NASCAR What If vs. The Chase

NASCAR.com - Races - Standings

This is our second week of comparing the "What If Standings" and the "Chase Standings." This week I have added the actual points for each driver. Jeff Gordon has moved up to take the point making the what if leader the same as the current Chase leader. After the leader, all other positions shuffle. Kasey Kahne drops below the lowest ranked Chase driver. Therefore he drops from the poll.

Tony Stewart is hurt the most by the new points system. Mark Martin gets the biggest boost. In the Chase, 157 points separate the leader from 10th place. Racing the way we did in 2003 would mean 478 points between first and last place. The only what if drivers within 157 points are Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jimmie Johnson.

I think that when all is said and done, those three drivers will be the top three of both polls - though not necessarily in the current order. Hey, here is a what if for you: if Earnhardt Jr. finishes 1st at Talladega (getting 5 pts. for leading a lap and 5 pts. for leading the most laps) and Gordon comes in 2nd (getting 5 pts. for leading a lap), then Gordon will still maintain a 3 point lead over Junior. Of course, if the race finishes like the April Talladega race, Gordon will increase his lead over Junior to 23 points and over Busch to 126 points.

Rank	Chase Standings	Points	What If Standings	Points
1	Jeff Gordon	5371	Jeff Gordon	3923
2	Kurt Busch	5370	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	3854
3	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	5353	Jimmie Johnson	3811
4	Jimmie Johnson	5314	Kurt Busch	3659
5	Mark Martin	5314	Tony Stewart	3611
6	Elliot Sadler	5275	Matt Kenseth	3579
7	Matt Kenseth	5272	Elliott Sadler	3566
8	Ryan Newman	5264	Mark Martin	3512
9	Tony Stewart	5236	*Jamie McMurray	3473
10	Jeremy Mayfield	5214	Ryan Newman	3445
11			Jeremy Mayfield	3397
*Not in the Chase for the Nextel Cup