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1. Jimmie Johnson - Is it supposed to look this easy? Takes a 118-point lead into 'Dega with four to go. If he avoids the "big one," it's over.


2. Mark Martin - Another top-10 finish yet he loses 28 more points to his teammate.


3. Jeff Gordon - Tenth consecutive top-five finish at Martinsville keeps his title hopes alive.


4. Juan Pablo Montoya - Nice rebound from last week's dismal finish. Montoya now has five top-four finishes in six Chase events.


5. Tony Stewart - In hindsight, Smoke probably should have taken fresh tires with 16 laps to go.


6. Kurt Busch - The 22-second pit stop was too much to overcome. Things don't get better next week; Busch is winless in 43 starts at superspeedways.


7. Denny Hamlin - Avenged a loss to Johnson in the spring race with a dominating victory in his home state.


8. Ryan Newman - Another pole for Flyin' Ryan, but a couple of poor pit stops cost him a top-five finish.


9. Kasey Kahne - Three top-eight finishes in the Chase are rendered meaningless after his third bad luck finish of 32nd or worse.


10. Clint Bowyer - Not a great finish (19th), but Bowyer continues to put together a solid late-season push.

11. Matt Kenseth - Another steady middle-of-the-pack finish for the 17 team.


12. Kyle Busch - The M&M's car shows up just in time for Halloween as Kyle comes from the back of the pack to finish fourth.


13. Carl Edwards - Poor restart on green-white-checkered drops Edwards from 12th to a disappointing 20th-place finish.


14. Greg Biffle - Three straight mediocre races spoil any title hopes. Biffle's only goal now is to snap a 40-race winless streak.

15. Brian Vickers - Ties his best finish in this year's Chase with an 11th-place showing.

Just off the lead pack:

Casey Mears - Ran in the top 10 for most of the race, but a late skirmish with Mark Martin dropped him to 18th.




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