Roush Drivers Make a Point

Kyle Busch’s victory Sunday night in the Sony HD 500-mile Nextel Cup race was an impressive bit of driving at California Speedway but it meant no more than a race victory for Rick Hendrick’s Chevrolet team.

The younger Busch was out of the 10-race “Chase for the Championship,” coming up right after next week’s final qualifying race at Richmond, Va., before the green flag flew here. And among the five Hendrick drivers, only Jimmie Johnson has qualified for the Chase, which will involve the top 10 drivers. Jeff Gordon, who had clawed his way into the top 10 a week ago at Bristol, Tenn., fell out of it here, at least temporarily, dropping to 12th. Brian Vickers finished third, but also was out of the picture before starting his car, as was Terry Labonte.

So the real winner was Jack Roush’s Ford team -- Kurt Busch, Kyle’s slightly older brother; Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Mark Martin.

Edwards, Martin, Kurt Busch and Biffle started in the first four positions, Kenseth in 17th.

Biffle finished second, Edwards fourth, Kenseth seventh, Martin 11th and Kurt Busch, defending Nextel Cup champion, 12th.

In NASCAR’s scoring system, each race leader gets five bonus points. So the Roush team let it be known before the race that each of its drivers was going after that five-point bonus. And in a well-coordinated assault before 25 laps had been run, each had been a leader.

And what does all that mean?

Simply that of the current 10 leading drivers, five are serving in Roush’s army.

Biffle was already safely in the Chase but his second-place finish moved him up a spot, to second, behind standings leader Tony Stewart.

Martin was fourth and stayed there, but clinched his berth in the Chase. Kurt Busch moved up from seventh to sixth and has only to start next week’s race to clinch his Chase berth.

And Kenseth, the 2003 champion, jumped up from 11th, out of the Chase, to ninth, 10 points ahead of Dodge driver Jamie McMurray, who climbed back into the top 10 by finishing 10th after starting 38th.

Kenseth, who won last week at Bristol, has thus breathed new life into his season in the last two races. After the race July 24 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Kenseth was 24th in the standings.

“[After] Pocono, I didn’t think we had a chance,” he said. “But we’ve run much better and, you know, the guys that have been around us in points have had some trouble and maybe haven’t run as well the second half of the year.

“We’re not in it yet. We still have another week to go.”

Another week, and then it’s off to the real races for the top 10.

And even the guys in the top 10 are really assured of nothing.

Stewart, for instance, has 3,570 points to 3,361 for Biffle, a seemingly comfortable lead.

When the 10-race Chase begins in two weeks at Loudon, N.H., the points will have been adjusted. Stewart will start with 5,050, which sounds great, considering his current total. But Biffle, assuming he still is second, will be only five points behind, at 5,045, and Johnson, assuming he’s still third, will be only 10 back at 5,040.

Last year, Johnson went into the chase with the lead but Kurt Busch won the title, winning only one of the last 10 races but finishing consistently high in all.

So, it boils down to a 10-race shootout, and when it comes to shootouts, what better place for an army?