Ahh...Yes... The Shrub has steped out to an almost un touchable lead.

 2. is Jr. He is 253 back

 3. Burton 271 back

 4. Jimmie 315 back

 5. Edwards 320 back. Now these for a seperated by only 67.  Carl back to Gordon is 140 points I think the top 5 will stay the same. They may change spots but I dont think they will fall out of the top five.  Now Shrub has 7 wins. Thats 70 points into the chase. Jimmie and Carl both have credit for 2. Thats 20. 50 back of Shrub. Jr. and Burton have 1. Thats ten 60 back.

 6. Gordon 460 back. no wins.

 7. Biffle 544 back no wins.

 8. Hamlin 551 back 1 win.

 9. Kahne 563 back 2 wins.  Now here we have a 103 point diffrence from 6th to 9th. Now Gordon is 184 points ahead of 13th Harvick. I think Gordon will be in. Kahne is 93 points ahaed of 13th. That is a big gap as well. If Kahne keeps running the way he has he will be in. With Kahne 2 wins and Hamlin with one they will both be ahead of Biffle and Gordon chase time.

 10. Smoke 605 back.

 11. Kenseth 638 back.

 12. Boyer 642 back.

 Outside looking in.

 13. Harvick 644 back only 39 back of 10th and Smoke.

 14. Ragan 698 back only 57 out of 12th and 93 back of Smoke.

 15. Brian Vickers 774 only132 out of 12th. Thats alot to make up. Indy and losing a motor hurt bad. Still has a shot. Just a very long shot.

 16. Newman 786 only 142 back. Also a real long shot. He I think can concentrate on looking for his new home.

 Well As you can see I think the top five are a sure thing for the chase. 6th through 9th have to keep doing good. They could have 2 bad weeks and be on the outside looking in. I dont see that happing. Everham teams are getting on track. Rousch is making a run with multiple cars. Gibbs enough said. And Hendricks as well.

 Now the race to watch for the chase is 10th thru 16th. I know 15th and 16th are a long shot but a shot none the less. 10th thru 14th can change in any givin race. You could have Ragan in 10th and Smoke looking in from outside the glass after one race.

 So my picks. I still have dim hopes of Vickers making it. Maybe it wont happen but always hopefull. Tony will win. He doesnt want to go a year with out one. He also I think wants to leave Gibbs proving he is as good as day one.

  Kenseth needs to get lady BadLuck off his back. He will have a fight to stay in. He has the Cat in the Hat to help. I dont think they are going to give up anytime soon.

 Boyer has alot of work to do as well. He has the team. He has the car. Does he have it in him? We will see. I know he will fight for all he can get.

 Harvick to no cause of his own got smacked out at Indy. He will be one to move up past 12th. He is hard driven and has everything going well. The wreck was nothing to do with his driving.

 Ragan is a pleasent surprise. The Kid is proving he has it all. If he misses the chase it will be only from bad luck. He has a great future. Just think maybe not the chase this year.

 I see at this time. 1. Shrub. 2. Johnson 3. Kahne 4. Edwards 5.6.7.8.9.10. all tied with a win. Hamlin has won. Jr. as well. Burton has another. Gordon Stewart and Harvick will win yet before the chase and round out the tie for 5th to 10th.

 Now 11th and 12th with no win. Biffle will not win but is in the chase and 11th. 12th I think is going to be Kenseth. He will come back the next few races and race hard. Who knows he might get a win.

 That is my chase list. It will be fun to watch. I hope Nascar and GoodYear get past this problem from Indy and Moves to a great racing tire for the rest of the year.

 Ok. Its not that I think I know it all. Just going by the way drivers are at the present.

 1. Kyle "Shrub" Busch #18 easy pick.

 2. Jeff Burton #31 Suttle but like Mark Martin there when it counts.

 3. June Bug #88 he is doing what needs to be done with good cars that dont break...

 4. Carl "Flipper" Edwards #99 The guy is getting all his ducks in a row. He has been winning.

 5. Jeff Gordon #24 I hope the #24 team can hold it together and be willing to take a chance at a win or two.

 6. Greg Biffle #16 The guy is proving he is the right choice for the "Cat in th Hat"

 7. Clint "JackMan" Boyer #07 Yea he is bring the Ohh#7 back in the fight.

 8. Tony "Smoke" Stewart He wants to leave gibbs on great turms. He will win before the chace.

 9. J.J. #48 why so far back. I think him and Chad will stumble in the heat of the summer.

 10. Matt "The Brat" Kenseth #17. I dont know he has a championship car and team this year. But looks like with Robbie gone they are getting it together.

 11. Brian "I know he aint there yet" Vickers. He would be here if at Charlottoe he wouldn't have lost that tire. He is having a career year. He will give RedBull its first win soon.

 12. Its a toss up. Kahne#9 I know he was hot. He cooled quick. Hamlin #11 stumblin over his own two feet. Harvick #29 If he would stop trying to come from 5th or 6th to win a race that is to far out of reach. These three cars and teams will be fighting it out at Richmond.

 It will be a good race. I will not predict who will get it. Only the team and driver that step up to the plate and hit it out of here will make 12th. I know I will enjoy watching the races to get there. I hope you enjoy it as much as Noah and I.

Well 2nd for Gordon. Johnson got 4th. June Bug got 6th, and Mears 7th. Not bad for a team on the brink of..Oh wait that was the guys sayin Hendrick is having a bad year. What a rebound. Also that puts three Hendrick cars in the top ten in points. I would call that a good weekend.

 You see Jeff had a little bad luck but whiule running good. It wasn't like he was runnin in the back of the field every week. Jimmie had troubles but still came back. Today with a 4th. Jr. Even though I am not a fan. Has proven he can drive with good equipment. I had doubts, he is proven me wrong. Yes Frevr3 we are tied at 3 apiece.

 Now a good test comes next week and see if all the cars for Hendrick are good were the car has to handle on the track. We are at Texas the cookie style track. Hope for a good race.

 I know Kyle Busch had a bad weekend. He finished last. But he had a good car till the rear end went away. A few cars had that problem. It wasnt limited to one make or team. Gibbs had the victory with Hamlin. Congradulations to Denny and the #11 team. The Gibbs team has 2 wins now. Proves how good Gibbs and Toyota are.

 So in a nut shell. This year the team to beat seems to be Gibbs anf Toyota. Hendrick has proven they are not far off. RCR has also been near the front week in and week out.

 I think the surprise though from Gibbs, as well as RCR, Smoke has not won yet. He was figured to be the strongest for Gibbs. He had a shot at Bristol, then a wreck. For RCR, the strong cars was thought to be the #29 and Harvick. Today Burton and Boyer were up front. Harvick wasn't around. He has not had a great start. Him and Tony are having Bumps in the road toward victory lane.

 You know though. I can tell you like 30 other teams would call that a great year to have that kinda luck.

 So Hendrick looked good as a whole team. Gibbs won but still had a bump in the road this weekend. RCR, had two outa three. Roush had cars in front back and the wall.

 Lets see what happens next week at Texas. Also the points are a little tighter. Hope it stays this way till Richmond.