We've all seen how the race ended on Sunday, but there's something you may want to see before you say Smith should have had the win taken away from him...

First off I'm sorry I haven't been able to write recently, between school where I'm doubling up classes so I can graduate early and work I have almost no time to get to writing these, so please bear with me. Thanks :)

After a crazy finish to the race at Kansas the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega for race four of the Chase to the Cup. With tight packs of cars stacked three and four wide the big one is almost inevitable, and getting caught up in it could end a driver's chance at winning the championship.

1. Jimmie Johnson

His average finish so far in the Chase is 2.6, with his lowest finish being a 5th at Dover. He led the most laps before taking the checkered flag at Kansas, giving him a ten point edge on Carl Edwards heading to Talladega. If he keeps running like he has, it's going to be impossible to stop Johnson from earning a third championship.

2. Carl Edwards

If he were playing Nascar 09 on his PS3, Edwards would not only have won the race but have the points lead, too. Alas, the wall is much less forgiving in real life than it is in the game... The key for Edwards this weekend is to avoid the big one and leave Talladega with a solid finish, he can't allow Johnson to extend too big a lead on him before he gets to tracks like Atlanta and Texas, where'll he'll be among the favorites.

3. Greg Biffle

It's hard to believe, but Biffle boasts a better average finish in the Chase so far than Johnson, with his two wins and third place finish at Kansas giving him a 1.6 average finish through the first three Chase races. Biffle is in the same boat as Edwards for this weekend's race, he needs to avoid losing too much ground to Johnson at Talladega, a track where he's never scored a top-10 in eleven career starts.

4. Kevin Harvick

Harvick's sixth place finish at Kansas was his ninth consecutive top-10, which has allowed him to climb to fifth in the standings. Talladega may be the place for Harvick to get his first win of 2008, where he's earned seven top-10's in fifteen career starts.

5. Jeff Gordon

Gordon has slowly started to creep back towards the front, and he ran in the top-5 all day long at Kansas despite being sick, finishing 4th. Gordon is still searching for his first win of 2008, and Talladega is the perfect place for him to get it. Last year Gordon made a great move on the last lap to earn his sixth career victory there, if he could repeat those results this year it would not only get him a win, but also put him back in Chase contention.

6. Jeff Burton

Burton has earned top-10's in all three Chase races so far, including a seventh place finish at Kansas. Burton is fourth in points, but 121 points behind Chase leader Johnson. If he's going to win the championship, he'll need to start winning races or hope the drivers in front of him start running into some trouble.

7. Matt Kenseth

Kenseth used up his mulligan at Loudon with a 40th place finish, but he's been stout since, with a 2nd and 5th place finish. Kenseth is ninth in points, but he needs help from the drivers in front of him in the standings if he's going to earn his second championship.

8. Denny Hamlin

Hamlin's issues at Dover have put him in a large hole in the standings, and the way this team is performing it doesn't look as though they'll be able to rebound enough to beat the nine drivers in front of them. However he may be a threat to win at Talladega and bounce back into contention, where he's finish 4th and 3rd in the last two races.

9. Clint Bowyer

Bowyer hasn't finished worse than 12th so far in the Chase, but his best finish is only 8th, and with drivers like Biffle, Johnson and Edwards finishing in the top-5 every week, you're going to find yourself out of contention quick. Bowyer needs to start running up front if he's going to make a run at the title this year, and it'll have to start at 'Dega, where he's finished 11th and 9th in the last two races.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt started the Chase well with a fifth place finish at Loudon, but since has struggled with finishes of 24th and 13th, dropping him to 8th in the standings. However, it's hard to not put Earnhardt on a list previewing a race at Talladega, where he has earned five wins, four of which came consecutively in a streak that started in 2001 and lasted through 2003.

Other Notables:

11. Kyle Busch- Three weeks in a row.... who would have thought it would go down the tubes so quick for Busch? He's still a threat to win though, especially at 'Dega where he won in April.

12. Tony Stewart- His 40th place finish at Kansas has put him in a hole just slightly smaller than that of his teammate, Busch, but he may be able to earn his first win of 2008 at 'Dega, where he's finished 2nd six times.

13. David Ragan- Ragan got things headed back in the right direction at Kansas with an 8th place finish, and may be able to do even better than that at 'Dega, where he finished 4th earlier this year.

14. Juan Pablo Montoya- Montoya had to start in the back after his pole run was disallowed, and only managed to finish 20th. However, if his team unloads a legal car, he may be able to repeat or even better his performance at 'Dega earlier this year, as he finished 2nd.

15. AJ Allmendinger- Allmendinger earned his best career finish at Kansas, finishing 9th. However, that performance wasn't enough for Allmendinger to keep his ride for the rest of the season, and isn't on the entry list for Talladega. Somebody give him a ride!