Johnny Benson

The Chase for the Nextel Cup begins Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway, nicknamed the Magic Mile, where Carl Edwards will find enough magic of his own to get to Victory Lane in the first event of the 10-race playoff to decide the series champion.

Edwards is one of 12 drivers to qualify for the Chase, and he has the chance to do something special -- win titles this year in NASCAR's two top circuits. The 28-year-old is running away with the Busch Series, and he'll be running hard to finish on top in the Cup Series. No driver has won both championships in the same year.

Working in Edwards favor
New Hampshire is one of his favorite tracks and his resume at the one-mile oval bears that out with one top-five and six top-20s in six Cup starts. In the July event at New Hampshire Edwards started 22nd but worked his way to a 13th-place result. He lost a chance at a higher finish -- perhaps a top-five -- due to a pit-road mishap.

Edwards enters this race fourth in the reset Nextel Cup Series point standings with 5020 points, 40 points from the top spot. He also enters Sunday's 300-lap test on a roll. Over the past month he has posted four top-10s, an impressive streak that included a win at Bristol and a second-place finish at California.

He's got the kind of momentum and confidence that any driver would love to take into the Chase. Helping him feel real confident is the chassis he'll be in. It's the same one he used in July at New Hampshire when it turned 38 of the race's fastest laps. The fourth-year Cup driver felt he had the car to win that event.

On the track Edwards is a different driver than he was in 2005, his first full season in Cup racing. He made the Chase that year and turned heads by placing third. But he sometimes pushed his cars too hard. He's learned that lesson and has improved significantly at getting the most out of his rides. He's a more mature and a more patient driver.

Other drivers to watch
Defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson starts the Chase in first place as his series-leading six wins lifted him to the top under NASCAR's new seeding system for the playoff, which deals out greater rewards for victories than in the past. Johnson's bidding to become the first driver to win consecutive titles since his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon did so in 1997 and 1998.

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The El Cajon, Calif. resident is looking like he's ready to make another championship run. After a 14-race winless streak, Johnson scorched to Victory Lane in the last two Cup races -- Sept. 2 at California and Sept. 8 at Richmond. Maybe he's not quite where he was when he won four of the season's first 10 Cup races, but he's close to that.

Johnson is no stranger to success in New England as he swept the New Hampshire races in 2003. Besides the two wins he also has three top-fives, and six top-10s in 11 Cup starts at the Magic Mile. He was fifth in the July event.

Tony Stewart, who begins the Chase in third place, has two wins in New England (2005 and 2000), and he has finished second in two of his last four races at this venue. He was 12th in the July race. Stewart also has a pole, nine top-fives, and 10 top-10s in 17 Cup starts at New Hampshire.

The two-time defending Cup champion comes off another one of his trademark sizzling summers, but a key question for him is how the recently announced move next season of Joe Gibbs Racing to Toyota will affect Stewart's pursuit of another Cup title in a Chevrolet.

One of Stewart's teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin, won in July at New Hampshire after starting 11th. The super sophomore says he has a very comfortable feeling at this oval because he can really tell what his car is doing. Hamlin, who wound up third in last year's Chase, opens this year's playoff in sixth place.

Seeking a fifth Cup championship, Jeff Gordon is second to start the Chase. He's had a dominant season one that hints at him making a real strong push to win the series crown. Gordon was runner-up to Hamlin in July, and he's won four races this year.

In 25 Cup starts at New Hampshire, Gordon has three wins, three poles, 11 top-fives and 14 top-10s. He's says he feels he has a championship-caliber team and he'll lead the way for his teammates with his vast experience and smart and skillful work behind the steering wheel.

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