Field Filler. n. A driver there to make up the numbers, who has no chance of winning and so doesn’t deserve to be driving at.

Who was the ultimate field filler at Fontana, other than Fontana itself? There's only one way to find out. This probably isn't it, but there ain't no harm in trying. Again 7 none-to-randomly selected drivers based on their previous finishes have their weekends put under the magnifying glass and get a rating - the higher the percentage, the more field-fillery. The number in brackets is their Bristol finish.

(43rd) Sterling Marlin - Erm, well, err. Sterling took the #09 into the show at Bristol. but the team didn't even make the journey westward to CA. So.... are they the ultimate field filler in that they didn't even bother to make the race, or are they the antithesis of the field filler in that they were never in the field to fill it. The mind boggles, so it's either.......0% or 100%

(42nd)Jeff Burton - Jeff lurked all day, doing just what he needed to do given the approach of the chase. Barely ever out of the teens all race and pinching 5 bonus points for leading a single lap. If this was any other race, and Jimmie wasn't make everyone else look ordinary it would probably look a lot better than.......21%

(41st)Casey Mears - Casey showed why Hendrick are getting rid of him, by being the weak link in the chain. In truth he started well, clocking the 8th best time out of the box but then fired blanks from then on before disappearing altogether in the race. Hunt down NASCAR.com's lap-by-lap for Sunday. Try Ctrl+F for "mears" - nothing - says it all..........57%

(37th)Sam Hornish - Did anyone notice Sam on Sunday? If Yes, what it only because he was driving a bright yellow car? Sam has had good weekends and bad weekends, this was pretty bad. He started well and fell back through the whole weekend, eventually finding his level with a 32nd place start and a 31st place finish and while I'm tempted to add 31 and 32 toegther for his rating, that would be too good.........75%

(27th)Scott Riggs - The first of the Haas double field filler bill, Scott was another you could easily describe as the perfect filler, but he did it in the other direction. Woefully slow out of the box, in 43rd he climbed to 35th and 29th in the other practices, before improving again to finish 25th. He went a lap down just 5 after Hornish, but his improvement brings him out on top at.........60%

(17th)Tony Raines - It's Haas Pt 2: The Easy One. There were 44 cars entered and 43 starting spots, who was the unlucky team, the #70, even being outdone by the normally pitiful #08 car (about whom enough positive stuff cannot be written), which makes this a no brainer.........99%

(7th)Clint Bowyer - At no point was CB ever a field filler this weekend, although that has less to do with his performance that it does his position on the Chase bubble. Either way he hardly seemed to be off the TV all race. His improvement through the race - 31st to 10th is the standout stat for me, but the stand out for him is 17 - the number of points between him and David Ragan, so let's go for.....17%

Honorary field filler

Let's see, is "Everyone NOT Jimmie Johnson" too harsh? How about Red Bull pit crew? Wait, I've got it. Who ever is responsible for the caution lights around the track, who stole the spanner for tightening them, it's just plain dangerous. Oh, and let's add the broadcast team in for their 'Caution to the wind' quip too.