On the brink: Big elimination bubble could consume drivers at Dover

DOVER, Del. - In some ways, having nine drivers battling for five Chase for the Sprint Cup berths can actually lead to a driver having a clearer head going into the opening-round elimination race Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

There are just so many scenarios, that trying to figure out who might be in or who might be out will be just out of the question, even in the closing laps. Sure, the teams will have a 'points as they run' monitor, but they also will know that just a few drivers gambling on fuel or older tires could jumble the order quicker than it does to take a lap around the 1-mile concrete oval.

MORE: Lineup breakdown | Hamlin's plan | Standings | Busch wins Nationwide race

So drivers on the elimination bubble have one option: Just race.

'It's simple with this many guys involved,' said Carl Edwards, one of the drivers on the brink. 'You just have to go out and perform. You have to just do your job. Every competitor's goal is to not worry about the other guy, just to go be the very best you can be and then you can walk away from the field or the race and you can say, 'Hey, that was it. That's what I had.'

'So hopefully we've able to do that on Sunday.'

The new Chase format cuts the field from 16 to 12 after the AAA 400 Sunday. Drivers who win (as long as they're in the Chase) in this three-race round automatically advance and the rest of the field is set by points

Jeff Gordon, in seventh, has a 21-point cushion on 13th and likely will be safe to advance. But behind him, things are extremely tight with 12 points separating the final nine drivers who most likely are battling for five spots. A win automatically gets them to advance.

Matt Kenseth and Edwards are eight points ahead of 13th-place Denny Hamlin, while AJ Allmendinger is seven points ahead and Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman are both six points up. Hamlin and Biffle are six points behind with Kurt Busch eight points behind and Aric Almirola 10 points back.

'I know that they'll have it on the pit box and they'll have a points tracker as they run constantly,' Almirola said about his Trent Owens-led team. 'But I hope that Trent doesn't get too worried about that and we just do what we need to do and make the strategy calls that we need to make to get the best finish we can.'

Edwards and Hamlin are used to this type of pressure. Edwards lost the championship in 2011 on a tiebreaker when he finished second behind Tony Stewart. Hamlin led the points going into the final race of the 2010 season before Jimmie Johnson overcame him.

'It's not quite the gravity of 2011 at Homestead, but you realize that your championship could be determined here,' Edwards said.

Hamlin believes he needs to finish in the top-five to advance.

'At one point, we're all going to face elimination some time in our life,' Hamlin said. 'And it's how we respond to that adversity that is going to define us.'

Hamlin has the best starting spot of any of the Chase bubble drivers as he will start third. Kahne will start 12th with Kenseth 14th, Edwards 18th, Newman 20th, Almirola 21st, Busch 22nd, Biffle 27th and Allmendinger 28th.

'I just feel like we're so close and still haven't really hit on anything this year,' Kahne said. 'We're still just kind of getting by. I feel really good. If we hit on something, it could carry with us and jump from being a 10th- to 15th-place car right into a top-five car just like that.

'It's all here. ... It's been a little pressure to make the Chase and a little bit this weekend. I don't think it's a bad thing. I think it's been good for us.'

While there's pressure, these drivers are used to it. Kenseth, the 2003 champion, was in the running for the 2013 championship until the final race. Kenseth said it just is up to the team to perform and in the race car, he can't do much more than he normally would.

'I guess you would want to know if it comes to something like how much fuel you have to save or slow down or something,' Kenseth said. 'If you're running as hard as you can like you do ... if you're doing everything you can do anyway, then it doesn't matter.'

Edwards, who is leaving Roush Fenway after this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, said he feels the pressure every week and he will just try to enjoy the moment.

'This is obviously a really important race, a lot of pressure and a lot of stress and we would have it no other way,' Edwards said. 'We're going to go enjoy it and hopefully have a solid run on Sunday.'

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