NASCAR Cup Series

Drivers don't need wins to contend for title

Published Aug. 22, 2010 1:39 a.m. ET

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Jeff Gordon hasn't been to Victory Lane this year, yet he won't bemoan his winless streak if he's holding the Sprint Cup championship trophy at the end of the season.

''I'll be fine winning the championship without winning a single race. I'll take pride in it, absolutely. You win it however you win it, you know?'' said Gordon, who took a career-worst 52-race losing streak into Saturday night's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

''Do I want to win the championship without having a win? No. But I'll still take it and take it proudly.''

Half of the drivers ranked in the top 12 before Saturday night's race are winless this season, while defending four-time champion Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin lead the series with five victories each.

Those wins will be used in seeding the top 12 at the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, and the victor at the end of the season won't necessarily be the driver with the most wins. A winless driver has never won the championship - Matt Kenseth had one win in 2003, the last season before the Chase - but Kyle Busch (eight wins) and Carl Edwards (nine) both fell short of the title in 2008 despite having more wins than champion Johnson.

So consistency is often relied upon to win the title, as Kurt Busch did in the inaugural 2004 Chase with one victory over the 10 races.

For now, during the 26-race ''regular season,'' chasing bonus points is the goal of all Chase drivers. Come Chase time, it's all about chasing points.

''I'll take the check. I'll take the trophy,'' said two-time champion Tony Stewart, who won one of his titles under the Chase format.

''I don't care if I didn't finish in the top 10 the last 10 weeks, if I got enough points to win the championship. I don't care where I finish as long as I get more than the rest of them do.''

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WHO IS THE FAVORITE?: Nobody wants to step into the role of favorite for this year's title, and Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick took turns at Bristol giving each other the label.

Harvick, with three victories this season, is the current Sprint Cup Series points leader and proving to be a contender each week down the stretch.

''I do think that those guys should be considered the favorites,'' said Johnson, the four-time defending champion. ''If you look at their success on all types of tracks, (Harvick) is doing a great job collecting a lot of points everywhere we go. I know for a lot of people (last weekend's) win at Michigan solidified things for them, but to us in the garage area and watching the points total, it's all about collecting points.

''You don't have to win a race in the Chase to be the champion. They're on fire right now; they're doing a great job.''

Harvick has held the top spot in the standings for 14 straight weeks, dating to Richmond in May.

But Johnson, who started Saturday night ranked fifth in the points, is still the driver to beat, Harvick said.

''I still think the No. 48 team is the team to beat,'' Harvick said. ''No matter how good somebody runs, I still think that those guys are the ones to beat just for the fact that they have won it the last four years being in a somewhat similar situation. Obviously, we've run well and we feel like we can contend for a championship. But contending and winning are two different things, and I think we've shown we can win races and have shown that we can run good.

''But, I still think until somebody completes the deal and knocks them off, they have to be the ones you have to beat just because they have done it four times.''

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NOBODY CONFERRED WITH VICKERS: Red Bull Racing will welcome Kasey Kahne into the organization next season on a one-year contract, but the issue of what car he drives for the organization has yet to be officially determined.

Don't bother asking Brian Vickers what he thinks will happen though.

Vickers, in his first appearance Saturday since getting out of his car in May to be treated for blood clots, said the team never even told him Kahne was being hired.

''I actually read about it online,'' Vickers said. ''I didn't even know anything about it.''

Kahne will drive for Red Bull next year only, and is slated to move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 to replace Mark Martin.

Red Bull has been vague as to where it will put Kahne. It's currently a two-car team with Scott Speed and Vickers, although four different drivers have filled in for Vickers the last three months.

Vickers said Saturday he'll be back next season, so Red Bull's only options are to either field a third car for Kahne or give him Speed's seat.

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