Drivers eye points, even early in year

RICHMOND, Va. - There are 16 more races - 4,237 laps - before NASCAR makes its final cut for the Chase for the Championship, yet drivers already are paying attention to the point standings.

The top 10-ranked drivers after the 26th race qualify to compete in the final 10 races for the series championship. Although there are so many laps left before the Chase begins, some drivers view the middle part of the schedule - including Saturday's Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway - as the key.

"The points are tight right now," Jamie McMurray said. "If you had one bad race you could lose it all in one weekend."

Three top-six finishes in the past four races have pushed McMurray to eighth in the current standings.

But he's only 13 points from dropping out of the top 10 and only nine points from sixth.

Although the Chase field won't be set for another four months, McMurray said he constantly studies his position in the standings. He knows it's going to be more difficult to improve - and drop - in the rankings the closer the sport gets to the Sept. 10 cutoff date.

"I pay attention to it," McMurray said. "When you get to the racetrack every week, you line up (in the garage area) by points and you see who is around you. Typically at this point in the season, you can't (move up) five or six spots in one week, but you can do it right now.

"I guess by being the first guy out last year (as the 11th-ranked driver), it was very frustrating. But it's really tight. I think a lot of that comes form guys having seasons like ours where you show up and run in the top five and the next week.

It's really tricky this year. You might struggle one weekend. It's hard to be consistent this year with the new spoilers and tires. If you're off a little bit this year, you're a long way off. The margin of getting your car right or the window for that is narrower than ever."

McMurray lost his chance to make the Chase field a year ago by 11 points.

He was penalized 25 points earlier in the year at Bristol, Tenn., after his car failed to pass pre-race inspection.

Kasey Kahne was the 12th-ranked driver at the cutoff. In fact, he was ninth in the standings going into the 26th race, but a 24th-place finish at Richmond dropped him out of the championship picture.

"Last year this was our worst racetrack, probably one of our top two or three racetracks for some reason," Kahne said.

"It's going to be a long night, but track position always pays off. You've got to make the right decisions in the pits and keep your car out of trouble and keep it together."

Kahne is 19th in the current standings, but he's only 134 points out of the top 10. His season has been up and down. He has three top-five finishes, including a third-place finish a week ago at Darlington, S.C., as well as failing to finish three times.

McMurray has four top-six performances this year, tempered by three finishes of 25th or worse.

"We've either run well or struggled this year," McMurray said. "I really feel like we're stepping in the right direction this weekend, so it's going to be interesting to see how everything works out."

Reach Don Coble at don.coble@bellsouth.net.