The top three are the same in the new Chase driver rankings, as has been the case for quite a while, but there’s a new name in the fourth spot.

How do the rest of the rankings shake out? Keep reading, and you’ll find out.

1a. Jeff Gordon (1): Gordon posted his 26th top-ten finish of the season on Sunday at Atlanta, overcoming a stubborn car to finish 7th. But, it wasn’t good enough to keep his lead from shrinking just as quickly as he’d built it, as teammate Jimmie Johnson won to trim the deficit atop the Chase standings to nine points with three races to go.

Gordon is set to have one of his best seasons ever, but if Johnson overtakes him in the final three races, it could end up like 1996, when he overtook teammate Terry Labonte late in the season and seemingly took control of the points lead with an amazing run of four wins in five races leading up to the final four races of the season.

He headed into Charlotte with three straight wins and a 111-point lead over Labonte, but the championship race swung when Labonte won and Gordon finished 31st, cutting Gordon’s lead to one point. Labonte overtook him in the next race and would go on to win the championship by 37 points.

Gordon won ten races that season, had 21 top-five finishes, and 24 top-ten finishes, while Labonte won only two races, had 17 top-five finishes, and 24 top-tens. The difference ended up being the fact that Gordon had six finishes of 31st or worse, while Labonte had only one.

1b. Jimmie Johnson (2): Johnson has followed where Gordon left off, winning the last two races, both with late passes much like his teammate did at Talladega and Charlotte. Johnson was trailing by 68 points following Gordon’s win at Charlotte, but has trimmed the deficit to nine points with his victories at Martinsville and Atlanta, his seventh and eighth of the season.

3. Clint Bowyer (3): Bowyer continued his consistent run in the Chase by finishing sixth. He qualified outside of the top 20 for the fifth time in seven races, but has finished in the top twelve in all seven. But, with Gordon and Johnson both winning two races and outdoing him just a little (combined with the 60-point deficit that he faced at the start of the Chase) mean that Bowyer’s got an uphill climb.

But, as shown by that ‘96 season, anything can happen.

4. Carl Edwards (5): Minus finishing 37th at Kansas, it’s been a pretty solid Chase for Edwards, who finished second at Atlanta, the track where he won his first race. He did move up to fourth in the standings, passing Tony Stewart, but is still 261 points back of Gordon with time running out.

5. Kyle Busch (6): Busch was the leader going into a late-race pit stop, but mistakes in the pit knocked him out of contention, and then to add insult to injury, was spun out after Denny Hamlin ran out of gas on the restart. He wound up 20th, which doesn’t do justice to the race that he had. And, instead of gaining a little ground on Gordon, he remained in sixth in the standings, and lost 38 points to fall 328 behind the #24.

6. Tony Stewart (4): Stewart finished 30th on Sunday, and dropped to 322 points behind Gordon, and fell to fifth in the standings, barely ahead of Kyle Busch.

7. Jeff Burton (8): Burton has rebounded from a rough couple of races to post three straight top-12 finishes, including 4th at Charlotte and 5th on Sunday at Atlanta. Burton is up to eighth in the standings, but that’s little consolation, as he’s 400 points back pretty much done. He’s not mathematically eliminated, but is pretty close to it.

8. Kevin Harvick (7): Harvick finished 15th at Atlanta, and has zero top-fives and no top-tens in the first seven Chase races. He’s now 392 points back of Gordon, and barely hanging on to 7th in the standings, with Burton close behind.

9. Matt Kenseth (11): Kenseth posted his second top-five in a row by finishing 4th at Atlanta. If only he hadn’t woken up so late, he might still have a shot in the title race. As is, he did pull himself out of the basement, up to 11th, 448 points behind Gordon. Like Harvick and Burton (and Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin), he’s not mathematically eliminated quite yet, but is a race away from it, along with Stewart and Kyle Busch.

10. Denny Hamlin (9): Hamlin stayed on the track when many of the other contenders went into the pits with a few laps to go, but while it got him the lead for a few moments, it didn’t pay off, as he ran out of gas shortly after the restart, and after causing a mini-melee, wound up 24th. He dropped 50 more points to Gordon and is 424 back, in 10th, just behind Kurt Busch.

11. Kurt Busch (12): Busch rebounded from a couple of bad races to finish eighth at Atlanta. He started second in the race and was dominant at the start, leading more than 90 of the first 100 laps, and led once again in the middle of the race, but it was his brother and Martin Truex that wound shine for most of the race past those first 100 laps.

But, it was a good day for the #2, after finishing 26th and 31st in the last two races. He moved up one place into 9th in the standings, but is still 419 points back.

12. Martin Truex, Jr. (10): Truex led the most laps with 135 and had a shot at the win, until Hamlin ran out of gas, and Truex got caught up in the resulting mess. So, instead of a great day, Truex finished 31st, and dropped into the bottom spot in the Chase standings. And, he’s the first driver mathematically eliminated from championship contention, as he is 513 points behind with three races to go.

1. Jeff Gordon - 6,201 points
2. Jimmie Johnson -9
3. Clint Bowyer -111
4. Carl Edwards -261
5. Tony Stewart -322
6. Kyle Busch -328
7. Kevin Harvick -392
8. Jeff Burton -400
9. Kurt Busch -419
10. Denny Hamlin -424
11. Matt Kenseth -448
12. Martin Truex, Jr. -513

Last week, Jimmie Johnson made a late pass of teammate Jeff Gordon to win at Martinsville.

This time around, a little luck, and another late pass propelled Johnson to his second straight win and eighth of the season.

For yet another race, it came down to fuel and cautions at the end.

Kyle Busch had the lead into the last ten laps, until Johnny Sauter brought up the 12th caution of the day when he blew a tire.

The leaders, with the exception of Denny Hamlin, came into the pits to take care of fuel and some final adjustments, and that’s where Busch lost his chance at a win due to a 19 second stop.

When the green came waving on lap 322, Hamlin led, with Johnson in second, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in third. However, Hamlin ran out of gas on the restart, and that allowed Johnson to take the lead.

That set up another green-white checkered finish, and while the #48 sped away, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s tire came off, causing a collision with Jamie McMurray, which ended the race and gave Johnson the win.

Carl Edwards finished second, with Reed Sorensen having an excellent day at his home track, finishing third. Seven of the top eight were Chasers, as Matt Kenseth finished fourth, Jeff Burton fifth, Clint Bowyer sixth, Jeff Gordon seventh, and Kurt Busch eighth. Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers rounded out the top ten.

For Bowyer and Gordon, their finishes were something to be pleased about, since both had to battle back from issues - Bowyer started 26th and was 36th at one point, and Gordon’s car gave him problems all day, giving him little chance to win.

It was also a great day for Kenseth, who had to start at the back and worked his way up to a top-five finish.

But, in the end, the day belonged to Johnson, who led only the final eight laps, but those were the most important ones.

Martin Truex, Jr. led the most laps with 135, but he got caught up when Hamlin ran out of gas, and wound up 31st. Kurt Busch led 98 laps, dominating the first third of the race after taking the lead from pole sitter Greg Biffle on the second lap. And, his brother Kyle led 77 laps, but unfortunately, the bad pit stop at the end doomed him to a 20th-place finish.

As for the other Chasers, Kevin Harvick finished 15th, Hamlin 24th, and Tony Stewart 30th.

With Johnson’s second straight win, he’s made up all of the points that he lost when Gordon won the two previous races, and now trails his teammate by nine points with three races to go. Bowyer gained four points, and is 111 points back.

Bowyer isn’t out of it, but it looks like it will be a two-horse race, and like 2004, very well could come down to the final lap of the final race.

Next up is the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway next Sunday. Neither of the leaders have won at the track, but a first-ever win would put either one step closer towards claiming a championship.

Will it be Gordon, claiming his fifth title? Or will it be Johnson, claiming his second straight? We’ll know in three weeks, and you better stay tuned for what should be an exciting, down to the wire finish.

Lap 95 - Kurt Busch has led all but a handful of laps, and leads Martin Truex, Jr. by a comfortable margin as we near the 100-lap mark at Atlanta.

Behind the top two, no one else within four seconds, but Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has been flying, and has moved all the way up to third. Three Hendrick cars follow their soon-to-be teammate, as Kyle Busch is fourth, Jimmie Johnson is fifth, and Jeff Gordon has moved back up to sixth in the last few laps. Pole sitter Greg Biffle is seventh, followed by Kasey Kahne in eighth. After those guys, four Chasers take up spots 9-12, in Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart.

As for the other Chasers, Jeff Burton is 16th, Kevin Harvick is in 19th, and Clint Bowyer has moved up to 23rd, after being 30th at one point.

As of now, Gordon currently holds a 48-point lead over Johnson and a 163-point lead over Bowyer.

Lap 98 - The caution just came out, as David Stremme spun. Pit stops are coming up, so it’s going to take a minute to sort out the running order.

Paul Menard stayed out and was scored as the leader for a lap, but after pit stops, it’s Truex, Jr. who’s in front, Dale, Jr. in second, Kyle Busch in 3rd, Gordon in 4th, and Greg Biffle in fifth. The top ten is rounded out by Kahne, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Johnson, and Kenseth, with Stewart, Carl Edwards, and Jeff Burton in 11-13 through 111 laps.

Clint Bowyer is now in 32nd, putting him more than 200 points behind Gordon, who is now up 75 over his teammate in the updated Chase standings.

This may be my last update during the race, but if it is, I will be back with analysis following the race.

Martin Truex, Jr. passed Kurt Busch for the lead on lap 57, but after Juan Montoya blew another tire to bring out caution #3 and the leaders made their pit stops, Busch retook the lead, and is in front, with Truex still nipping at his heels. Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

But, the race was just red-flagged after a hard crash between David Gilliland and Mark Martin, which occurred when Gilliland spun and Martin hit him. Both guys are okay, however.

Eight Chasers are still in the top 10, though Jeff Gordon is slipping down the list. After getting passed by Tony Stewart, Gordon is now in 8th, and his points lead is now down to 35 over Johnson. Clint Bowyer has fallen a few more spots, and is now in 30th, which puts him 194 behind Gordon.

The race should be back underway shortly, after all the cleanup gets taken care of.

Polesitter Greg Biffle led only one lap before being passed by Kurt Busch on the second lap, and Busch has led every lap since.

Just a few laps ago, Biffle was passed by Jimmie Johnson for second, after reportedly having some issues with a vibration.

The drivers just took their first pit stops, following a caution brought by Juan Montoya’s tire going down, and though Kyle Petty did get credit for leading a lap, Busch came out first and remains the leader, with Biffle now back in second, followed by Johnson, Martin Truex, Jr., and points leader Jeff Gordon. After a poor qualifying day for Chasers on Friday, things have been much better on race day, as there are eight Chase drivers in the top 10, which is rounded out by Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, and Ryan Newman.

Truex, Jr. has just passed Johnson and Biffle, and now has his sights set on Busch’s lead. David Gilliland is also into the top 10, following his pass of Newman.

As for the points standings, Gordon is still on top, and is scored 48 points ahead of his teammate. Clint Bowyer is currently riding back in 27th, and that puts him 190 behind Gordon, so he’s going to need to rebound to keep his title hopes alive.

So far, the drivers haven’t had to worry about cautions, as Montoya’s was the first and only one of the race up to this point.  Correction - there have been two, as Dave Blaney’s car just needed to be helped to the garage, and the caution came out for that. 

I’ll have more updates time by time.

Kurt Busch’s sizzling qualifying run held up for 30+ drivers, but Greg Biffle edged him out and then held on from there to win the pole for Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Those two drivers were the only ones to post speeds over 192 mph.

Dale Jarrett had his best qualifying run of the season by far, qualifying third (his previous best was 13th at the LifeLock 400 at Kansas), Kasey Kahne will start fourth, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. round out the top five. Jimmie Johnson (sixth) was the only other driver to go over 191 mph, and he and Jeff Gordon (eighth), along with Busch, were the only three Chase drivers to qualify in the top 10, which was rounded out by David Stremme (7th), Ryan Newman (9th), and Elliott Sadler (10th).

No Chase drivers were in spots 11-15, but Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex, Jr. took up 16-20. Clint Bowyer’s run put him at 26th, while Jeff Burton will start 28th, and Tony Stewart 30th. For Bowyer and Stewart, starting from the back of the field while Johnson and Gordon are starting near the front doesn’t help their hopes of trying to claw their way back into the thick of the title hunt.

Kevin Harvick finished at the bottom of the heap among Chase drivers, with his run putting him in 34th.

I’ll have the full grid up later.

Greg Biffle ran a lap of 192.453 to edge out Kurt Busch’s 192.426 and move into the pole position on the grid. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. followed him four drivers later with a lap of 191.489 mph to move into fifth and push Jimmie Johnson into sixth.

Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are the only Chase drivers left to take their laps. Maybe they can salvage the day for the Chasers.

Matt Kenseth ran a lap of 29.21 seconds (189.818 mph), which funnily enough, ties him for 12th, with teammate Carl Edwards, who he had a post-race ‘incident’ with on Sunday following the race.

Jeff Burton ran a time of 29.28 seconds to put himself into 21st on the grid, two spots ahead of Tony Stewart.

Right now, there are only three Chasers in the top 10 (Kurt Busch - 1st, Jimmie Johnson - 4th, Jeff Gordon - 6th) through more than 30 drivers.

Points leader Jeff Gordon ran a time of 29.07 seconds to put himself just outside of the top five. Both he and Ryan Newman ran laps of 29.07 seconds and speeds of 190.719 mph, and Elliott Sadler also ran a time of 29.07 seconds (190.706 mph).