It has been quite a week in the land of NASCAR.  From complaints of Kyle Busch “brake-checking” to Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards battling in the garage, those no telling what kind of drama we will see as the season narrows to an end.

With the next race at Martinsville, here’s how the points standings are looking for the weekend…

Hamlin’s hard hit at Talladega landed him at the UAB Hospital for precautionary measures.  His title hopes are now over, which leaves hm and his team racing only to get as much information as possible for their 2009 car.

Denny Hamlin: Eliminate

As for Matt Kenseth, he also has seen his title hopes crash, literally.  During one of the cautions of the race, he got swept up in another mess which has seemingly been a consistent aspect to the team’s campaign

Just like Hamlin, Kenseth’s team will be concerned with testing their car for the 2009 season

Matt Kenseth: Eliminated

Jr. was eliminated last week, but just as usual, that didnt stop him from racing for wins hust as hard as he did earlier in the year.  Just like Hamlin and Kenseth, Jr. will be racing for wins and testing for next year, using what data they get from the next couple tracks to apply to next year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Deflated

Kyle Busch is also now out of the Championship.  After some issues in the early weeks of the Chase, and a strong run at Talladega, Kyle came to Lowe’s to gain points and position in the standings.

Most of the night he had been a contender, until a penalty on pit road put him one lap down.  As he struggled to stay on the tail end of the lead lap, he finished in the top 5, and now, hes down and out.

Kyle Busch: Determined and ticked off, but still eliminated

Jimmie Johnson is without a doubt a force to be reckoned with.  Of all drivers in NASCAR, even Kyle Busch, who is arguably more confident than any other driver on the track, admitted before Sunday’s race that he has always been worried about Jimmie Johnson.  ”You never know what he can come up with during a race”, Busch stated.

So what DID Johnson come up with at the Pepsi 500?  A ROCKET!

Jimmie dominated not only Busch, but the other 41 drivers, and came up with a win at the Auto Club Speedway.

Greg Biffle finished 2 seconds behind Johnson in second place, and Denny Hamlin was a close third.

This race served as a reminder that, although Busch and Edwards have won 14 of the 25 races this season and are 1 and 2 i the points standings, Johnson is a very real threat to win his 3rd consecutive title.

“Just an awesome race car all night long,” said Johnson, 32. “More than anything I’m happy to close the deal. It’s very, very rare to have a car that dominant.”

Now, there remains only 1 final race before NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup.  Johnson, Earnhardt Jr, Burton, Busch, and Edwards are all locked into the 12-driver Chase.  The remaining 7 spots will be solidified this weekend at the final race of the season in Richmond, Va.

Kyle Busch remained quite docile throughout the entire race.  After being loudly booed (as usual) by the crowd during the driver introductions, he started in 11th place and spent most of the race outside of the top 10, never making a run for the lead, and finishing in 7th place.

1. Kyle Busch - 3,755

2. Carl Edwards - 3,547

3. Jimmie Johnson - 3,386

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 3,323

5. Jeff Burton - 3,234

6. Greg Biffle - 3,159

7. Kevin Harvick -  3,132

8. Tony Stewart - 3,110

9. Matt Kenseth - 3,081

10. Jeff Gordon - 3,074

11. Denny Hamlin - 3,065

12. Clint Bowyer - 2,989

13. David Ragan - 2,972

14. Kasey Kahne - 2,941

15. Brian Vickers - 2,799

16. Ryan Newman - 2,789

17. Martin Truex Jr. - 2,698

18. Jamie McMurray - 2,583

19. Kurt Busch - 2,488

20. Elliott Sadler - 2,425

I dont think that things could have gotten any more bad for Kasey Kahne this weekend at Bristol.

During the Sharpie 500, he was involved in a 7 car crash that very well could have ended his chances at entering The Chase.

“We had a good racecar and it’s a shame that we got caught up in that mess. The crash happened so fast. I just saw cars wrecking everywhere in front of me and there was nothing that I could do. It’s disappointing because we’re going to take a hit in the Chase points, but that’s the risk you run here at Bristol.”

As a result of this crash, Kahne finished in 40th place and dropped to 14th in the point standings…56 points and 2 places shy of that all important 12th position.