September 22, 2007
By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

It's that time of year again - the latter portion of the NASCAR season known as the Chase of the Championship - when the media focuses almost exclusively on the top 12 drivers competing for the Nextel Cup.

Many of the sport's biggest names are hunting that elusive quarry, including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth, all previous Cup champions.

But there are several NASCAR stars who missed the Chase cutoff this year, most prominent among them the sport's megastar, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Junior and a few other drivers are now competing in their own race-within-a-race to finish the season in 13th place - the highest attainable ranking for a driver not in the Chase.

Although finishing the season in 13th-place doesn't offer the same rewards as the 11th-place spot did for the past three seasons, there is still a level of pride in being the highest finishing driver among the non-Chaser contenders.

In the three previous years of the Chase, only 10 drivers competed for the Cup, making 11th place the target for the non-Chase racers. The 11th-place finisher received a substantial monetary bonus and participated in the Nextel Cup Awards Banquet in New York City along with the top-10 drivers. And the list of runner-up drivers has included some pretty famous names: Jamie McMurray in 2004, Jeff Gordon in 2005, and Tony Stewart in 2006.

This season, NASCAR expanded the Chase field to 12 drivers, but in so doing, eliminated any formal recognition of the best non-Chase racer.

But don't think for a New York minute that the drivers within striking distance aren't striving for lucky number 13.

One of those racers is Hendrick Motor Sports driver Casey Mears, currently 15th in the standings. Heading to Dover this weekend, Mears is 229 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr., who occupies the 13th spot, and 188 points behind Ryan Newman in 14th. Hot on Mears' tail is Greg Biffle in 16th place, who trails Casey by just one point.

Despite the close battle, Mears is confident in his team's ability to reach 13th place. "That is definitely our goal and I think it is a very realistic goal," said Mears, who has been moving up through the standings on the strength of one win and six top-10 finishes in the last 16 races. "We keep closing ground, and to come back from 35th at some point in the season to rally back to where we are at now and have a shot at getting 13th is a really good job for this team."

Ryan Newman, however, is the most likely candidate to unseat Earnhardt Jr. for 13th place. Currently 14th in the standings, Newman trails Earnhardt by just 41 points. The 12 team is coming off a ninth-place finish at Loudon and Ryan is optimistic about his chances at Dover, where he led 135 laps earlier this season. "We had a great run here in June and we're hoping to do the same thing this time," said Newman. "We ran pretty well last week and I think we've got a pretty good COT program at Penske Racing, so we should have a good chance this weekend. In June, we sat on the pole and finished second, so this time around, we'll go for the pole and hopefully keep that momentum going until we reach victory lane at the end of 400 laps."

But the non-Chase driver in the spotlight this week has clearly been Dale Earnhardt Jr., currently in sole possession of 13th place. With the frenzy surrounding Wednesday's long-awaited announcement of his 2008 sponsor and car number behind him, Junior is finally free to focus on the goal of being the highest finishing team among the non-Chasers. "We should be good at Dover," predicted Earnhardt. "Historically, we've always been really fast there and it's always seemed to be feast or famine - we've had good finishes or wrecked trying. I thought we had a Bud Pole in our hands there in June, but Newman went out and barely got us. We really felt like we had the car to beat on runs longer than 20 laps or so, and we were getting our hopes up until we blew a tire after 100 laps. It was heartbreaking - or should I say it was 'deflating.' Then, we fought and clawed back and had a second flat tire later in the race. Considering all of that, the fact we were still 22nd at the end of the day showed how fast we were."

Still, with just 230 points separating Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 13th from Greg Biffle in 16th, and Ryan Newman and Casey Mears sandwiched between them, the competition for best of the race is intense. Earnhardt and Newman are the odds-on favorites for 13th-place, but a driver can gain as many as 161 points in a single race. With nine races left in the season, anything is possible.

Though 13th place doesn't afford any official recognition this year, it is nevertheless a momentum builder that the teams in contention would very much like to achieve.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.