1. Jimmie Johnson 

2. Carl Edwards  Fourth-place run following consecutive victories was admirable but ultimately futile.

3. Greg Biffle  Has an 8.2-place finishing average in the Chase. The only real stinker came at Talladega, where he was 24th.

4. Jeff Gordon  Engine problems derail Gordon’s strong seven-race run. He’s got one final shot at Homestead to extend the 14-season win streak.

5. Kevin Harvick  Has three seventh-place finishes in his last four races.

6. Kyle Busch  Shrub has very quietly notched consecutive runs of fifth, sixth and eighth.

7. Clint Bowyer  Bowyer has 11 finishes in the ninth - 12th-place range in 2008. Consistent, but not consistently great.

8. Matt Kenseth  15th at Phoenix was his fourth straight top 15 run. Should be tough at Homestead this weekend.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Junior held on for a solid sixth at Phoenix after a top-5 near miss at Texas.

10. Jeff Burton  Back in the top 10 at Phoenix after three sub-par races. Still sits comfortably at fourth in the point standings.

11. David Ragan  When Tony Stewart says you’d be his pick for Driver of the Year, you know you’re doing something right.

12. Denny Hamlin  Credit Denny: He hasn’t quite fighting, with three top-5 runs in the last four races.

13. Jamie McMurray  The surge continues: McMurray runs third at PIR, his second straight third-place run.

14. Mark Martin  Pit road penalty knocked Martin down a lap at PIR. Of course, he made it up and finished a decent-enough 14th.

15. Casey Mears  Mears had a great top-5 run going at Phoenix until Juan Pablo Montoya went all Juan Pablo Montoya on him.

Just off the lead pack: Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, David Reutimann, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex, Jr.