Race to the Chase begins this week at Magic Mile

Preview Show
Beau Estes and Mike Bell break down the flat track as the Race to the Chase begins.
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• Cup Series tickets
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Fantasy Preview
Mike Bell gives you the picks to click for your fantasy racing in New Hampshire, including a potential winner who is a rocket.
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Beyond Pit Road
Michael Waltrip is working with a new personal trainer, something he believes is partially responsible for his team's turnaround.
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Garage Expert
Larry McReynolds explains how drivers and teams save fuel during a race.
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Track Facts
Melanie Collins previews the race in New Hampshire and gives all of the history and specifics of the Magic Mile.
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Travel Log
There's scenic drives, lakes and outdoor adventure in New Hampshire. But the state may be best known for its lion-like revolutionary role and a little lamb.
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Breaking down the Top 12

The battle to be -- or stay -- in the top 12 is becoming a weekly event. Jeff Burton finished 34th Sunday at Infineon and is outside the top 12 (15th) for the first time since Atlanta, the fourth race of the season. Stepping back in is Juan Montoya in 12th. Here's our weekly breakdown of the top 12:

Stewart

1. Tony Stewart, 2,364 -- Smoke finished second for the fourth time this season and increased his lead on Jeff Gordon to 84 points. With 10 races to go before the Chase begins, Stewart can roll the dice as many times as he wants to secure more victories and the 10-point Chase bonus that comes with each win.

2. Jeff Gordon, 2,280 -- The best road course racer in the history of NASCAR finished ninth for his 21st top-10 in 33 road course starts. Gordon has been first or second in the standings for 15 consecutive races.

3. Jimmie Johnson, 2,207 -- Johnson couldn't corral his first road course win but did finish fourth. He also smacked Kurt Busch while the two were running in the top five, sending Busch into the wall. Johnson apologized afterward. On a brighter note for Johnson, he didn't run out of gas for the first time in three races.

4. Kurt Busch, 2,084 -- Busch did a nice job of rebounding from his wreck to finish 15th. If Busch had finished 30th instead of 15th, he'd be seventh in points and 125 points ahead of 13th-place Kasey Kahne. Instead, Busch has a 170-point advantage.

5. Carl Edwards, 2,051 -- Edwards' streak of four consecutive finishes in the top 10, including three top-fives, ended with a 13th-place finish. Still, Edwards moved up a spot in the standings. He remains winless in the Cup Series but did -- finally -- pick up a win in the Nationwide Series over the weekend.

Newman

6. Ryan Newman, 2,046 -- A tap from Sam Hornish sent Newman on a spin on Lap 81, and Newman spent the rest of the race recovering. In the final 32 laps, he went from 36th to a 17th-place finish.

7. Denny Hamlin, 2,009 -- Hamlin had a big points day, finishing fifth. He moved up three spots in the standings and put some distance between himself and 13th place. He started the day 42 points up on 13th, now he's 95 points ahead. He also led 33 laps, second only to winner Kahne's 37.

8. Greg Biffle, 1,992 -- While running 19th, Biffle was sent spinning by Robby Gordon with 20 laps to go. That was costly. After the caution, Biffle restarted 37th, and he finished 28th. Biffle fans have reason for optimism: The next race is at New Hampshire, where Biffle won last September. And Biffle also has a win at Daytona, which follows New Hampshire.

9. Kyle Busch, 1,962 -- After starting second, Busch finished a disappointing 22nd. He didn't fall in the standings, but his lead on Kahne is 48 points. He is tied with Mark Martin for the season high in wins (three), but after four consecutive finishes outside the top 10, Busch's status as a lock for the Chase is no longer a slam dunk.

10. Matt Kenseth, 1,957 -- Kenseth made the best of an eventful afternoon. He crashed in the first half of the race while running in the top five -- "my fault," he said. But in the final 20 laps, Kenseth was able to move up from 39th to 18th to salvage a decent finish and collect much-needed points.

11. Mark Martin, 1,926 -- Martin, the winner at Michigan, finished 35th and continued his yo-yo season, dropping three spots in the standings. He followed his first win in 2009, at Phoenix, with a 43rd-place finish at Talladega; and he finished 17th at Lowe's after winning at Darlington. He already has five finishes 31st or worse. He can't keep giving away so many points if he is to make the Chase.

12. Juan Montoya, 1,917 -- Montoya said a lack of power kept him from challenging for a win, and he finished sixth at Infineon for the second consecutive year. Montoya is in the top 12 for the first time since the second week of the season. Now the question becomes: Can he stay there? Kahne is three points back.

Top five and five to watch

Here's a look at the top five in points and five drivers to watch in Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301. All statistical references are for Cup Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway unless otherwise indicated. Driver Rating is based on the past eight races at the track.

• Top five ...

Gordon

1. Tony Stewart, 115.6 Driver Rating. -- Stewart has one win, two seconds and a third in his past eight starts at New Hampshire and has led a series-high 605 laps in that stretch. If Stewart is in sniffing distance of a win, expect him to be aggressive. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

2. Jeff Gordon, 106.7 -- Gordon has made 28 starts and holds track records for top-fives (12), top-10s (15) and laps led (1,141). He has three wins, but they all came in his first eight starts. He finished second in both races in 2007 but finished outside the top 10 (11th and 14th) in 2008.

3. Jimmie Johnson, 102.8 -- Johnson's two wins came in 2003, his second year as a full-time Cup driver. Overall he has nine top-10s in 14 starts, with only one finish -- 39th in 2006 -- outside the top 15. He finished ninth and second last year, leading 96 laps in the Chase race.

4. Kurt Busch, 83.7 -- Busch has three wins at Loudon, including last year's rain-shortened race. The victory ended a stretch of five finishes outside the top 15, including two finishes in the 30s. He finished sixth last September.

5. Carl Edwards, 87.8 -- Edwards has finished in the top 20 in all nine of his starts, but he has only two top-10s, a second in 2006 and third last September when he led 61 laps. He doesn't qualify well at Loudon, either. He started second last September only because rain washed out qualifying, which might explain his stellar day. Edwards has yet to qualify in the top 10.

• Five to watch ...

Martin

11. Mark Martin, 92.1 -- We kick off the 10-race Race to the Chase with a look at the five drivers on the bubble. Martin is winless at Loudon and hasn't raced there since 2006. But he knows his way around the track. In 24 starts, he has 13 top-10s, including eight top-fives. His career average finish is 11.0.

12. Juan Montoya, 68.6 -- Montoya has finished in the top 10 in each of the past three weeks, a career best, and has seven top-10s in his last 12 starts -- in his first 77, he had nine. This is important because it's an indication of how proficient Montoya has become in Cup cars. It also might mean we should ignore his record at Loudon: no top-10s with an average finish of 22.8 in four races.

13. Kasey Kahne, 80.1 -- Kahne is three points out of 12th. He has four top-10s in eight starts at Loudon but none in three years. Like Montoya, perhaps we should ignore Kahne's recent finishes. After all, he won last week at Infineon after never having finished better than 23rd in five previous starts there.

14. David Reutimann, 63.0 -- Reutimann has never finished better than 15th at Loudon, but there is a positive in his finishes: He has improved in each of his races. He finished 38th and 26th in 2007 and 19th and 15th last year. Reutimann needs to keep the streak alive. He is 40 points behind Montoya.

15. Jeff Burton, 96.4 -- Burton is outside the top 12 for the first time since the fourth race of the season and is 46 points behind Montoya. Burton has a track-record four Cup wins at Loudon, but the last one came in 2000. He has one top-five since, a fourth-place last September. Burton is desperate for another.