone to get fired up about the Sprint Cup scenario. It's crunch time, and the Brickyard event kicks off the most important stretch of races that will determine the 12 participants of the 10-race 2008 Chase. Even for those already too far out in points to make a run at the Chase, the Brickyard represents a chance to salvage something prestigious from what otherwise might be a disappointing season.

What to look for
There is precious little time left for drivers on the outside of the Chase cutoff to make their move, but that doesn't mean some fairly serious shuffling might not occur over the next seven races.

For one thing, those occupying the seventh through 15th spots in the current standings are running as close together as a pack of cars down the final backstretch at Talladega. A mere 133 points separate Greg Biffle, who is in seventh place, and Biffle's upstart Roush Fenway Racing teammate David Ragan, who is in 15th.

Biffle, in fact, is only one point in front of another of his Roush Fenway teammates, Matt Kenseth, who is eighth; only nine ahead of Kevin Harvick, who sits in ninth; only 12 ahead of Tony Stewart, who is 10th; 22 in front of 11th-place Kasey Kahne; and 34 ahead of Denny Hamlin, who is clinging to 12th.

Clint Bowyer is in 13th, only 27 points out of 12th; and Brian Vickers is 14th, 95 points out of 12th and a miniscule three in front of Ragan, who rounds out the top 15.

Currently left on the outside of the top 15 -- and likely to remain out of the Chase unless they inexplicably catch a spectacular hot streak -- are Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman in 16th (189 points out of 12th), and a pair of 2007 Chasers in Martin Truex Jr. (17th, 233 points out of 12th) and Kurt Busch (18th, 245 removed from 12th).

Everyone should be thankful that the field will be reset for the Chase -- albeit with 10 bonus points added for each race victory earned in the regular season. Otherwise, this championship would be all but settled. Kyle Busch, with his series-high seven victories, is clear of his closest competitor, Dale Earnhardt Jr., by 262 points in the current standings.

That would be trimmed to 60 if the Chase started today, since Earnhardt has one victory himself. Of course Carl Edwards would be seeded second, ahead of Earnhardt, because he has three race wins and would therefore begin the Chase with 20 bonus points (his bonus points from Las Vegas do not count) -- 50 fewer than Busch at the moment but 10 more than Earnhardt would have.

What lies ahead
The beauty is that much of it can change over these final seven regular-season races, and then again during the Chase. Of all the seasons since the Chase's inception in 2004, this is the one where it was needed the most because of the younger Busch's dominance thus far.

No one can begrudge Kyle his huge lead. The dude is winning races. That is what this is supposed to be about.

His latest victory at Chicagoland Speedway came when he put a brilliant outside move on two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson following the final restart. It was the type of gutsy, aggressive move that a champion makes -- and one that caught the usually sure-footed Johnson off-balance.

If any of these guys want to shake things up -- or if someone like Juan Montoya (who started and finished second at Indy as a rookie a year ago) hopes to salvage what is left of a lost season -- those are the kinds of moves they must aggressively make.

Sure, you need the right equipment to put you in position to possibly go for the mid-race lead or the win at the end. But if the equipment is right, the window for cautious points racing is shrinking for most of these guys. If you're Biffle, for instance, do you risk trying to play it safe when you know there are seven guys bearing down on you who could rob you of your chance at the Chase? Or is it too risky not to?

These are the decisions teams face heading into the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard this Sunday. The difference between finishing first and 10th is 51 points (as much as 61 if the race winner leads the most laps and the 10th-place finisher leads none). The difference between finishing first and last could be as much as 151.

It's go time, and anyone who misses that point could be left hopelessly behind.

"You gear it up to win the Brickyard," said Gordon, who sits safely in sixth in the standings despite not having won a race yet this season. "Pretty much every team and driver out there, they're geared up wanting to win that race. It's a big one."

Yes, it is. And that's just the way it should be. From here on in -- all the way through the Nov. 16 Chase finale at Homestead without another break -- every race will be big.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.