Stewart is still the driver to chase

RICHMOND, Va. -- Tony Stewart was in a good place before the final race to set the field for NASCAR's Chase for the championship, his spot atop the standings secure.

And now that the nine other drivers that will contend for the title have been decided, including five from Jack Roush's stable, Stewart still is the man to beat.

"All of the teams are running good," Greg Biffle said during a giddy postrace interview after teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards completed Roush's five-man entry into the 10-race playoff. "But the 20 car is still better than all of us."

Stewart, the 2002 champion, will have his 185-point lead over Biffle cut to 5 points before next week's race in New Hampshire, but he is feeling very good about his team's chances. Stewart is eager to finally get started in the pursuit of another title.

"I've been waiting for next week for quite a long time now," he said. "I'm glad we finally get a chance to get it started and get on with what's really important."

A year ago, the first stop in the playoffs became essentially the last for Stewart. Taken out by a crash early in the race at Loudon, N.H., he eventually retired after running just 83 of the 400 laps, fell to 10th in