Kasey Kahne's Girlfriend

Welcome back to Chase Watch, where we're chronicling who's up, who's down, who's in, and who's out of the loop.

Where we stand: Kyle Busch solidified his hold on first place -- wins will do that for ya -- and is followed by Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth.

Movin' on up: Big winner was Tony Stewart, who almost certainly hauled himself off the bubble with a second-place finish that pulled him up two spots to seventh. Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson also formally forced their way into the championship picture, shoving aside a familiar face.

Bottoming out: Junior dropped two spots to fourth, passed like he was standing still by the 48 and 99 cars. Farther down the line, and more of concern, Greg Biffle also fell two spots to 10th, and now sits, like Hamlin, just 61 spots ahead of the cut line. And Clint Bowyer dropped only one spot, but it was the wrong one to drop -- from 12th to 13th.

On the bubble: Ryan Newman is more than 200 points out of the 12th spot and probably done for the year. David Ragan is inside 100 points, but is going to need some strong finishes and some serious help to make a run at this. Bowyer sits 22 points on the low side of Kenseth; Harvick did more to secure his spot by getting 42 points up on the high side.

Outlook: We're going to have two fine showdowns here -- one at the top of the standings once the Chase starts, and one down in the lower reaches over the next four races. We've got seven drivers within 100 points of the cut line, and two of those guys are going to be driving for nothing but goodwill and sponsor love come September.

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Hemingway once said, "There are only three sports. Bullfighting, mountain climbing, and motor racing. All the rest are merely games." (Nice quote, huh?) Anyway, while motor racing may be a sport, watching motor racing most assuredly is not. So why not make sure you're in complete comfort while you watch others compete?

Presenting the NASCAR line of sofas! (Thanks to DrunkInPublic for the tip.) For only about $700, you too can own these fine models of interior craftsmanship. Padded enough to support even the weightiest fans, these beauties are tailor-made for watching the race ... and then napping out during the endless commercials, caution flags, and Kyle Busch wins.

Pictured at right is the Kasey Kahne model, conveniently colored red so that juice boxes won't stain it. Also available are the Tony Stewart model (may include chicken and/or beer stains), the Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson models (absolutely, disturbingly immaculate), and the Dale Earnhardt Sr. model, which glows with a soothing, heavenly aura after you turn out the lights.

You've only got 14 more race weekends of napping left, folks. Best get crackin' on ordering these!

Continuing our weekly look at the movers and shakers leading up to the Chase for the Cup. Two weeks left, and boy howdy, it's getting a wee bit nerve-wracking now ...

The field as it stands: This week, the field is the same as it was last week, with one notable exception. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, and Clint Bowyer are currently on the high side.

Movin' on up: Nobody made any huge charges this week; the few advances that there were came about largely because of two big slides in the standings. David Ragan, completely written off just a couple weeks ago, now sits just 12 points out of the Chase. Not a bad run.

Bottoming out: Jimmie Johnson slipped a bit in the standings, giving Junior a brief, two-point jump into third place. But the big deal is Kasey Kahne, who completely flamed out -- literally -- and all of a sudden is the odds-on favorite to miss the Chase. Even after his two wins and All-Star week performance, two straight crappy weeks have dropped him three spots and put him 56 points out of the 12th spot, with Ragan now in his way.

Outlook: The mid-Chase guys -- from Stewart to Gordon above -- have all but cemented their place in the Chase. Kenseth ought to be safe, too. So what we're looking at from here on out, unless someone has a first-lap flameout, is a four-dog race between Hamlin, Bowyer, Ragan and Kahne. For the moment, I'm picking Hamlin and Ragan. I'll change that next week, but that's what I'm saying right now.

Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, David