CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP Top 10 drivers

A glance at the 10 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup, in order of points standings:
Kurt Busch (97)
Chase points: first, 5,530Position change: plus 1What happened: Busch finished fifth at Talladega, becoming the only driver to score a top-five finish in all three Chase races. He then inherited the points lead when NASCAR docked Dale Earnhardt Jr. 25 points for cursing in his post-race interview.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8)
Chase points: second, 5,518 pointsPosition change: plus 1What happened: Earnhardt won at Talladega -- his fifth victory at the restrictor-plate track -- and took a 13-point lead over Busch in the standings. But a slip of the tongue cost him his spot on top. He's now 12 back.
Jeff Gordon (24)
Chase points: third, 5,482Position change: minus 2What happened: Gordon was strong most of the day, but got shuffled to the rear in the waning laps and ended up 19th. It cost him his spot on top of the leaderboard.
Mark Martin (6)
Chase points: fourth, 5,432Position change: noneWhat happened: Martin had a respectable 15th-place finish -- not enough to gain ground on the leaders. He now looks to the rest of the schedule, where he has multiple wins at four of the seven tracks remaining -- but none at Kansas, site of Sunday's race.
Matt Kenseth (17)
Chase points: fifth, 5,393Position change: plus 2What happened: The reigning series champion finished 14th at Talladega. He heads to Kansas with his favorite chassis, a Ford that has won twice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He wrecked the car at Kansas last year, then begged the team to rebuild it.
Tony Stewart (20)
Chase points: sixth, 5,391Position change: plus 3What happened: Stewart was in position to win at Talladega -- and even helped drafting partner Earnhardt Jr. get to the front -- before he was shuffled out of the draft and ended up sixth. Now he goes to Kansas, which is considered a sister-track to Chicago, where Stewart won earlier this year.
Ryan Newman (12)
Chase points: seventh, 5,384Position change: plus 1What happened: Newman finished 16th at Talladega, and was thrilled to get out of there incident-free. He's looking ahead to Kansas, an intermediate track, which is where he excels.
Elliott Sadler (38)
Chase points: eighth, 5,377Position change: minus 2What happened: Sadler finished 22nd after flipping his car on his way to the finish line. It was the second consecutive race Sadler has tumbled at Talladega. He heads to Kansas with the same car he used to win at California earlier this season.
Jimmie Johnson (48)
Chase points: ninth, 5,371Position change: minus 5What happened: Johnson had an engine failure that led to a 37th-place finish. The most dominating driver earlier this season -- he probably would have run away with the title under the old points system -- Johnson is now pretty much out of it.
Jeremy Mayfield (19)
Chase points: 10th, 5,263Position change: noneWhat happened: Mayfield wrecked at Talladega and finished 38th -- officially ending any shot at winning the championship.
Associated Press