Race to the Chase is on: Smoke signals at The Glen

The Race to the Chase begins in earnest this weekend at Watkins Glen. There are five races remaining until the 12-driver field is set, following Richmond.

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Sunday's race is the final road-course race of the season -- but The Glen is nothing like Sonoma, so not much can be derived from looking at the stats from that left-coast event.

Tony Stewart continues to hold steady at the top of the point standings, with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon following in tow like paparazzi trailing Kate Gosselin.

"Watkins Glen is a great track, what I consider a proper road course," said Brian Vickers, 104 points behind 12th-place Greg Biffle and one of the drivers on the Chase bubble. "It is fast, has great passing zones, high-speed corners, great S curves up the hill, and if you have a good car, you are able to pass."

The Top 12 and their career stats at The Glen:

Tony Stewart Pos.: 1 | Points: 3,054 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 10 4 6 8 5.5 5.7

Jimmie Johnson Pos.: 2 | Points: 2,991 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 7 0 4 3 7.3 13.1

Jeff Gordon Pos.: 3 | Points: 2,989 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 16 4 6 8 6.9 13.4

Kurt Busch Pos.: 4 | Points: 2,751 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg St. Avg Fin. 8 0 0 2 11.2 21.4

Denny Hamlin Pos.: 5 | Points: 2,713 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 3 0 1 3 7.3 6.7

Carl Edwards Pos.: 6 | Points: 2,665 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 4 0 1 3 10.0 10.2

Kasey Kahne Pos.: 7 | Points: 2,642 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 5 0 0 0 13.8 18.6

Juan Montoya Pos.: 8 | Points: 2,631 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 2 0 1 1 21.5 21.5

Ryan Newman Pos.: 9 | Points: 2,627 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 7 0 1 3 9.9 16.3

Mark Martin Pos.: 10 | Points: 2,622 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 19 3 12 16 8.1 6.9

Matt Kenseth Pos.: 11 | Points: 2,564 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 9 0 0 3 14.6 16.2

Greg Biffle Pos.: 12 | Points: 2,563 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 6 0 0 1 15.2 28.7

Inside the Numbers

• 105 -- Jimmie Johnson's season-leading bonus points in the Sprint Cup Series. Five points are awarded to drivers for leading a lap in a race and an additional five points are awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race. Mark Martin is next with 80. Johnson is second in the standings, two points ahead of third-place Jeff Gordon, who has 60 bonus points. Tony Stewart (65 bonus points) leads Johnson by 197 points.