Chase Remains Wide Open, but Challengers Are Limited

It’s time to face fortune at Fontana.

NASCAR kicks off its Labor Day weekend at the California Speedway today with practice and qualifying for Sunday’s Sony HD 500, the penultimate race to decide who will make the 10-driver Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Only 13 drivers still have a mathematical chance to make the Chase, in which the top 10 in points get to compete for stock car racing’s national championship over the last 10 races of the season.

Those in the top 10 -- among them Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin -- hope a good run Sunday, and next weekend in Richmond, Va., will keep them in the chase.

But only the top two in points -- Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth -- have clinched spots.

“We just need to stay focused on our program, not on what the other teams are doing, and post two strong finishes at California and Richmond,” said Gordon, a four-time champion and three-time California Speedway winner who’s fifth in the points.

Others trying to squeeze in, including 11th-place Kasey Kahne, hope they finish well while the other contenders falter.

“You want to be aggressive, you want to take risks and try to win races, but at the same time, you really have to finish these races,” said Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Dodge for Evernham Motorsports.

“I mean, if you were to fall out early in a race and be sitting in the position I’m in right now, I think it would be very tough to make the Chase,” he said.

But not impossible. Kahne trails fourth-place driver Kyle Busch by 138 points, yet any driver can gain up to 156 points over another rival in a single race.

Translation? Several drivers could still fall out of the Chase with poor showings at California Speedway’s two-mile, D-shaped oval, and at the three-quarter-mile Richmond International Raceway.

The rest of the drivers in the 43-car field can use Sunday’s race only to burnish their seasons with a victory or top-10 finish.

“You still go to compete and run well and have a good afternoon, regardless if you are in it or not,” said former champion Bill Elliott, who’s driving the No. 00 car for Michael Waltrip Racing on a limited schedule.

“My definition of a good afternoon is being competitive and running with people you need to run with,” he said.

But first comes today’s qualifying, which carries added importance for some drivers outside the drama of the Chase.

Bill Lester, for instance, hopes to again become the lone African American in the race by qualifying for his third Cup event in three tries this year. He finished 38th at Atlanta in March and 32nd at the Michigan International Speedway in June.

Veteran Sterling Marlin, 49, also hopes to qualify for his 700th start in NASCAR’s top series.

Marlin, a Columbia, Tenn., native who drives the No. 14 MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet, drove his first race in the Cup series on May 8, 1976, when he took over for his injured father, Clifton “Coo Coo” Marlin, at Nashville Speedway.

Sterling Marlin has since amassed 10 wins, 83 top-five finishes and race winnings of more than $39 million.

“I didn’t even realize I was approaching 700 starts,” Marlin said. “That’s a pretty neat thing to achieve. I feel very fortunate to have been able to do something I love for all these years.”

In both qualifying and the race, it’s likely that the Roush Racing Fords of Kenseth, Martin, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards will be near the top.

All have enjoyed strong showings at Fontana. Edwards won the pole position a year ago. Biffle won the February race at the speedway in 2005, and he dominated that race again this year before engine failure allowed Kenseth to gain the victory.

Martin, running in what’s scheduled to be his final year in the Cup series, has six top-10 finishes in his 12 races at Fontana, including a victory in 1998.

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The AutoZone West series of NASCAR’s Grand National Division returns to the California Speedway tonight with the Relocate Here 200.

Mike David of Modesto leads the standings, but the top five series contenders are separated by only 85 points.

David this year has two wins and five top-five finishes. Eric Holmes, an Escalon, Calif., driver in his first full year, is second in the points with six top-five finishes.

Series rookie Peyton Sellers of Danville, Va., is third and Steve Portenga, a Sparks, Nev., driver who won the Fontana race in 2003, is fourth. Mike Duncan of Bakersfield is fifth.

james.peltz@latimes.com

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The Chase

Drivers still in contention for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. After the next two races at Fontana and Richmond, Va., drivers in the Nextel Cup standings top 10 and any others within 400 points of the leader will earn a berth in the Chase:

*--* No Driver Points Behind 1 Jimmie Johnson 3,499 -- 2 Matt Kenseth 3,492 -7 3 Kevin Harvick 3,178 -321 4 Kyle Busch 3,097 -402 5 Jeff Gordon 3,091 -408 6 Denny Hamlin 3,070 -429 7 Jeff Burton 3,064 -435 8 Tony Stewart 3,056 -443 9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3,051 -448 10 Mark Martin 3,049 -450 11 Kasey Kahne 2,959 -540 12 Greg Biffle 2,798 -701 13 Carl Edwards 2,788 -711

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Source: NASCAR.com