Field continues to chase front-running Johnson

Well, we won't have the "T" word to kick around anymore. Talladega and all the wild-card talk is history. Jamie McMurray won the race, Jimmie Johnson avoided disaster and now there are three races standing between Johnson and even more history. Here's the breakdown of the top 12 heading to Texas Motor Speedway.

1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,248 points—You might think the 48 team is either incredibly lucky or incredibly good. I think it's both. And there's nothing wrong with that. You don't win one championship without getting some breaks along the way, and you surely don't win two, three or four without the same. Johnson laid back the entire race, missed both big wrecks and took on gas at the right time—and finished sixth. Those who complained about that strategy simply were jealous their driver didn't do as well.

2. Mark Martin, 6,064—Martin completed all but one lap—but it was the biggest lap of all—before his car flipped and landed back on its wheels. He clearly was frustrated after the race with his fate: his sixth DNF at Talladega for a crash and second this year, his 28th-place finish and his 184-point deficit in the standings.

3. Jeff Gordon, 6,056—Gordon ran short on fuel and finished 20th, his worst finish of the Chase. One for the thumb will have to wait another year.

4. Juan Montoya, 6,009—Montoya finished 19th and has three more chances this season to get his first win on an oval. This week at Texas, it's all about speed, and that's one of his strengths. He finished seventh in April.

5. Tony Stewart, 5,969—Stewart got caught up in the wreck that claimed teammate Ryan Newman on Lap 184 and suffered his first DNF and his worst finish (36th) of the season. Stewart and Newman had completed all but 14 laps heading into Talladega—tops in the series—before losing that distinction to Montoya on Sunday.

6. Kurt Busch, 5,936—How's this for a consolation prize? Busch retains his title as the best plate racer never to win a plate race. He visited DNFs-ville for the second time in the past four races at Talladega.

7. Greg Biffle, 5,908—Speaking of consolation prizes … for all the disappointment Biffle has experienced in 2009, none can be attributed to Talladega. He finished seventh in April and fourth Sunday—those are his only top-10s in 14 starts at the superspeedway.

8. Ryan Newman, 5,846—What's the best thing we can say about Newman's day at Talladega? He's alive. Three thoughts: First, great job by NASCAR for making the car so safe. I feared Newman had been crushed. Second, I'm hugely thankful there was no fire. Yes, that's an obvious statement, but he was pinned in there for such a long time, it was a concern of mine. And third, Newman said he couldn't communicate with his team because his antenna was busted in the wreck. Any chance that can be addressed so we won't have communications blackouts if something similar happens again?

9. Kasey Kahne, 5,834—Kahne finished second for his second top-five in three races and kept alive his all-or-nothing Chase: three finishes in the 30s, four finishes eighth or better. He moved up two spots in the standings and can continue that climb at Texas, where he has one of his 11 career Cup wins.

10. Carl Edwards, 5,811—Edwards drove across the finish line Sunday—finishing 14th—so that was an immediate improvement to his Ricky Bobby finish in April. Perhaps that will give him momentum going into Texas, where he has three wins.

11. Denny Hamlin, 5,800—Hamlin had a fast car but suffered a blown engine for the second time in three weeks. It also was his third DNF in four races. The misfortune overshadows just how strong he has been in that stretch: Despite a 29.5 average finish, he has led the second-most laps, 292 to Johnson's 382.

12. Brian Vickers, 5,697—Vickers finished 13th and is still looking for his first top-10 of the Chase. There has never been a championship-contending driver in the six years of the Chase to go without a top-10 in the final 10 races.

TOP FIVE AND FIVE TO WATCH

A look at the top five drivers and five to watch at Texas. All statistical references are for Cup Series races at Texas unless otherwise indicated. Driver Rating is based on the past nine races at the track.

• Top five …

1. Jimmie Johnson, 103.8 Driver Rating—Johnson has one win and nine top-10s in 12 starts. His only finish worse than 15th was 38th in April 2007 when he crashed. Johnson has the ability to get his second win at Texas but won't force the issue. Any finish in the top 10 or close to Mark Martin gets the job done.

2. Mark Martin, 86.8—Martin needs "max points"—a win and to lead the most laps—and hope Johnson finishes far, far behind him. Martin has a win and nine top-10s and finished sixth in April. He trails Johnson by 184 points.

3. Jeff Gordon, 92.2—Gordon needs the same kind of result as Martin, and like Martin, he has a win and nine top-10s. Unlike Martin, though, the win was in April. Gordon finished second in last year's Dickies 500. He is 192 points behind Johnson.

4. Juan Montoya, 80.2—Montoya was seventh in April for his second top-10 in five starts. Seven of his 17 top-10s this season are at intermediate tracks. He trails Johnson by 239 points.

5. Tony Stewart, 105.4—This sounds like a broken record, but Stewart also has one win and nine top-10s. (Five drivers do; the fifth is Matt Kenseth.) At 279 points back, Stewart is driving for wins. He finished fourth in April.

• Five to watch …

10. Carl Edwards, 102.4—Edwards has "only" four top-10s, but he has a track-best three wins, including in this race last year. He finished 10th in April. Of the three tracks left on the schedule, Edwards has more wins at Texas than at Phoenix and Homestead combined.

13. Kyle Busch, 94.8—This will be Busch's first race with Dave Rogers as his crew chief of the No. 18. They have history together in the Nationwide Series; in three races in 2008, Busch led 300 of their 503 laps together and won at Mexico City. Busch is winless at Texas in the Cup series with four top-10s in nine starts.

14. Matt Kenseth, 105.8—Kenseth has the top Driver Rating. He has seven top-10s in his past eight starts, including three second-place finishes. His 497 laps led at Texas are tops at the track. He was fifth and led 55 laps in April.

17. Jeff Burton, 84.6—Burton also has a new crew chief. Todd Berrier comes over from the No. 07 team, replacing longtime crew chief Scott Miller, who is now director of competition at Richard Childress Racing. Burton and Miller went out in style last week at Talladega with a fifth-place finish, his first top-five—and second top-10—in six months. Burton has two wins at Texas.

38. Brad Keselowski, 51.2—Keselowski begins his tenure in the No. 12 Dodge this week. He was slated to go full time in the car in 2010, but Penske decided to get an early start and gave David Stremme the boot this week. Keselowski was 23rd in April in the No. 25 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. This will be his 13th Cup start of the season. He has one win and four top-10s. The win came at Talladega in April.