The checkered flag in Sonoma signals two things, Kurt Busch is a man on a mission and is letting everyone know he will be a championship threat and we now have 10 races to go before the 26 race cutoff in Richmond.

It’s been a season full of surprises with the new points system really paying off for NASCAR as drivers are racing harder for wins this season. From here until Homestead, I’ll have you covered on which drivers are locked into the Chase, who needs wins for a Wild Card Spot and when the Chase begins we’ll guide you all the way through the 2011 Championship battle.

With the new points system, the Top 10 drivers are locked in automatically with the 11th and 12th place drivers as “Wild Cards” and anyone inside the top 20 with wins are eligible for those wild card spots.

1.  Carl Edwards      1 Win            Ahead of 11th:   + 110
2.  Kevin Harvick      3 Wins                                     + 85
3.  Jimmie Johnson  1 Win                                       + 77
4.  Kurt Busch          1 Win                                      + 76
5.  Kyle Busch          2 Wins                                    + 73
6.  Matt Kenseth       2 Wins                                    + 58
7.  Dale Jr.                0 Wins                                    + 45
8.  Clint Bowyer        0 Wins                                    + 33
9.  Jeff Gordon         2 Wins                                    + 17     
10. Ryan Newman    0 Wins                                    + 12
11. Denny Hamlin     1 Win                                      - 12
12. Tony Stewart      0 Wins                                    - 15
 
Drivers Outside Top-20 with Wins

 
22. Brad Keselowski  1 Win                                    - 12
28. Regan Smith        1 Win                                    - 59

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