Kyle Busch is rowdy once again with a dominant win at Richmond. He (752, +7) and teammate Denny Hamlin (753, +12) have scored more points than any other driver over the last five races and Hamlin has made up the most positions in the standings over that period. Sophomore teammate Joey Logano is much improved over last year, but is struggling to overcome some recent adversity and needs a solid top 10 at Darlington to stay in close contact with the Top 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. fell out of the T12 with his disappointing 32nd place finish at RIR, and Carl Edwards swept in to 11th place on the strength of a fifth at RIR. How significant is it to be out of the T12 with 16 races to go? Not necessarily so much. Four members of the T12 after 10 races last year fell out before the cutoff. A developing story is the struggles of Stewart Haas Racing, and Tony Stewart in particular. Stewart has the lowest points over the last five among contenders and has dropped 10 positions. Ryan Newman had a difficult start, and has moved up 10 spots over the same period, but still remains 71 points out in 16th place. For season-to-season comparision, who was the furtherest back to come back and get in the chase? and more, see my Chase stats after Richmond page and 2010 Chase Rules, Notes and History page.(5-4-2010)
