HAMPTON, Ga. - Tony Stewart can take it easy the next couple of weekends. Same for Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
The real action can be found farther down the Sprint Cup standings.
With two races left until the Chase for the championship begins at Loudon, N.H., Sept. 20, there’s quite a battle shaping up for the last few spots in the 12-driver lineup for the title battle. So, excuse Matt Kenseth for seeming preoccupied. Cut Kasey Kahne a break if he’s not in a talkative mood. Even Greg Biffle, relatively secure with the eighth spot in the standings, is feeling a bit on edge.
“Certainly there’s a lot of pressure,’’ Biffle said yesterday, standing outside his hauler after practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I don’t think we can play it safe.’’
Some of this will get sorted out tonight in the Pep Boys Auto 500, when NASCAR holds its first scheduled race entirely under the lights at this high-speed, 1.54-mile trioval south of Atlanta, a track that’s notoriously hard on tires and tends to separate the best drivers from the pretenders.
Stewart, a three-time winner and comfortably atop the standings in his first year as a car owner, doesn’t have to worry. In fact, the notoriously cranky driver seemed downright jovial as he looked ahead to racing in Atlanta and next week at Richmond, where the Chase field will be finalized.
“I am racing 100 percent pressure free,’’ Stewart said. “We have absolutely nothing to lose. We can’t be bumped out of the Chase. We can finish 43d the next two races and still be in the Chase. The next two weeks, we’re going to do what we can to win the race and get those 10 extra bonus points. It’s really all or nothing for us.’’
Stewart has a 220-point lead on Johnson, the three-time defending Cup champion who will be awfully tough to beat once they start racing for the biggest prize. The cool Californian is trying to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win four straight titles.
“I’ve never felt this good about starting the Chase in the past,’’ Johnson said. “The car is spot on. Mentally and physically, this is the best I’ve ever been.’’
Gordon, a four-time Cup champion but without a title since 2001, is right in the mix (254 points behind Stewart), while Denny Hamlin, Edwards and Kurt Busch are all at least 192 points ahead of 13th-place Kyle Busch.
Kahne and Kenseth hold the last two spots for the Chase and are hoping to hold off the younger Busch and Brian Vickers, both within 57 points of 11th.
Kahne will start in the front row after qualifying second at 183.497 m.p.h. behind pole-sitter Martin Truex (184.149).
The 24-year-old Busch and 50-year-old Mark Martin have won more races than anyone this season (four apiece) but there’s a chance neither will be in the Chase. Martin is 10th in the overall standings, though he helped his chances with a runner-up showing two weeks ago.
Kevin Harvick passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. with two laps left to regain the lead and win the Nationwide Series race last night.
