CHASE FOR THE CUP \ Driver capsules

JIMMIE JOHNSON

Chase points: first, 5,575 Car: No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports) Position change: Plus 1 Career Talladega starts: 13 (Best finish: 1st) Last week: The two-time defending champion proved he’s still the man to beat, leaping into first-place with a victory at Kansas, his fifth of the season.

CARL EDWARDS

Chase points: second, -10 Car: No. 99 Office Depot Ford (Roush Fenway Racing) Position change: Minus 1 Career Talladega starts: 13 (Best finish: 5th) Last week: Went for broke during the final lap of last week’s race in Kansas, trying to pass Jimmie Johnson on the apron only to slide up the track and into the wall. Recovered quickly to finish second.

GREG BIFFLE

Chase points: third, -30 Car: No. 16 3M Ford (Roush Fenway Racing) Position change: None Career Talladega starts: 11 (Best finish: 13th) Last week: Proved he’s in it to win it, finishing a strong third behind Johnson and Edwards at Kansas. Heads to a track, however, where he’s struggled during his Sprint Cup career.

JEFF BURTON

Chase points: fourth, -121 Car: No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing) Position change: None Career Talladega starts: 29 (Best finish: 3rd) Last week: Another top-10, his 15th of the season, but has steadily lost ground to the top three during the first three weeks of the Chase. Needs to find some magic at a track where he has yet to win during his long career.

KEVIN HARVICK

Chase points: fifth, -136 Car: No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing) Position change: None Career Talladega starts: 15 (Best finish: 2nd) Last week: Notched his ninth straight top-10 with a sixth-place finish at Kansas and remains one of the Chase’s most pleasant surprises. Will need to get it going quickly, however, if he wants to make any kind of charge at the top.

JEFF GORDON

Chase points: sixth, -143 Car: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports) Position change: Plus 2 Career Talladega starts: 31 (Best finish: 1st) Last week: Remained winless in 2008 after fourth-place finish at Kansas, but crept up another two spots in the Chase race despite battling a serious head cold all weekend.

CLINT BOWYER

Chase points: seventh, -164 Car: No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing) Position change: Minus 1 Career Talladega starts: 5 (Best finish: 9th) Last week: Slipped a spot after 12th-place finish at Kansas, thanks in part to a costly speeding violation on pit road that dropped him back to 16th on a restart with less than 50 laps remaining.

DALE EARNHARDT JR.

Chase points: eighth, -190 Car: No. 88 AMP Energy-National Guard Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports) Position change: Plus 1 Career Talladega starts: 17 (Best finish: 1st) Last week: Earnhardt Jr. picked up a spot in the Chase race, but still finished behind nine other Chase drivers on his way to 13th at Kansas.

MATT KENSETH

Chase points: ninth, -192 Car: No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford (Roush Fenway Racing) Position change: Plus 1 Career Talladega starts: 17 (Best finish: 3rd) Last week: The guy who said he wondered if he could even be competitive in the Chase has his answer. His second straight top-5 shows the Roush Fenway formula is working.

DENNY HAMLIN

Chase points: 10th, -243 Car: No. 11 FedEx Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing) Position change: Plus 1 Career Talladega starts: 5 (Best finish: 3rd) Last week: Got back on track a little bit with an 11th-place finish at Kansas, working his way through the field after qualifying 30th.

TONY STEWART

Chase points: 11th, -255 Car: No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing) Position change: Minus 4 Career Talladega starts: 19 (Best finish: 2nd) Last week: Pretty much removed himself from the Chase race with a 40th-place finish at Kansas. Got tangled up with Brian Vickers on lap 191 and damaged the splitter, losing valuable laps while it was fixed.

KYLE BUSCH

Chase points: 12th, -311 Car: No. 18 M&Ms Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing) Position change: None Career Talladega starts: 7 (Best finish: 1st) Last week: His Chase woes continued with a 28th-place finish at Kansas, as fuel pressure and handling problems made the going rough. The once seemingly invincible Busch is now just playing out the string.

Associated Press