Now that you've had a chance to read about NASCAR's top drivers, I'd like to hear from you.

What do you think about NASCAR's "Rock Stars"? If you were creating the criteria, what makes a certain driver "NASCAR's Royalty,"and which drivers are on your list?

In case you haven't yet, be sure to check out the story about the top drivers in the sport as well as Don Hawk's analysis and the photo gallery of the sport's superstars.

It's your turn to speak up, let us know what you think.

It is amazing how calm and cool (some would wrongly say Robotic) the guy to the right of these words is right now.

Just 10 races ago, this man had built up an insurmountable 300 + point cushion on the rest of the field and could very easily have coasted to this season's championship had the often dreaded "Chase for the Nextel Cup" never been created.

However, as anybody who followed along with our coverage this season knows, his lead was erased because of the Chase championship deciding formula (as a matter of fact, not only did he lose his advantage, he lost the overall top spot in the standings to teammate Jimmie Johnson because he had won more races in the 'regular season' in just a matter of minutes)

All throughout these 10 weeks, from the time the Chase started to when he regained the lead to the time he lost it for good as Johnson recorded his third and then fourth consecutive victories, Gordon has been given ample opportunities to voice his displeasure and trash NASCAR for costing him a title (make that two, as he would have won another one a few years back had the point system remained the same).

He never did.

Oh sure, he made a suggestion here or there - but this gentleman of the sport never once challenged NASCAR for "cheating him out of a crown" as many fans on our message boards and across the internet have said.

Was he upset that he didn't win the 2007 Nextel Cup Series championship? You bet, but guess what - this guy isn't giving up on his "Drive for Five" just yet.

So if he doesn't feel cheated.....could he really be the biggest loser of this year's Chase?

These are just my thoughts, what are yours?

Sound off below

While the main focus of everybody this weekend will rightfully be on the championship battle (or coronation, since everybody appears to be conceding the title to Jimmie Johnson), there are multiple storylines to follow during NASCAR's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

One I find intriguing is the one concerning Denny Hamlin.

Just one year removed from a magical freshman campaign, one that saw Hamlin finish an unexpected third in the standings, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet has come back down to earth.

Sure, it was incredible that he qualified for the championship deciding Chase for the Nextel Cup for the second consecutive season, but he has yet to produce (or to name drop the sponsor, deliver....) in the postseason. Since the Chase began at Loudon, Hamlin has scored a mere two Top-10 finishes while scoring three finishes of 25th or worse.

He has one last chance at redemption this weekend at Homestead though, where (ironically) he finished third last season as well. Not only does he have the motivation of ending the season on a high, but he also turns 27 on race day. And oh yea, it is also his last race in a Chevrolet before the Gibbs organization goes to Toyota in 2008.

Do you think Hamlin can turn it around, or will he continue his postseason slump?

Let us know your thoughts,

Sound off below

 It's tough to be the king.

Just ask recently crowned Busch Series champion Carl Edwards.

Not 24 hours after getting his hands on his first major NASCAR season title, Edwards found himself struggling at Texas as a sway bar problem kept his team from making his No. 99 Office Depot Ford driveable.  As a result, he finished 26th, 3 laps down.

Can he turn his luck around this weekend? Looking at past performances, it looks likely. In six starts at "The Desert Jewel," Cousin Carl has recorded two top-fives, four top 10s and an average finish of 11.7.

No, Carl won't be able to establish history by winning both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series titles in one season, but a triumph this weekend would go a long way to establishing momentum for next year....and making him feel like a king once again.

But what do you think?

Let us know your thoughts,

Sound off below

With three races left in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season, the focus is on the drivers remaining in title contention - Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer (by a thread).

So what are the remaining 40 drivers to do at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead? Go out and win!

While winning one race doesn't compare to claiming the championship, it does help ease the pain and build momentum going into next season.

That said, there is one driver who could take the attention away from the title battle at the end of Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Aside from having loads of momentum following his run last weekend at Atlanta, where he started in the rear of the field and finished fourth, he also has finished third or better in three of his last four starts at the 1.5-mile venue.

Can he steal the spotlight by driving into Victory Lane?

Let us know your thoughts,

Sound off below

Rarely do I tackle the same driver in consecutive blogs, but a two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion, some exceptions can be made.

As I wrote last time, Smoke was on the verge of falling out of title contention with a bad result at Martinsville, and he almost pulled that off as he qualified a horrific 34th at the paperclip circuit.

However, he fought back to finish 13th Sunday to maintain a glimer of hope.

How can Stewart keep that glimmer going? A repeat of his past two Atlanta performances would do the trick. Not only is he the defending winner of this weekend's event, but he also has a runner-up finish at the track in spring. If he can do the same, the glimmer remains, anything less and it may be over for Smoke and Co.

If the driver of the Home Depot Chevrolet does turn in a race-winning performance, and by chance Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson falter at a track notorious for blown engines (hey, if it could happen to DEI/RCR, it could happen to Hendrick too), then we may be in for a fun three weeks to end the season.

Let us know your thoughts,

Sound off below

Could a pit road blunder have cost Tony Stewart a chance at the 2007 Nextel Cup championship?

Just past halfway in Saturday's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway (Lap 177 of 334 to be exact), Stewart looked to have pulled off a coup by pitting for gas only and pulling away in hopes of grabbing the lead. Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, he did not notice that cars were still streaming into the pits as he tried to make his quick exit, and he hit Paul Menard on the way out. As if that wasn't enough, he bumped into Kasey Kahne seconds later.

I won't get into whose fault it is - because that's really not relevant at the moment. What is relevant however is the points that Stewart lost as a result of this mistake.

Yes, he went on to finish seventh on the night ---- but that was after his team fixed damage to his car and he drover like a madman for the result. If he could have kept his car clear of damage, don't you think that he could have challenged race winner and championship leader Jeff Gordon?

But what do you think? Did Tony Stewart blow his chance at a championship due to the pit road mistake? Can he bounce back and win the title?

Let us know your thoughts.

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As has been the case the last four weeks, the focus of this week's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway will be on the 12 deserving drivers who qualified for the title deciding Chase for the Nextel Cup, particularly championship frontrunners Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

But is there a third Hendrick Motorsports driver who could steal the show this weekend?

There is, and his name isn't Kyle Busch - the third Hendrick Motorsports driver in the Chase.

The driver is the often forgotten Casey Mears.

Ever since winning his first career Cup race (which, coincidentally, took place at Lowe's earlier this season), Mears has been showing the promise that many had predicted but few had seen.

In the last four weeks, the driver of the No. 25 National Guard Chevrolet has scored four consecutive top 10s. Combine that with the fact that the winner of the Coca Cola 600 has returned in October and swept the Lowe's Motor Speedway races, and it could equal a very special weekend for the entire "Mears Gang."

What do you think? Can Casey Mears steal the spotlight from the Chase drivers as Greg Biffle did two weekends ago? Which Chase driver can halt Mears' sweep dreams?

Let us know your thoughts.

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It may still be early in the 2007 version of the Chase for the Nextel Cup, but some drivers are in danger of being eliminated from championship contention.

One of those drivers is Denny Hamlin.

After starting the playoffs with a decent 15th-place finish at Loudon, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has stumbled down the charts following results of 38th and 29th respectively at Dover and Kansas.

Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet, things won't get better this weekend at Talladega as he has an average finish of 30.66 at all restrictor plate races.

Is Denny Hamlin out of the championship hunt? Can he bounce back and compete with frontrunners Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer?

Let us know your thoughts.

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Can Clint Bowyer’s life get any better?

In the span of three weeks, the second-year driver of the No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet has qualified for the championship deciding Chase for the Nextel Cup, won his first career Cup race, and worked hard to finish 12th and stay in the title hunt.

This weekend things are only going to get better as Bowyer heads to his homestate, Kansas, for the running of the LifeLock 400.

While he is only seventh in this week's Power Rankings, he could surprise the world as he qualified sixth and finished ninth in his rookie visit to the 1.5-mile Kansas track.

What do you think?  Can Clint Bowyer continue his string of surprising runs and contend for a victory - and possibly the championship lead - this weekend? Who will win this year's championship?

Let us know your thoughts.

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Alright, let's face facts, it would not have been fun to be Kurt Busch at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Sure, the driver of the No. 2 Dodge was one of the hottest drivers going into the Chase, but now all that matters is how you perform in the 10 Chase races - and Kurt did not do well last weekend.  As a result, he fell to 12th in this week's Power Rankings.

Is he out of championship contention?  Jimmie Johnson finished 39th last year at Loudon and went on to win the championship - so Busch can obviously fight back.  However, he cannot falter anymore, especially not this weekend at Dover.

What do you think?  Can Kurt Busch fight back from his dissapointing NHIS performance to put himself back in championship contention?  Who will win this year's championship?

Let us know your thoughts.

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No matter what you read or hear in the next few days, nobody can can say who will win the Chase for the Nextel Cup this year.

At least, not until after it begins this season.

It is extremely difficult for a driver to bounce back after a slow start to the Chase - and no driver knows this better than Jeff Burton, the elder statesmen of the sport.

This week, he is ranked 10th in the Power Rankings, but he could jump up the rankings with a good performance at New Hampshire, where he has four wins, seven top fives and 12 top 10s in 25 career starts.

What do you think?  Can Burton perform as well as he has in the past at NHIS this weekend?  Will he be a contender or just a pretender in this year's Chase?  Who will win this year's championship?

Let us know your thoughts.

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What a strange season the 2007 campaign has been for Kevin Harvick.

After starting the season with a victory at Daytona International Speedway, Happy has experienced a roller-coaster of results, scoring three top fives and nine top 10s in the next 24 races. In that same span, he also has six finishes of 25th or worse. As a result, he is one of two drivers (Kurt Busch being the other) that could lose their spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Saturday.

Can Harvick recapture his Daytona 500 winning form? Is there any chance he blows up and misses out on the Chase? Should he be fifth in the Power Rankings?

Let us know your thoughts.

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Carl Edwards already has the Busch Series title locked up.

After a win at Bristol this past week, Edwards, who is ranked No. 2 in this week's Power Rankings, took a big step toward adding a Chase title to his resume.

What do you think? Can Edwards make history and win both the Busch and Nextel Cup titles in the same season? Is it even fair to pose that question? Does he have what it takes at such a young age to pull it off?

Let us know your thoughts.

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With Dave Blaney's sixth-place finish and an eighth-place effort from Brian Vickers, Toyota placed two cars in the top 10 Tuesday in the rain-delayed Michigan race -- in the shadow of Motown, no less.

The Toyota engines have been refined along the way all season, and are starting to show progress. So much so that Dave Blaney is No. 12 in this week's Power Rankings.

What do you think? Has Toyota raised its game? Can a driver of a Camry compete with the big boys? Will we see a Toyota driver win a race this season? If not this season, ever?

Let us know what you think.

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