It is in the bottom half of the top twelve where the excitement really begins. Kahne trails seventh-place Denny Hamlin by 95 points and twelfth-placed Juan Pablo Montoya by three. In between are Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin.

Then there are the drivers just outside the top twelve: Kahne, David Reutimann, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer are within 70 points of Montoya.

Burton, who fell out of the top twelve last week and is 15th in the standings, 46 points behind Montoya, is philosophical.

“We can't forget that they pay the same amount of points for the third race of the year as they do for the 25th race of the year,” Burton said. “At the end of the day, it's an accumulation of all the points you gained in the first 26, so it really doesn't make that race any more important than any other.”

by Bill Marx/Sporting News