26 races down and now the Chase begins. With the points for those in the top dozen reset, it essentially comes down to who will get hot over these last ten events and claim the season crown.

Denny Hamlin leads Jimmie Johnson by ten as they venture to New Hampshire on Sunday. Sure, neither have exactly been blazing a trail to the title just yet, though Hamlin thawed out to win last week and both have done very well at the Loudon track.

Carl Edwards has been the hot hand in recent weeks, but he has never won at the New England venue. Tony Stewart and every other Chaser, with the exception of Matt Kenseth, have visited that Victory Lane at least once. Jeff Burton has been there four times. It would be a good time for the invisible man to take off the bandages and be seen.

Clint Bowyer has sure been noticed in recent weeks, and for good reason. Kyle Busch seems to be waking from his slumber, while brother Kurt has six top tens in ten weeks. His misfortune is that when he isn’t up front, he is somewhere near the back of the pack.

Then there are those previewing for 2011. Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, and David Reutimann have been among our best in recent weeks. Can they go from being considered pretenders to potential contenders by the time we go into winter hibernation?

As they begin the Chase, here are our top 20 over the past ten events…

1 (2) Carl Edwards – 1495 pts – 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens
Some cousins are kissin’, some are flippin’

2 (1) Tony Stewart – 1434 pts – 1 Win, 4 Top Fives, 7 Top Tens
Does this make Tony the under dog?

6 (4) Jeff Gordon – 1351 pts – 3 Top Fives, 5 Top Tens
Number 5 is alive, but can he keep it that way?
    
7 (12) Juan Pablo Montoya – 1346 pts – 1 Win, 1 Top Five, 5 Top Tens
Too late for this year, but this fall could be a preview of the spring

9 (7) Jamie McMurray – 1260 pts – 1 Win, 3 Top Fives, 4 Top Tens
Maybe this year was just a sneak preview of what is to come.

10 (14) Matt Kenseth – 1254 pts – 1 Top Five, 2 Top Tens
He is here thanks to being no worse than 18th over the past ten.

11 (11) David Reutimann – 1234 pts – 1 Win, 2 Top Fives, 2 Top Tens
See above for an idea as to why, and toss in a win for good measure.

13 (13) Ryan Newman – 1229 pts – 3 Top Tens
Not in their Top 12, but could wind up in our’s before the season ends.

16 (22) Denny Hamlin – 1159 pts – 1 Win, 3 Top Fives, 4 Top Tens
Could another trip to the bottled shower be coming up at Loudon?

17 (10) Kasey Kahne – 1151 pts – 2 Top Fives, 3 Top Tens
I miss the girls, I miss the good hands guy from 24

18 (20) A.J. Allmendinger – 1109 pts – 1 Top Five, 3 Top Tens
Anagrams of his name include “renal melding” and “gnarled me nil.”

18 (21) Martin Truex Jr – 1109 pts – 2 Top Tens
The only Martin, Truex, or Junior to be found on the list this week

20 (18) Marcos Ambrose – 1096 pts – 2 Top Fives, 3 Top Tens
Down under on the list this week with six of last ten outside the top twenty

While the twelve drivers set to compete in NASCAR’s Chase may share the dream of being the sport’s champion, reaping the benefits of being “top dog” for the year, each one of them comes to the Chase with their own individual hopes, dreams, and motivations.

Denny Hamlin currently sits in the cat bird’s seat, with the most wins and the most bonus points giving him top seed. But there is no doubt that the motivation and the will for Hamlin’s championship run was born in March when he had to succumb to knee surgery to repair the damage he did in the off season playing basketball.

Despite incredible pain, Hamlin got right back into his car and soldiered on, demonstrating to himself and his team that he had the fortitude to compete, for that race and now for the championship. He continues to exude that toughness and confidence, which is no doubt his motivation as he prepares do to battle to keep that top seed to the end.

“We’re tough right now,” Hamlin said. “We’ve got the most wins and hopefully that will carry us for the rest of the season. At this point, I’d say we could win all of them.”

The motivation for the number two driver coming into the first Chase race is simple. Jimmie Johnson just wants to make history….again. Johnson conquered that feat last year when he was the first NASCAR driver ever to win four consecutive championships. He would make history again with a fifth in a row.

“It’s been awfully tough to win four in a row, but we’ll show up and give 100 percent,” Johnson said. “We just want to do our best.”

The third seed was first throughout most of season and Kevin Harvick, living up to his nickname, is just ‘happy’ to be there. After a miserable year last year when he not only missed the Chase but was close to leaving Richard Childress Racing, Kevin Harvick is back with a vengeance and his motivation is no doubt to prove that he truly is now at the top of the game.

“I think it’s the most competitive that we have ever been,” Harvick said. “We are competitive as far as speed and the things that you need to race for wins and win the championship.”

Kyle Busch may not be known as necessarily ‘happy’ but he seems almost elated to be in the Chase, especially after being on the outside looking in last year. For Busch, his championship motivation is to show the world and all of the fans that love to hate him that he is the real deal and can actually seal the deal.

“You fight every day of your year to make the Chase,” Busch said. “This is all part of the fighting to get to the point where you can fight some more through the last ten weeks against the best in racing.”

Busch’s older brother Kurt is just nipping at the heels of his baby brother in this year’s Chase in the fifth starting position. So, perhaps Kurt Busch’s motivation is just that…to show his sibling just who is king of the hill in the world of NASCAR.

But Busch has another Chase motivation and dream. He wants to be the one who survives the fray, finally bringing home the NASCAR Sprint Cup to his ‘captain’ Roger Penske for the first time in the sport.

“I know from experience that you can get it going in the right direction,” Busch said. “You can keep the momentum growing and sort of build some insurance for something bad happening later on during the ten-race stretch.”

Sixth seed Tony Stewart only has to look at his uniform for his Chase motivation, sporting ‘Stewart-Haas Racing’ on his chest. Stewart would be the first owner driver since Alan Kulwicki to claim the championship.

“You do what it takes and you do what you have to do, but I feel like we’ve got a lot of momentum right now,” Stewart said. “It’s just been a lot of hard work with our organization and the results are starting to show.”

For seventh seed Greg Biffle, ninth seed Carl Edwards, and eleventh seed Matt Kenseth, there is simply one motivation to claim the Cup, that of honoring team leader Jack Roush who has been through so much this year, surviving yet another plane crash and losing sight in one eye. These three drivers will have one similar mantra, “Win it for Jack.”

Jeff Gordon, who has been so consistent this season yet gone winless, is motivated to show he still has what it takes, even in the waning years of his career. Like his teammate Johnson, the ‘original four time’ champ is also hoping to continue his ‘drive for five’ effort.

“When it comes to championships, I always like to lean toward experience,” Gordon said. “I think we are really solid. I think we’ve got an awesome shot at the championship.”

The ‘other’ Jeff, with the last name of Burton, currently heads into the Chase for the Championship in the tenth spot. His motivation is that he is desperate to be at the head table of the NASCAR banquet before he ends his racing career.

“It’s going to be intense,” Burton said. “When you waited your whole life for something and it’s in front of you, it’s going to be intense, it’s going to be full of emotion, and as it should be.”

The final Chase driver, Clint Bowyer, hung on to make it in and is bringing up the Chase rear. His whole motivation is to prove that he has every right to be in the championship hunt.

“You kind of go in as the underdog under the radar,” Bowyer said. “The good thing is that we do have a lot of momentum right now. That’s what got us in this thing.”

Regardless of their motivations, hopes or dreams, twelve drivers will now officially start the competition for the coveted Cup. Their Chase will begin with the first race this weekend at Loudon, New Hampshire, continuing on to the final showdown in Homestead, where one of these twelve will be crowned as the best in this year’s class.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headed into Richmond with the top 10 cemented into the final ten races for the championship. Only Greg Biffle and Clint bowyer weren’t sure. It didn’t take either one long to cement their place. So we ended the final race of the “regular season” with little or no excitement. Denny Hamlin dominated the race, as he sometimes does, and the usual suspects will all chase Jimmie Johnson for the big trophy. NASCAR created a monster.

I cannot remember a time when so many folks have jumped on the ABJ (anybody but Johnson) bandwagon. After four straight championships, fans are eager for a new face to win, but all the crying for making wins more important, leave Johnson just ten points behind Hamlin as we head to New Hampshire. With tracks that favor the No. 48’s style, the Chase is almost loaded for a fifth straight championship for Johnson. A couple of early wins or good finishes coupled with a couple of rivals faltering, and fans will be tuning the NFL in and forgetting NASCAR. It didn’t have to be this way.

By my last count, and being math challenged is an understatement, 42% of the Chase field will have not won a race in 2010. It doesn’t take much of an argumet to realize that Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, and Clint Bowyer could steal the crown without a win this year if the top seven have problems. Stranger things have happened. Isn’t that what NASCAR was trying to avoid after Matt Kenseth’s championship way back in 2002? Kenseth won one race that year. And by placing so much emphasis on that fact, they forgot to change the point system leading up to the Chase. It’s based on consistency, as it always has been. The “playoff” was supposed to add excitement to the final run, but it has artificially created a situation whereby conisistency doesn’t really matter if you win. What a revolting development this is. It’s flawed.

Football fans love the NFL system and baseball fans love the playoffs, but both are stick and ball sports n which such things are natural. A playoff for the Sprint Cup championship is so wrong on many levels. The reason many state for this was that NASCAR was trying to take fans from the NFL and MLB when they are deciding their champions. That’s a really futile dream. Not going to happen. In the meantime, many hard-core NASCAR fans just look the other way. When will we learn that NASCAR is NASCAR and the NFL and MLB are different? Maybe never, but the sanctioning body in Daytona Beach continues to reach for that dream in this day of smaller crowds, lower TV ratings, and fan protests.

So we head to New England to begin our quest to crown a champion. Kevin Harvick led most of the season, but he starts third in the Chase field. Carl Edwards was fourth, but he sits way back because neither won during the year. It’s time for NASCAR to make up its mind. Is it consistency or wins? Or do we need a ten-race playoff? In my mind, I know the answer.

While fellow teams are preparing for Sunday’s first Chase race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Richard Petty Motorsports team will be making an early morning pit stop in Connecticut to visit with employees from Hartford Distributors.

The company, located just east of Hartford, found itself at the center of a tragedy when a gunman shot and killed eight fellow employees and injured two in early August.

According to Shawn Courchesne, sports reporter at the Hartford Courant and writer of the autoracing blog, “The Backstretch,” the team’s four NASCAR Sprint Cup series hauler drivers will visit with employees on Thursday morning to give tours of the haulers and display the cars that will be run in Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

In addition, New Hampshire Motor Speedway has donated 250 tickets for employees to attend Sunday’s race at the track, according to Courchesne.

Although it may seem unexpected, the visit by Richard Petty Motorsports is a logical fit, because Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Ford Fusion for the Sprint Cup series team, is sponsored by Budweiser and the Connecticut company is a beer distributor.

The event will also provide the team with some positive media attention and is a great opportunity to gain new fans.

Richard Petty Motorsports recently announced that three of their four current drivers would not be renewing their contracts with the team for the 2011-2012 Sprint Cup Series season.

The team’s stop in Connecticut is not open to the public and will take place Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. before heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led 251 of 400 laps at Richmond, erasing the memory of 34th and 43rd-place finishes in his last two races to grab the top seed in the Chase For The Cup. Hamlin’s sixth win of the year places him ten points ahead of four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, with five wins.

“The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Camry was awesome on Saturday night,” Hamlin said. “There were a lot of people who doubted out ability to get this car ready for the Chase. Well, if the Fed Ex Office car could talk, it would undoubtedly tell those people to ‘kiss my asterisk.’”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished third in the Air Guard 400, sandwiched among three Joe Gibbs Racing cars that finished first, second, and fourth. It was Johnson’s tenth top-5 finish of the year, and he will start the Chase seeded second, ten points behind Denny Hamlin.

“We may not be leading the standings right now,” Johnson said, “but with two consecutive third-place finishes, we will be there soon. In this business, timing is everything, and as a four-time champion, our ‘time-ing’ is best.”

“And speaking of time, do you know what time it is? I’ll tell you. It’s ten until five—–ten races until I’m crowned with my fifth Sprint Cup title. It’s only a matter of time.”

3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth at Richmond, his series-best 17th top-10 result of the year. However, Harvick’s sizeable points lead is gone, and as a result of the points reset, he’ll start the Chase For The Cup 30 points down to Denny Hamlin.

“There’s good news and bad news,” Harvick said. “The bad news is my 228-point lead is gone. The good news? There’s something that can disappear faster than a 228-point lead, and that’s a 30 point lead.”

4. Kyle Busch: After a poor qualifying effort, Busch started 32nd in the Air Guard 400, but quickly made his way to the front. Busch was in the top 10 on lap 136, and soon after hit the top 5. He later dueled teammate Denny Hamlin for the lead in the closing laps, but was unable to overtake the No. 11 Toyota.

“The No. 18 M&M’s Toyota was fast enough to win,” Busch said, “but I just used up too much of the car trying to get close to Hamlin, which, incidentally, is the only way I would ever even consider ‘getting close’ to him.”

Anyway, they say ‘M&M’s melt in your mouth, not in your hands.’ Well, the way I drove it, the tires of the M&M’s car melted on the track, and in my hands.”

5. Carl Edwards: Edwards continued his hot streak, starting from the pole at Richmond and leading 95 laps on his way to a tenth-place finish. Edwards, in the No. 99 Cheez-It Ford, scored his 14th top 10 of the year, and eight in his last nine races, to enter the Chase as the most dangerous driver without a win.

“I suggest other drivers take me seriously as a contender for the Cup,” Edwards said. “And other drivers suggested that to be taken seriously, I should try something besides ‘Cheez-it’ on my car.”

6. Tony Stewart: After winning last week at Atlanta, Stewart closed the regular season with a 16th at Richmond, losing some of the momentum built by his lone victory this year. He will start the Chase 50 points down to Denny Hamlin.

“My win at Atlanta,” Stewart said, “was a ‘Smoke’ signal that I would be a factor in the Chase. If that’s the case, then my 16th at Richmond could portend that the Chase will likely see barely a puff of ‘Smoke.’”

7. Kurt Busch: Already locked into the Chase, Busch and the No. 2 Miller Lite team went for the win, making some changes to the car that didn’t pan out. Loose-handling issues arose, and Busch struggled to an 18th-place finish. Busch will start the Chase with 5,020 points, 40 behind Denny Hamlin.

“As you know,” Busch said, “I won the inaugural Chase back in 2004. It’s true what they say—becoming the Sprint Cup champion does change your life. Look at me. Without a title hence, I haven’t been the same since.”

8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished a respectable 12th at Richmond, but with no wins this year, will start the Chase For The Cup a disappointing 60 points down. Gordon has now gone 55 races without a win.

“Sammy Hagar may not be able to,” Gordon said, “but I can drive 55, without a win. And I’m sure I could ruin Van Halen, as well.”

“As an eternal optimist, I look at 55 races without a win as consistency. And consistency, not wins, is the key to success in the Chase. Ten more consistent races, and I could be Sprint Cup champion for the fifth time, which I believe would equal the number of failed Van Halen reunions.”

9. Clint Bowyer: Needing only a finish of 28th or better to clinch a Chase berth, Bowyer easily punched his ticket with a sixth at Richmond, posting his 14th top-10 finish of the year. The Richard Childress Racing driver will start the Chase For The Cup 60 points behind top seed Denny Hamlin.

“I think I speak for all five Chase qualifiers without a win,” Bowyer said, “when I say that a 60 point deficit is a pretty good deal considering. A 60 point deficit accumulated over 26 races is nothing. Give me ten races, and I can knock 60 points out easily. So, in essence, the five of us can win for losing.”

10. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 32nd at Richmond, one week after coming home 36th at Atlanta, clinching his spot in the Chase, albeit under disappointing circumstances. He’ll start his quest for the Sprint Cup 50 points behind Denny Hamlin.

“I’m just glad to be back in the Chase,” Biffle said. “And ‘back’ is the operative word, because we certainly ‘backed’ our way into it.”

But there are three Roush Fenway drivers in the Chase, two you may have heard about, and Matt Kenseth.”

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads into New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, the “Chase” will be the talk of the town. However, not every driver has their focus on the chase as some see the last ten races of the 2010 season as an audition for 2011.

Look at Dave Blaney. These last ten races for him may be the most important of his career. His career was basically over when he and PRISM Motorsports decided to part ways in August. Yet, as soon as Blaney could get his butt on the couch his phone rang. It was Tommy Baldwin, owner of Tommy Baldwin Racing and a little while after that, Bob Jenkins owner of Front Row Motorsports called him needed his help. Now Blaney will split the last ten races between Baldwin’s No.36 Chevrolet and Front Row’s No. 38 Ford. If Blaney can prove to his naysayers that he can still race he may have a ride for 2011, in either one of these rides. Not a bad deal for a guy who’s career was almost over.

Then there’s Jeff Green. The Owensboro, Kentucky native hadn’t run in a cup race since the 2007 season. In fact Green had only run in about 20 NASCAR races the last two seasons. Yet, a break led to Green splitting the No. 26 Latitude 43 Motorsports Ford with Canadian Patrick Carpentier. It now appears Green will be used for the short tracks, after making Bristol and Richmond on time. Green had been out of the sport for most of the last two seasons, and now has a chance to show some people what he can do these next ten races.

Landon Cassill is another driver who has an opportunity this year. In 2009, Cassill ran just one Nationwide race. It was a sad what the economy had done to one of the sport’s best rising stars. This year Cassill has had the opportunity to drive the No. 09 and No. 71 Chevrolets in the Sprint Cup Series. It hasn’t been exactly the best rides for Cassill, but it’s something. He now has an opportunity to run those cars next year if proper funding is found. Last week the 71 car had funding and Cassill ran his first race in 7 starts. For Cassill he has an opportunity to get a fulltime ride for next season. The chase is always exciting for the top 12 drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. However, there are other drivers that are auditioning for 2011 rides that you should keep your eye on as well.

While the twelve Chase contenders are now set and will begin their championship competition this weekend at New Hampshire, there are five drivers that are already starting at the back of the pack, 60 points behind top seed Denny Hamlin, thanks to their winless seasons.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon headlines this group, who unfortunately shares not being to victory lane in common with his fellow four winless competitors. Gordon is in ‘good’ company, sharing that position with the likes of Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.

Gordon, seeded in the eighth Chase spot, has been winless even prior to this season. The original four-time champ has not seen victory lane since April of 2009 at Texas, constituting a 52-race winless streak.

Yet the fact that Gordon has not won for over year seems not to faze him one bit when it comes to being in contention for this year’s Sprint Cup.

“I’ll be fine winning the championship without winning a single race,” Gordon said. “I’ll take pride in it, absolutely. You win it however you win it, you know?”

“Do you want to win a championship that way? Not necessarily,” Gordon continued. “But you’ll take it. Do I want to win the championship without having a win? No. But I’ll still take it and take it proudly.”

Potentially even hungrier for a win is the next Chase contender, Carl Edwards, who is set to start behind Gordon in the ninth Chase position. Edwards has gone two years now without a win, with his last victory in 2008.

Edwards seemed poised for a potential win at the final race before the Chase in Richmond, scoring the pole position. Edwards just edged out Juan Pablo Montoya for that starting position, turning a quick lap of 127.726 mph as opposed to Montoya who scored a lap of 127.455.

Yet Edwards was once again unable to capitalize on his starting spot for a win. He did, however, bring his No. 99 Cheez-It/Kellogg’s Ford to the checkered flag for a top ten, finishing in the tenth position.

Edwards, like Gordon, seems undaunted by his lack of wins going into the last ten Chase races. “It’s anyone’s race more than ever this year,” Edwards said. “Over these ten races, I think it’s anybody’s Chase to win.”

“Lately though we have been building this momentum and it has been working,” Edwards continued. “I am enjoying it. The previous eight or nine races have been really good and if we can make the next races as good as the previous ones, then I think we are going to be really good.”

Following closely behind is the winless Richard Childress Racing driver and NASCAR statesman, Jeff Burton. Like Edwards, Burton has also been winless since 2008 in his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet.

“It certainly feels good to be in the Chase,” Burton said after finishing 13th at Richmond. “I’m proud of what Richard (Childress) did to get more prepared this year.”

“Hopefully one of us can pull it off,” Burton said of himself and his fellow RCR teammates in the Chase, including Kevin Harvick and final contender Clint Bowyer. “It would mean a great deal to give one back to him.”

Yet to Burton, there is no doubt that snagging a championship is much more important than even a race win.

“It’s been the biggest disappointment of my career not to be able to win a championship yet,” Burton said. “It wouldn’t ruin my life, but it’s the one thing out there looming that means a great deal to me to try to get it done.”

The next to the last Chase seed is Matt Kenseth, a winless Roush Fenway driver that many feel may just be the sleeper of the championship race. Unlike Edwards and Burton, however, Kenseth has a more recent win under his belt, taking the checkered flag at Auto Club Speedway in 2009.

Yet in spite of that more recent race win, Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford, has had a less than a stellar season this year. In fact, Kenseth has not led a single lap this year since the June Michigan race, leading only 35 laps all year so far, even with the new Ford engine.

“Hopefully we can start off next weekend and get a good finish – – get a good start,” Kenseth said of his Chase possibilities. “The saving grace is that everyone’s caught up and we’re 60 points out of the lead. So now we have to perform.”

The final winless Chase racer is Clint Bowyer, who maintained his twelfth and final position in the point’s standings thanks to his sixth place finish at Richmond.

“I was trying to make a statement — I wanted to win,” Bowyer said. “And I thought we had a shot at winning, but we just got behind and never could get it back. But our goal was to get in the Chase and we did it.”

Bowyer, driving his No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper RCR Chevrolet, has been winless since his Dover victory in 2008. But this final Chase driver seems to have a bit of a different perspective as he is just happy to be in the hunt.

“I’m very excited for our race team for making the Chase – very excited for RCR,” Bowyer said. “After last year, to get all three cars in the (2010) Chase after none of us being in the Chase last year feels good.”

“I’m very excited for RCR’s chances,” Bowyer continued. “I feel like this is the best shot we’ve ever had, since I’ve been there, to win a championship. I’m excited to ride the wave. To be part of the Chase is just an added bonus.”

The winless Chase contenders, as well as the other seven competitors who have won this season, will officially start their championship runs on Sunday when the Cup Series travels to Loudon, New Hampshire. The first Chase race, the Sylvania 300, will air on September 19th at 1:00 PM ET on ESPN.