TNQC & TNRC - Loudon

Alrighty then, the Chase field for both titles are set and these are the drivers who made it and by how much driver 13 missed out by in the order of their standings after Richmond.

Firstly, the QC - Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Juan Montoya, David Reutimann, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr and Greg Biffle.

Denny Hamlin missed out by 46 points in the end but had no shot at making it in anyway once Truex planted his #1 Chevy on the front row (Denny needed to take the pole and hope Martin qualified no better than 17th). Actually, Denny did leapfrog over Tony Stewart as Tony could have settled for second on the grid in that scenario and knocked out Denny as he was 51 points behind Truex before Richmond...but neither happened so it doesn't matter.

To the RC then - Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Juan Montoya make it in.

Ryan Newman was the unlucky guy this time as it was all set up for him; Montoya didn't score a point at Richmond so had Ryan won, he'd have bumped Juan...oddly enough, the other 11 guys were locked in regardless (I accept cheques, Mr Kenseth *grin*).

No bonus points were given to the points leader after Richmond as neither 'pre-playoffs' title was already wrapped up.

As it stood prior to the Loudon weekend, here's how the top 12 lined up via the bonus points (4 per pole/win).

Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - Chase field:

=1 - Mark Martin (24 points, 6 poles)
=1 - Brian Vickers (24 points, 6 poles)
=3 - David Reutimann (8 points, 2 poles)
=3 - Martin Truex Jr (8 points, 2 poles)
=5 - Kyle Busch (4 points, 1 pole)
=5 - Jimmie Johnson (4 points, 1 pole)
=5 - Juan Montoya (4 points, 1 pole)
=5 - Ryan Newman (4 points, 1 pole)
=9 - Greg Biffle
=9 - Kurt Busch
=9 - Jeff Gordon
=9 - Kasey Kahne


Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - Chase field:

1 - Mark Martin (16 points, 4 wins)
=2 - Jimmie Johnson (12 points, 3 wins)
=2 - Tony Stewart (12 points, 3 wins)
=4 - Denny Hamlin (8 points, 2 wins)
=4 - Kasey Kahne (8 points, 2 wins)
=4 - Matt Kenseth (8 points, 2 wins)
=7 - Kurt Busch (4 points, 1 win)
=7 - Jeff Gordon (4 points, 1 win)
=7 - Brian Vickers (4 points, 1 win)
=10 - Greg Biffle
=10 - Carl Edwards
=10 - Juan Montoya

So it's the ol...uh, experienced guy out front as the cars rolled off the transporters.

And, after the first round of the Chase, here's how things sit.

Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - after Chase round 1:

1 - Mark Martin (29 points, 6 poles)
=2 - Brian Vickers (25 points, 6 poles)
=2 - Juan Montoya (25 points, 2 poles)
4 - Martin Truex Jr (22 points, 2 poles)
=5 - Kyle Busch (16 points, 1 pole)
=5 - Kurt Busch (16 points)
7 - David Reutimann (14 points, 2 poles)
8 - Jeff Gordon (10 points)
=9 - Jimmie Johnson (8 points, 1 pole)
=9 - Kasey Kahne (8 points)
11 - Ryan Newman (7 points, 1 pole)
12 - Greg Biffle (2 points)

Hamlin (393) leads Stewart (372), Marcos Ambrose (261) and Scott Speed (241) for the, probably not-so, coveted 13th spot.


Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - after Chase round 1:

1 - Mark Martin (27 points, 5 wins)
2 - Jimmie Johnson (18 points, 3 wins)
3 - Denny Hamlin (16 points, 2 wins)
4 - Tony Stewart (14.5 points, 3 wins)
=5 - Matt Kenseth (9 points, 2 wins)
=5 - Kurt Busch (9 points, 1 win)
7 - Kasey Kahne (8.5 points, 2 wins)
=8 - Brian Vickers (7 points, 1 win)
=8 - Juan Montoya (7 points)
10 - Jeff Gordon (6 points, 1 win)
11 - Greg Biffle (4 points)
12 - Carl Edwards (1.5 points)

Ryan Newman (407) has a slender lead over Clint Bowyer (400.5), Kyle Busch (379) and David Reutimann (356) as we head to Dover for round 2 or 28...depending on which title you're looking at :P

At this stage, things aren't looking that great for the defending champions (Jimmie in the QC and Carl in the RC) but there's a lot of action still to be played out.