The Chase for the Nextel Cup cruises into the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, after coasting out of Kansas a week ago.

We say they coasted out of Kansas because a few drivers had no choice after running out of gas in the Banquet 400. Tony Stewart was running of fumes before his gas tank ran completely dry, but it didn’t matter as he simply dropped into neutral and rolled over the finish line. When you have a 17-second lead over the rest of the field you can do that.

The Chasers weren’t able to escape Kansas without their own gasoline troubles. Jimmie Johnson was leading the race before hitting the pits for a quick shot of fuel with only four laps to go. Johnson was penalized for speeding in the pit area and ended up finishing 14th. Johnson’s chances at the championship were slim to none heading into the race, and they’re all but gone now.

The leader heading into Kansas is still the leader heading into Talladega. Jeff Burton finished fifth at Kansas and holds a 69-point lead on Denny Hamlin, who was 18th last week.

Mark Martin is only 70 points back and has a shot at the checkered flag at Talladega considering he has won there twice before in his career. Always the pessimist, Martin has declared he expects to wreck this weekend.

The Chaser that lost the most at Kansas was Jeff Gordon. When the race began last week, Gordon was second in the driver’s standings. After being forced out of the race with car trouble with 29 laps to go, Gordon dropped down to sixth in the standings. If Gordon hopes to make a move back up the standings, Talladega looks like the place to do it. In his career, Gordon has four career victories at the Superspeedway.

The only driver with more success at Talladega than Gordon is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior’s chances at a championship are quickly slipping away. Heading into the UAW-Ford 500, Earnhardt Jr. sits 123 points behind Burton. Junior has five career victories at Talladega, so don’t count him out quite yet.

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