As a result of his second-place finish in the UAW-FORD 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Tony Stewart re-took the point lead in the 2005 Chase for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by just four points over second-place Ryan Newman. Stewart along with nine other drivers will race over the remaining seven races of the 2005 season to determine the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion who is expected to win in excess of $5 million
Nine drivers in the top-10 in points changed positions at Talladega.
Five of the Chase drivers were involved in accidents at Talladega: (Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch.
Seven of the Chase drivers led at Talladega earning lap leader bonus points.
Kurt Busch (35th at New Hampshire, 23rd at Dover and eighth at Talladega) started the 2004 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup by scoring a victory at New Hampshire and then followed with top-10 finishes in the first six races of the Chase. Busch is now 10th in the point standings, 180 points behind point leader Tony Stewart.
Eight of the 10 drivers competing in the 2005 Chase for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup have scored at least one victory in the first 28 races of the 2005 season. Martin and Wallace remain winless in 2005. Five of the 10 drivers have scored multiple victories led by Stewart and Biffle each with five.
Three of the Ford Five of Jack Roush Racing finished in the top 10: Matt Kenseth (third) Carl Edwards (fifth), and Kurt Busch (eighth).
Ryan Newman (first at New Hampshire, fifth at Dover and fourth at Talladega) is the only driver to score top-five finishes in the first three races in the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.
A total of $1 Million will be paid to the driver who finishes 11th in the final NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Additionally, the 11th-place driver will also join the top-10 drivers on the stage at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Awards Banquet in New York in December.
Tony Stewart (second) scored his 14th top-10 finish in his last 15 races. Stewart climbed from fifth to first in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings and has led the point standing in eight of the last nine races, dropping to fifth at Dover one week ago..
Matt Kenseth (third) scored his sixth top-10 finish in his last seven races. Kenseth climbed from ninth to seventh in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings.(NASCAR Statistical Services)(10-2-2005)
