SONOMA, Calif. -- The Chase has no road courses, so playoff preparation has no real place this weekend in the landscape surrounding the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Or does it?

“

It depends on where you're at, whether you're battling to make it or if you're comfortably in.

”

-- MARK MARTIN

After an informal poll Friday afternoon at Infineon, and with 10 oval track races remaining until the Chase cutoff event at Richmond in early September, the time is definitely right to be looking in that direction.

In fact, a number of competitors at Infineon said the 10-race set that defines a champion was definitely never far from any competitors' minds -- though their specific circumstances certainly dictate what they'll do about it.

Obviously, drivers higher in the championship have one take on the subject while those on the edge of being either in or out -- and even defending Infineon champion Kasey Kahne, who coincidentally won the pole for Sunday's race -- have another.

Kahne, who won the pole for this event two years ago but finished 33rd, won from fifth last year and knows what that victory meant for his Chase hopes. Last year, Kahne finished 10th in the championship.

"[Infineon] was a big win for us and [Labor Day weekend] Atlanta was a big win for us, and just trying to get the consistency we needed to make the Chase," Kahne said. "It worked out and it was good.

"That's really all we want is to win races and make the Chase. It's all you think about when it comes to NASCAR as a driver, so that's still what we're shooting for. We need to throw down some big races for awhile if we want to make it, but it's definitely possible."

Kahne comes into Infineon 21st in the standings and 205 points behind 12th-place Mark Martin, which puts Kahne in the position of swinging for the fences.

Martin himself was among the group trying to do "business as usual," but the veteran confessed to knowing the difference.

"It depends on where you're at, whether you're battling to make it or if you're comfortably in [a Chase-qualified spot]," Martin said. "If you're comfortably in, you're doing one of two things: Either just refining what you've got in preparation of the Chase, or you're looking for more and you can afford to try some things that are outside of the box because you're in good shape in the points. It all just depends on where you're at. (Continued)