Nine Chase spots remain as three berths are in hand

Two races, that's the time remaining as the clock ticks toward midnight at Richmond, on Sept. 12. The next race is at Atlanta -- under the lights, baby! -- on Sept. 6.

The top 12 was shaken but not stirred at Bristol; 10 drivers changed places in points but no one fell from the ranks of the dandy dozen.

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That also means no one entered the top 12 -- but Kyle Busch is banging on the door. His victory at the bullring propelled him from 15th to 13th, only 34 points behind 12th-place Matt Kenseth.

"It's not a gaggle of guys that you're chasing," Busch said after his victory at Bristol. "You're almost chasing a point total. That point total is 3,160. That's what I heard as a round number this week from a source. If you can total 3160 in points, you'll make it in the Chase.

"I did the math from 3,160, minus what we were, and figured that out, divided it by three, we needed a 147 point average in these next three races, which is sixth [place]."

Three-time defending Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champ Jeff Gordon clinched berths in the Chase at Bristol. Points leader Tony Stewart also has clinched a spot in the 10-race playoffs.

The Top 12 and their career stats at Atlanta:

Tony Stewart Pos.: 1 | Points: 3,564 | Chase: Clinched Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 21 2 8 13 16.4 12.0

Jimmie Johnson Pos.: 2 | Points: 3,344 | Behind: -220 | Chase: Clinched Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 16 3 9 11 8.1 9.1

Jeff Gordon Pos.: 3 | Points: 3,310 | Behind: -254 | Chase: Clinched Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 34 4 14 22 13.0 12.4

Denny Hamlin Pos.: 4 | Points: 3,141 | Behind: -423 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg St. Avg Fin. 8 0 1 2 15.4 16.5

Carl Edwards Pos.: 5 | Points: 3,110 | Behind: -454 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 10 3 6 8 10.7 10.7

Kurt Busch Pos.: 6 | Points: 3,103 | Behind: -461 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 17 2 2 6 16.9 18.6

Ryan Newman Pos.: 7 | Points: 2,995 | Behind: -569 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 15 0 1 4 5.6 18.5

Greg Biffle Pos.: 8 | Points: 2,986 | Behind: -578 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 13 0 3 7 11.8 15.9

Juan Montoya Pos.: 9 | Points: 2,975 | Behind: -589 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 5 0 1 1 16.8 24.4

Mark Martin Pos.: 10 | Points: 2,971 | Behind: -593 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 47 2 13 22 10.1 17.2

Kasey Kahne Pos.: 11 | Points: 2,963 | Behind: -601 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 11 1 4 6 10.6 18.5

Matt Kenseth Pos.: 12 | Points: 2,945 | Behind: -619 Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Avg. St. Avg. Fin. 19 0 7 11 23.6 13.8

Inside the Numbers

• 431 -- Laps led this season by Greg Biffle in Sprint Cup Series races, the sixth-most in the series. Biffle led 76 laps at Bristol. Biffle's total is the 15th-most in NASCAR's modern era (since 1972) for a winless driver. There are 12 races left in the season. Last year, Biffle didn't win a race until the Chase began at Loudon in September. He then went out and won the next week at Dover.

Clint Bowyer, in 15th and 112 points behind 12th, and 16th-place David Reutimann (160 points back) are still mathematically alive.

Last year, after 24 races, there were 14 drivers in contention for the 12 Chase positions. Practically speaking, the same is true this season, with 89 points separating seventh-place Ryan Newman from 14th-place Brian Vickers.