First race of Chase sets tone

LOUDON, N.H. -- Call it the calm before the storm, that quiet time before the Chase for the championship officially begins and NASCAR's 10 title contenders are one big happy group.

Those 10 drivers are fresh off a festive swing through New York City, where their status as Nextel Cup contenders was feted everywhere they turned. They sat together on shuttle buses, shared strategies over a steak dinner and laughed as a group during their appearance with David Letterman.

"It's the calmest, nicest I've ever seen these guys," Kasey Kahne said. "It was weird. We had a good time in New York and everyone was calm and happy. This weekend could explode. Who knows?"

It's a good bet that it will by the time the checkered flag falls today at New Hampshire International Speedway. In the first two years of NASCAR's championship-crowning creation, Round 1 of the Chase has collected its share of contenders.

Anything can happen today when the top 10 jockey for position on New Hampshire's flat 1.058-mile oval.

"You've got guys who are battling for a championship," Jeff Gordon said. "You've got guys that are trying to get themselves back into that form where they need to be to win races. You've got guys in the back of the pack trying to get into the top 35 in points, as well as guys trying to get to 11th. So there are several different races going on. It's not just 10 guys out there racing.

"Any time you have that, you can have some craziness."

It could come right off the bat, as several non-Chase drivers appear capable of winning on Sunday. Although Kevin Harvick, third in the Chase standings, won the pole and paced both of Saturday's practice sessions, he'll have plenty of competition from drivers not racing for the title.

Busch and Stewart both ran with the leaders Saturday, as did rookie Reed Sorenson, who has a crew chief unafraid of gambling in pursuit of an elusive first victory. And because of the tight confines of the track, passing will be at a premium and tempers could flare as drivers are held up by slower cars.

"It is an emotional race track because it is so difficult to pass," Chase driver Jeff Burton said. "Everybody tries to protect their position. When you try to pass them, even if you are better, it is going to take 30 more laps to get by them. There is a lot of defending here and there is a lot of offense because you have to be aggressive to pass someone.

"When you get a guy playing offense and another guy playing defense, there is a big chance for a wreck. This just isn't a track where you can just get out of the way."

And even if drivers could get out of the way, Burton doesn't expect to see anyone do so during these final 10 races.

"If you are not in the Chase, you have every right to go out and run the very best you can," he said. "If they can win the race, they need to go win the race. If they can run third and that means they put a Chase guy back to fourth, then that is what they need to do."