DOVER, Del. - Who needs Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon when there's six drivers within 23 points in the Chase for the Championship?

That's what NASCAR must think following Sunday's MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway. Jimmie Johnson won the race to take the lead in the standings, but his position is tenuous at best.

Johnson leads Rusty Wallace by just seven points, and Ryan Newman is only 12 back. Mark Martin is 21 behind and Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle are down by 23 points. In all, the difference between first and sixth place is less than five finishing positions.

"It's going to be like that in a 10-race battle. You've got to believe that anybody is a threat. We've had some guys have some bad luck and slip back some," Johnson said.

"If anybody can make it (without problems), I don't know who it will be. I hope it's us. If anybody can make it through clean ... they'll probably be the champion."

Tony Stewart led by 20 points before Sunday's race, but his Chevrolet didn't drive well all day. He finished 18th, two laps down.

"I don't know what happened because the car didn't drive like this (Saturday during the final practice sessions)," Stewart said.

Kurt Busch, the defending series champion who won it all a year ago with nine top-six finishes during the Chase, had trouble for the second consecutive race. After crashing early a week ago at New Hampshire, Busch finished 23rd, three laps down after cutting a tire and being penalized for speeding on pit road.

Jeremy Mayfield is seventh in the rankings, down by 81 points, while Carl Edwards (behind by 103), Matt Kenseth (124) and Busch (170) round out the Chase field.

ON THE MOVE? Wallace said lawyers are currently working to get Busch out of his contract at Roush Racing so he can drive the No. 2 Dodge at Penske Racing South next year.

"I know he wants to drive the car next year," Wallace said. "They're trying to get everything worked out."

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: NASCAR president Mike Helton warned drivers before Sunday's race his company will not tolerate any more reckless behavior during a race.

A week after there were several skirmishes involving cars and a helmet, Helton said he would send drivers home in the future.

"We have reached a point where enough is enough," he said during the pre-race drivers meeting. "What that means is that if we see things continue in the direction we've seen the past two or three weeks, then we will continue to ramp up our reaction to be more severe than what we issued on Monday."

Robby Gordon was fined $35,000 and docked 25 points for throwing his helmet at Michael Waltrip's car and using profanity about him during a television interview, while Kasey Kahne was fined $25,000 and docked 25 points for driving his car into Kyle Busch's car following an accident and Waltrip was fined $10,000 for making an obscene gesture toward Gordon.

PIT STOPS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Wrangler jeans will auction a three-lap ride with the driver around Lowe's Motor Speedway to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Airfare, transportation to the track - and around the track - and hotel accommodations are included.

The auction is being staged on eBay through Friday.