A glance at the 12 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship heading into this weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway (in order of points):

DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson

CHASE POINTS: first, 6,248

CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet

TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports

POSITION CHANGE: None

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 12

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 8.5 (won in 2007)

LAST WEEK: Signs you're having a magical year: your strategy backfires and you spend the first 180 laps at Talladega at the back of the pack. A red flag, a brilliant fuel call and boom, you're sixth. This is Johnson's chase to lose. Again.

CHASE CHATTER: ``I am feeling much better about things,'' Johnson said. ``I was so concerned about this race. I thought I was going to lose points with about three or four to go. So to have it turn around and lead with points over the guys, I didn't expect it.''

DRIVER: Mark Martin

CHASE POINTS: second, -184

CAR: No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg's Chevrolet

TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports

POSITION CHANGE: None

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 17

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 13.8 (won in 1998)

LAST WEEK: Became a part of the carnage at Talladega, finishing 28th while getting collected in a major wreck that left his car a mangled mess.

CHASE CHATTER: ``I don't know what it looked like,'' Martin said. ``It looked pretty exciting from my view point. I don't have a clue. I don't know what happened out there.''

DRIVER: Jeff Gordon

CHASE POINTS: third, -192

CAR: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet

TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports

POSITION CHANGE: None

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 17

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 15.2 (won in 2009)

LAST WEEK: Ran near the front at Talladega before having a fuel problem during a red flag following Ryan Newman's accident and finished 20th as part of the melee at the end.

CHASE CHATTER: ``I certainly didn't think we were going to run out right then, but I guess I'm kind of glad we ran out when we did because we were at least able to get back out there and destroy our car,'' Gordon said.

DRIVER: Juan Pablo Montoya

CHASE POINTS: fourth, -239

CAR: No. 42 Target Chevrolet

TEAM: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 5

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 20.4 (best finish: seventh in 2009)

LAST WEEK: Finished 19th at Talladega, stuck somewhere in the middle of the chaos at the end.

CHASE CHATTER: ``I wanted to run up front, but you couldn't do anything,'' Montoya said.

DRIVER: Tony Stewart

CHASE POINTS: fifth, -279

CAR: No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet

TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing

POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 15

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 12.6 (won in 2006)

LAST WEEK: Received an ill-timed nudge from teammate Ryan Newman with five laps to go, sending Newman on a wild ride down the backstretch and Stewart into the wall. He finished 35th.

CHASE CHATTER: ``I'm just glad (Newman) is all right,'' Stewart said. ``He'll be sore, for sure, but he's OK.''

DRIVER: Kurt Busch

CHASE POINTS: sixth, -312

CAR: No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge

TEAM: Penske Racing

POSITION CHANGE: None

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 13

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 14.8 (best finish: fourth in 2001)

LAST WEEK: Collected in a crash a couple laps from the finish, only question now is whether crew chief Pat Tryson will finish out the season in the box. Tryson is heading to Michael Waltrip Racing next year.

CHASE CHATTER: ``It was the most emotional highs and lows that I've experienced since I've been racing here at Talladega,'' he said.

DRIVER: Greg Biffle

CHASE POINTS: seventh, -340

CAR: No. 16 3M Scotch Brand Ford

TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing

POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 11

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 22.1 (won in 2005)

LAST WEEK: One of the few Chasers to emerge from Talladega unscathed, Biffle was a strong fourth behind winner Jamie McMurray.

CHASE CHATTER: ``It was a good run,'' Biffle said. ``I'm glad we avoided the big wreck.''

DRIVER: Ryan Newman

CHASE POINTS: eighth, -402

CAR: No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet

TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing

POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 12

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 23.2 (won in 2003)

LAST WEEK: Miraculously escaped a late-race crash unhurt after flying through the air, landing on Kevin Harvick's car then sliding the roof into turn three and flipping several times. Had to be cut out of his car after finishing 36th.

CHASE CHATTER: ``When I hit the roll cage and landed on my head I was a little worried and I was happy to be able to walk out of that in a roundabout way,'' Newman said.

DRIVER: Kasey Kahne

CHASE POINTS: ninth -414

CAR: No. 9 Budweiser Dodge

TEAM: Richard Petty Motorsports

POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 10

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 21.9 (won in 2006)

LAST WEEK: Another lap and Kahne might have chased down Jamie McMurray. Still, was remarkably competitive after a series of early race problems had him chasing the field.

CHASE CHATTER: ``We just kind of shot up through there, had great track position on that restart and ran second,'' Kahne said.''

DRIVER: Carl Edwards

CHASE POINTS: 10th, -437

CAR: No. 99 Aflac Ford

TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing

POSITION CHANGE: None

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 9

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 13.4 (won three times)

LAST WEEK: Got his turn at Talladega, leading a few laps but didn't have enough time or room at the end to do better than 14th.

CHASE CHATTER: ``My car just wasn't as fast as it needed to be,'' Edwards said. ``We were lucky to avoid those wrecks at the end and get out of here in one piece.''

DRIVER: Denny Hamlin

CHASE POINTS: 11th, -448

CAR: No. 11 FedEx Toyota

TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing

POSITION CHANGE: Minus 2

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 8

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 11.6 (best finish: fourth in 2006)

LAST WEEK: Roller coaster Chase continued when his engine blew at Talladega, his third finish of 30th or worse in his last four races.

CHASE CHATTER: ``Hopefully it will make our engine department stronger and our team stronger and when we setup ourselves for a championship next year, we won't have mechanical issues and then we'll be able to fight them at the end,'' Hamlin said.

DRIVER: Brian Vickers

CHASE POINTS: 12th, -556

CAR: No. 83 Red Bull Toyota

TEAM: Red Bull Racing

POSITION CHANGE: None

CAREER TEXAS STARTS: 10

AVERAGE TEXAS FINISH: 22.2 (best finish: 12th in 2004)

LAST WEEK: Mixed it up as usual at Talladega, giving Kahne a much-appreciated bump at times before finishing 13th and was hardly impressed with the bump-drafting ban in the corners.

CHASE CHATTER: ``We crashed just as much today on the straightaway as we've ever done and the new rule was in place,'' Vickers said. ``I don't know what the intent was.''
11/04/09 08:56 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.