Restarts loom large as Chasers return to Loudon (cont'd)

At the time, there was plenty on the line -- Busch, Jeff Burton, Brian Vickers and David Reutimann were among the potential playoff aspirants who suffered damage in the crash. But now, the stakes are even higher, at least for the 12 drivers harboring title hopes. Busch showed just how much ground one Chase driver can lose in a single week last fall at New Hampshire, when he broke a rear suspension piece and began a plummet out of contention. Needless to say, there will be white knuckles gripped around steering wheels each time the green flag drops on Sunday.

"There's more opportunity to mess up, there's more opportunity of getting in crashes. If there is a crash on a restart, it's going to be bigger and it's going to collect a lot more cars," said Brian Vickers, eighth in points and 30 off the lead. "There's going to be times when it's going to affect the outcome, but to say that it couldn't have happened in a single-file restart either would be difficult. The double-file restarts give you more opportunity to pass, but it also gives you more opportunity to wreck."

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I keep saying we still haven't seen the worst-case [scenario] with these double-file restarts. I think that there's huge potential for a shake-up based on that, especially as we get toward the end of the year and the stress level for everyone gets higher and higher.

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-- CARL EDWARDS

Wrecking isn't a Chase driver's only concern. Even if their cars stay in one piece, competitors can lose points if their lane doesn't go fast enough. Under the old restart rule, all the lead-lap cars were in a single line, so they all got rolling at roughly the same speed. Now, with the lapped cars at the back, one line of lead-lap cars is almost always going to move faster than the other one. Since only the leader gets to choose what lane he's in, other drivers can only hope they're in the right one. If they're not, they can lose one position after another, which could be crucial on a restart late in a race.

"I think double-file restarts will play a big role in this year's Chase, and this weekend's race may be the most crucial," said Jeff Gordon, who opens the playoff in sixth place, 30 points behind Martin. "Double-file restarts have changed the sport for the good, but it's definitely made it more challenging. There is a greater potential for bumping, crashes and cautions, but you can gain or lose a lot of positions during the restarts as well. And a lot of that can be out of your hands if you're not leading. The line the leader chooses usually moves quicker on a restart. You may want to be in the outside lane because that is where your car handles the best. But if the leader chooses the inside lane, you can lose a lot of positions quickly -- even in your preferred line."

On which Chase track will double-file restarts have the greatest impact? "I think New Hampshire is really big," Gordon added. "I don't know. It's really hard to say until we get there, because a lot of times it's not always the line, it's what line does the leader choose? Because that's the line that moves, so you want to be in that line. If that's on the inside, then that usually means that inside lane is going to move forward. If it's the outside and [the leader] is in it, then it's the outside lane."

Some drivers have enjoyed more success under the double-file restart rule than others. Sometimes it depends on what kind of track they're racing on. Sometimes it depends on how aggressive they are. And sometimes it depends on luck.

"It's definitely going to play a role in the Chase. I think that your chances really lie in the lane that you're in. If you're in the preferred lane at that particular track, you'd be really aggressive and you get all that you can. If you're not in the right lane, you've just got to minimize your losses and be careful," said three-time defending champ Jimmie Johnson, third in points, and first in the NASCAR loop statistic that ranks the fastest drivers on restarts, using the speed of the first two laps under green.

"I think my good statistics in that area are because I've been fortunate and been in the right lane more than the wrong lane, and I hope that continues going into the Chase, because you can't control when you're in the wrong lane. You're in trouble. And I think guys are even paying attention to where they're leaving pit road now, and trying to count out cars and doing everything they can to find themselves in the best lane."

And then there's Greg Biffle, 12th in points, who always seems to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Two weeks ago at Atlanta, for instance, he had worked his way up to eighth before a late restart. Yet the driver in front of him spun his tires, and Biffle watched car after car in the other lane go by. "It's luck of the draw," he said.

Crashes in tight confines. Lost positions in slow lanes. Double-file restarts will give Chase drivers plenty to fret about each time the caution flag flutters.

"I think that it can definitely make a big difference," Gordon said. "Not just the action and the potential for bumping and crashes and cautions, it's just that you can gain or lose a lot of spots."