Who is on the bubble when it comes to making the race?
For the second consecutive week, Casey Mears sits 35th in owner points — important because only the top 35 cars are guaranteed a spot on the starting grid. Mears had a top-five car at Talladega until he was rear-ended after a miscommunication with teammate Johnson. Dale Jarrett, 38th in owner points, made it into last week’s race by using the last of his six allotted past champion’s provisionals. Now, he must qualify his Toyota on time. His streak of 424 Cup starts (third-longest among active drivers behind Gordon, 482 and Bobby Labonte, 481) is in jeopardy. At Talladega, David Reutimann knocked his team owner, Michael Waltrip, out of the final qualifying position. Waltrip hasn’t qualified for a race since the Daytona 500. What is open-wheel driver Sam Hornish Jr. doing at the track in May? No, the defending Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion isn’t relaxing on his off weekend. He is attempting to make the field for Friday night’s Busch Series race. If he qualifies, he will be
