The 10 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, in order of points standings:

DRIVER: Tony Stewart
CAR: No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet
CHASE POINTS: First (Tied), 5,777
POSITION CHANGE: None
WHAT HAPPENED: Stewart crashed while leading at Charlotte after cutting a tire by running over debris on the track, and finished 25th to see his lead in the standings evaporate into a tie with Jimmie Johnson. Stewart has competed in 13 races at Martinsville with six top-10 finishes, including a victory in 2000.
SPEAKING: "I doubt anybody shed any tears for us last week at Charlotte when we finished 25th after leading a bunch of laps and showing everybody that we had the best car. That's how competitive the Chase is right now," Stewart said.

DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson
CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet
CHASE POINTS: First (Tied), 5,777
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 4
WHAT HAPPENED: Johnson had a myriad of problems in Charlotte, yet still managed to find his way to Victory Lane for the fourth consecutive time at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He goes into Martinsville as the defending race winner, but also will be observing the one-year anniversary of the Hendrick Motorsports plane crash that killed 10 people en route to the race.
SPEAKING: "I'm shocked just like everybody else just how close the championship race is and I think that over the next five, it's only going to be more interesting, more aggressive, more stress and pressure. It's going to be right down to the very end, I think," Johnson said.

DRIVER: Greg Biffle
CAR: No. 16 National Guard/Subway Ford
CHASE POINTS: Third, 5,766
POSITION CHANGE: None
WHAT HAPPENED: Biffle pulled within 11 points of the lead by finishing third at Charlotte. It was his third top-five finish through five Chase races. He has competed in five races at Martinsville, but has never finished better than 17th. He also has not led a lap at the half-mile track.
SPEAKING: "You've got to be confident and I felt like I was going to be able to make up the 88-point deficit, I really did. I was trying to be excited about being able to catch (Stewart)," Biffle said.

DRIVER: Ryan Newman
CAR: No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge
CHASE POINTS: Fourth, 5,760
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 2
WHAT HAPPENED: Newman was the first driver to blow a tire at Charlotte, taking him out of contention for the win. He also was penalized for leaving pit road with his fuel can hanging off his car. Still, he finished seventh. Although he slipped two spots in the standings, he closed the gap on the leader from 75 points to 17. Newman has four top-10 finishes in the five Chase races.
SPEAKING: "We'd like to have a 150-point lead, but we'll just keep the pedal to the metal and see what happens," Newman said.

DRIVER: Mark Martin
CAR: No. 6 Viagra Ford
CHASE POINTS: Fifth, 5,726
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2
WHAT HAPPENED: Martin had no tire problems and pulled out a fifth-place finish at his favorite race track. He's steadily climbing in the standings, up two spots this week and just 51 points out of the lead. Martin has 21 top-10 finishes, including two victories, at Martinsville. He has a 12.641 average finish there, third among Chase drivers.
SPEAKING: "It's a step at a time. We got a little closer ... (the team) is giving me a shot at it," Martin said.

DRIVER: Carl Edwards
CAR: No. 99 Office Depot Ford
CHASE POINTS: Sixth, 5,723
POSITION CHANGE: None
WHAT HAPPENED: Edwards finished 10th in Charlotte and was relieved to finish after battling an ill-handling car the entire race. Edwards has scored four top-10 finishes in the last four Chase races. He has competed in two races at Martinsville, finishing 24th last year and 38th in April. His 31.0 finishing average is 10th among Chase drivers.
SPEAKING: "We needed Tony to have that one bad night like that, so it's going to be a heck of a tight battle. If we can come out of Martinsville with another top 10 that will be another one in the bank," Edwards said.

DRIVER: Rusty Wallace
CAR: No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
CHASE POINTS: Seventh, 5,685
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 3
WHAT HAPPENED: Wallace was one of the drivers to blow a tire in Charlotte and he brought out the final caution of the race with a spin in the closing laps. He finished 24th, dropped three spots in the standings but lost only two points on the leaders. Wallace has a series-leading seven victories at Martinsville, his most recent in 2004. He has led 3,632 laps there, second only to Cale Yarborough.
SPEAKING: "The race at Martinsville this weekend is one that we've been looking forward to forever, it seems. The track has been so good to us through the years and we're looking for another big boost there this weekend," Wallace said.

DRIVER: Jeremy Mayfield
CAR: No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
CHASE POINTS: Eighth, 5,662
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
WHAT HAPPENED: Mayfield had to start at the back of the field in Charlotte after changing a transmission, but battled back for an 11th-place finish. Mayfield has competed in 20 races at Martinsville with five top-10 finishes.
SPEAKING: "From the outside world, our record is actually better than it was last year. From my world, I know we're capable of a lot better results then we're getting," said car owner Ray Evernham.

DRIVER: Matt Kenseth
CAR: No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford
CHASE POINTS: Ninth, 5,653
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
WHAT HAPPENED: Kenseth had a bad blowout early in the race and finished 10 laps down. But because so many other drivers had problems, he wound up 26th and fell only eight points further behind. He has competed in 11 races at Martinsville with three top-10 finishes; his only top five was a runner-up finish in 2002.
SPEAKING: "Our record has certainly been inconsistent at Martinsville. I think we may see a lot of cautions and it will be important to take care of your equipment and try to avoid trouble," Kenseth said.

DRIVER: Kurt Busch
CAR: No. 97 Irwin Industrial Tools/Sharpie Ford
CHASE POINTS: Tenth, 5,635
POSITION CHANGE: None
WHAT HAPPENED: Busch finished second at Charlotte, good enough to cut 80 points off his deficit. He's still in 10th place, though. Busch has competed in 10 races at Martinsville with three top-10 finishes, including a victory in October 2002.
SPEAKING: "It's still a long ways to go. We just still have to do our job and hope for some good fortune for our own team," Busch said.

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