That collective sigh of relief you heard Sunday came from the five Sprint Cup teams still within striking distance of the last “playoff” spot all knowing there are no more road courses to deal with this season.

Clint Bowyer in particular will welcome the oval at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) this coming Sunday – no more right turns! Bowyer’s 32nd place finish at Watkins Glen coupled with Mark Martin’s 19th resulted in the elder Martin leapfrogging Bowyer into the 12th and final spot for the season ending championship “chase.”

With just four races (MIS, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond) left to decide the 12 championship contenders, five drivers realistically have an opportunity to knock Martin (and maybe even Greg Biffle) out of the chase.
Bowyer is 10 points back of the #5 team, while Ryan Newman (-83), Jamie McMurray (-94), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (-121) and Kasey Kahne (-133) still are within realistic striking distance.

All five challengers have run well at MIS in the past. So too, however, has Martin. And the likelihood of a shakeup after the Carfax 400 this weekend in Michigan’s Irish Hills is unlikely at best – about the same odds as Juan Pablo Montoya winning on an oval!