A glance at the 12 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship heading into this weekend's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (in order of points):
DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson
CHASE POINTS: first, 6,492
CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 8
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 13.6 (best: 2nd in 2004)
LAST WEEK: Drama? What drama? Johnson bounced back from his nightmare at Texas to dominate at Phoenix and move a step closer to history. Needs to finish 25th or better to clinch record fourth straight championship. Now will he finally get some love?
CHASE CHATTER: ``We obviously have one more race to go,'' Johnson said. ``We saw in Texas anything can happen so I'm not going to get too excited just yet.''
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DRIVER: Mark Martin
CHASE POINTS: second, -108
CAR: No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg's Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 9
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 12.0 (best: 2nd in 2005)
LAST WEEK: Steady as ever running fourth behind Johnson to stay mathematically alive. Has made up 108 points on Johnson nine times in a single race, but has never won at Miami.
CHASE CHATTER: ``I really thought we could get to Jimmie with 35 to go, and then the car just got too tight,'' Martin said.
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DRIVER: Jeff Gordon
CHASE POINTS: third, -169
CAR: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 10
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 9.9 (best: 3rd in 2004)
LAST WEEK: All but assured Hendrick of capturing the top three spots in the championship with a ninth at Phoenix, but the driver nicknamed ``Four Time'' won't be adding to his title collection this year.
CHASE CHATTER: ``(Johnson's team) did what they needed to do,'' Gordon said. ``That's why they're three-time champs.''
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DRIVER: Kurt Busch
CHASE POINTS: fourth, -211
CAR: No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
TEAM: Penske Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 8
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 21.5 (won in 2002)
LAST WEEK: Continued his strong run through the Chase with a sixth-place finish at Phoenix. Considering the drama surrounding the team when the Chase started, a fourth-place finish would be considered a major boost.
CHASE CHATTER: ``We're gaining points and we're still doing a good job,'' Busch said. ``Gordon is within distance going into Homestead for third place overall.''
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DRIVER: Tony Stewart
CHASE POINTS: fifth, -285
CAR: No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 10
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 11.9 (won twice)
LAST WEEK: First season as an owner/driver won't end with a title, and a 25th-place finish at Phoenix extended an underwhelming Chase for the regular-season champ.
CHASE CHATTER: ``Just by getting two cars in the Chase and winning the races we've won this year exceeded more than what any of you guys could have anticipated, and we could have anticipated,'' Stewart said.
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DRIVER: Juan Pablo Montoya
CHASE POINTS: sixth, -289
CAR: No. 42 Target Chevrolet
TEAM: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 3
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 22.0 (best: 15th in 2007)
LAST WEEK: Montoya's solid debut in NASCAR's playoffs continued with an eighth-place finish at Phoenix, his sixth top-10 in nine Chase races.
CHASE CHATTER: ``We've got to try to finish as high as we can, high in points,'' Montoya said. ``It would be nice to try to get a win this year. It's been a great year otherwise.''
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DRIVER: Greg Biffle
CHASE POINTS: seventh, -321
CAR: No. 16 3M Scotch Brand Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 7
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 13.4 (won three times)
LAST WEEK: Finished 14th at Phoenix, continuing a trend where he's spent the Chase practically stuck in seventh. Loves Miami, however, and could sneak into the top five with a fourth career win at the 1.5-mile track.
CHASE CHATTER: ``I would still like to finish in the top five in the standings and that will be our goal heading into Homestead,'' Biffle said.
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DRIVER: Denny Hamlin
CHASE POINTS: eighth, -352
CAR: No. 11 FedEx Toyota
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 4
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 13.0 (best: 3rd, twice)
LAST WEEK: Finished third behind Johnson at Phoenix, but made bigger headlines when his ongoing feud with Brad Keselowski escalated during the Nationwide Race.
CHASE CHATTER: ``No matter what you throw in the car, I'm the best of the worst or the worst of the best, one of the two,'' Hamlin said.
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DRIVER: Ryan Newman
CHASE POINTS: ninth, -411
CAR: No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet
TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 7
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 20.3 (best: 6th in 2002)
LAST WEEK: Best news from last week was the addition of a sponsor for his No. 39 Chevy for next season. Finished a forgettable 20th at Phoenix.
CHASE CHATTER: ``It's not that we would ever be disappointed because of all the things that we've achieved,'' he said. ``It's just that we may not be totally satisfied.''
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DRIVER: Kasey Kahne
CHASE POINTS: 10th, -476
CAR: No. 9 Budweiser Dodge
TEAM: Richard Petty Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 5
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 17.6 (best: 4th in 2006)
LAST WEEK: Qualified fourth at Phoenix before settling for 15th after developing front-end problems. A solid run at Homestead would give Kahne a boost heading into an offseason full of questions at RPM.
CHASE CHATTER: ``At one point in the race, I felt like I could feel every crack in the race track,'' he said.
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DRIVER: Carl Edwards
CHASE POINTS: 11th, -520
CAR: No. 99 Aflac Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 5
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 6.4 (won in 2008)
LAST WEEK: Another ho-hum finish (16th) in a season few imagined this time last year, when Edwards finished second to Johnson. He heads to Miami looking for his first win since taking the checkered flag in the 2008 finale.
CHASE CHATTER: ``We have to get better,'' Edwards said. ``We have to figure out where we are behind and then fix that.''
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DRIVER: Brian Vickers
CHASE POINTS: 12th, -666
CAR: No. 83 Red Bull Toyota
TEAM: Red Bull Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER HOMESTEAD STARTS: 6
AVERAGE HOMESTEAD FINISH: 31.7 (best: 18th in 2004)
LAST WEEK: The hottest driver entering the Chase is the coldest one ending the season. Got caught up in a 10-car pileup on lap 171 at Phoenix and wound up 38th, his worst finish since the Daytona 500.
CHASE CHATTER: ``It was very difficult to pass out there,'' Vickers said. ``And I think it was so hard to pass that no one was willing to give anything up.''
