FONTANA, Calif. - NASCAR won't need to add eliminations to spice up the title Chase next year, as has been considered, because of days like Sunday.
While Tony Stewart won at Auto Club Speedway, a third of the 12 title contenders might have seen their championship hopes end. At least one said they did.
Sunday was a day of attrition in the Chase. Consider:
l Greg Biffle, who won last week at Kansas, likely will have to wait until next year in his quest to become the first NASCAR driver to win championships in the Cup, Nationwide and the Truck series. He finished 41st on Sunday after his engine blew.
l Biffle's teammate, Matt Kenseth, who had previously discounted his slim title hopes, finished 30th when his engine turned sluggish late.
l Kyle Busch, picked by some to challenge for the title, said his championship chances were dashed when his engine blew. He finished 35th.
"If anybody wasn't sure the championship is over, it's over now,'' he radioed his team as he coasted to the pits.
l Carl Edwards, who had scored a series-high 12 consecutive top-15 finishes entering Sunday's race, had mechanical issues and finished 34th.
"That's a really tough day,'' he said.
All four drivers are more than 160 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson with six races left in the season. That deficit is greater than what Johnson trailed by (156 points) at this point in 2006 when he rallied to win his first title.
Johnson won the crown by placing first or second in five of the last six races. No team has shown the ability to do that this season. Kurt Busch's championship hopes are teetering after he was involved in a crash with David Ragan six laps from the finish. Busch finished 21st and fell to sixth in the season standings, 140 points behind Johnson.
"That just shows how fast things can change,'' Busch said. "With 20 to go, it looked like we were going to come out of here with a solid top-10 finish, but it was not to be.''
What makes it tougher for Busch is that the series goes to Charlotte this weekend where he swept the all-star race and Coca-Cola 600. Now, he needs help to have a chance at his second crown.
Jeff Burton, whose title chances were slim entering the race, finished 23rd and is 177 points out of the lead, and Clint Bowyer, who had declared his chances of winning the championship done last week, placed second.
While many faltered, a few saved their championship hopes.
l Jeff Gordon, hindered by a pit road speeding penalty late, charged from 17th to ninth in the final 10 laps. He climbed a spot to fourth in the standings and is one of only three drivers within 100 points of Johnson.
"You just can't ever give up because when you think you're out of it and you're done and you're going to finish 24th, all of a sudden a caution comes out and you get (new) tires and make an adjustment, boom, you're up there,'' he said.
l Kevin Harvick also overcame a speeding penalty to finish seventh and remain third in the standings.
"It wasn't bad,'' he said as he quickly walked out of the garage.
l Denny Hamlin, who started last because of a transmission change, finished eighth. He remains second in the standings, although he lost 28 points to Johnson and now trails the defending champ by 36 points.
"It's pretty much every man for himself out there,'' Hamlin said.
Yet, there's that familiar refrain that they're all chasing Johnson again.
"We as a team have tried to be smart about things and have the company motto be top five,'' said the four-time defending champion. "Another motto we've always had is if you're in the top five, you've got a shot to win.''
Sunday, that was Stewart, and his victory helped him climb into the top five in points.
"Today's a big step,'' Stewart said after his 39th career Cup victory. "It's not a guarantee that we can stay on this pace and have these guys lose points to us, but it does show our team, our organization ... it's proof that we've got to keep doing what we're doing.''
That's avoid mistakes, something not everyone could do Sunday and why what was being billed as the closest Chase by some this past week, is now not as tight.
Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com CHASE FOR THE CUP
Driver Points
1. Jimmie Johnson 5,673
2. Denny Hamlin -36
3. Kevin Harvick -54
4. Jeff Gordon -85
5. Tony Stewart -107
6. Kurt Busch -140
7. Carl Edwards -162
8. Jeff Burton -177
9. Kyle Busch -187
10. Greg Biffle -215
11. Matt Kenseth -241
12. Clint Bowyer -247
MORE INSIDE
Pleasant Garden's Shane Hmiel is in critical but stable condition. B4 - MAKING HIS MOVE: Tony Stewart. He wins and climbs five spots.
- DOWN THE CHUTE: Kyle Busch. Blown motor drops him two spots to ninth.
- HE SAID IT: "It's over,'' Kyle Busch said of his title hopes.
- OBSERVATION: Tony Stewart wins and gains 20 points on Jimmie Johnson. Stewart needs to do about that in each -f the final six races to win the title. If Johnson keeps running well, that won't be easy.
- NEXT WEEK: The series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the season's final night race. Kurt Busch is looking to sweep the track's three Cup races there.
- Dustin Long, staff writer
Jimmie Johnson finishes third and makes some teams, like Kyle Busch's, realize "it's over" for them.
