Ten Cup contenders wary of rest of field

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --The knock on NASCAR's new championship format has always been that all the attention will go to the 10 drivers racing for the title, and the rest of the field will be overlooked.

Kasey Kahne and Robby Gordon changed that in the first of the 10 Chase races with acts of road rage. Kahne intentionally hit Kyle Busch and Gordon threw his helmet at Michael Waltrip, two instances that took the focus off the Chase drivers at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Their actions took the focus off winner Ryan Newman's down-to-the-wire battle with Tony Stewart and overshadowed Kurt Busch's devastating 35th-place finish.

Greg Biffle, who is second in the Nextel Cup standings, wasn't impressed.

"We looked like a circus. The NASCAR race at Loudon looked like a cheap wrestling match to me," Biffle said. "I don't think it was good for us. Drama and all that and excitement and who is going to beat who and seeing people's real personality and people upset, that's going to happen, but I think it was a little excessive."

Still, it made for good television -- something even traditionalist Mark Martin admits.

"My wife is a great indicator -- she's not the biggest fan in the world -- but she said that was the greatest race she'd seen all year because of all that stuff," said Martin, seventh in the Chase standings. "Be real honest about it, the people love that stuff."

But intentional wrecks and retaliation on the race track can be dangerous to everyone.

Although no Chase drivers were effected in Sunday's incidents, the risk of getting wrecked by a backmarker will always be there for the title contenders.

Stewart, the current points leader, believes there is little that can be done to eliminate that element from the Chase.

"You still have 43 drivers who want to win races," he said. "The guys who are outside of that top 10, they still have sponsors to impress, programs to get on track, and for some, jobs to earn. Other guys just have something to prove."

Kurt Busch wrecked with Scott Riggs just two laps into Sunday's race and dropped to 10th in the Chase standings.

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Schedule, standings

Chase for the Championship

Sept. 18 -- Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H. (Ryan Newman)

Sept. 25 -- MBNA 400, Dover, Del.

Oct. 2 -- UAW-Ford 500, Talladega, Ala.

Oct. 9 -- Banquet 400, Kansas City, Kan.

Oct. 15 -- UAW-GM Quality 500, Concord, N.C.

Oct. 23 -- Subway 500, Martinsville, Va.

Oct. 30 -- Bass Pro Shops MBNA 400, Hampton, Ga.

Nov. 6 -- Dickies 500, Fort Worth, Texas.

Nov. 13 -- Checker Auto Parts 500, Avondale, Ariz.

Nov. 20 -- Ford 400, Homestead, Fla.

Driver Standings

1. Tony Stewart 5,230

2. Greg Biffle 5,210

3. (tie) Ryan Newman 5,190

3. (tie) Rusty Wallace 5,190

5. Matt Kenseth 5,180

6. Jimmie Johnson 5,177

7. Mark Martin 5,176

8. Jeremy Mayfield 5,135

9. Carl Edwards 5,121

10. Kurt Busch 5,088