One dozen Chasers are officially half a dozen now. Only six drivers remain mathematically eligible to win the championship.
But three of those racers—Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart—are out of it unless Jimmie Johnson misses one of the last two events.
Johnson’s victory Sunday in the Dickies 500 eliminated six Chasers—Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr.
Clint Bowyer still has a chance in third place, but it’s a huge long shot. Bowyer finished 19th Sunday after pitting with a loose left rear wheel and going two laps down. Terry Blount, ESPN.com
With Jimmie Johnson’s win in the Dickies 500 on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, the Chase for the Championship field was officially cut in half.
Johnson holds a 30-point lead over Jeff Gordon.
“Thirty isn’t much, ” Gordon said. “The biggest thing right now is that we’re just getting beat, and those guys (Johnson) are winning races. We’ve got to go put some pressure back on them and outperform them. “
With two races to go to crown the Nextel Cup champion, only the top six in the standings have a mathe-matical chance at the title.
Johnson takes over the lead from Gordon; six drivers — Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton — were eliminated from contention. RUSS GOODALL, Houston Chronicle
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