There has been a big media sensation surrounding Roush Racings five teams competing for the NASCAR Cup Championship. All five of Roush's Cup Series drivers made it into the top ten in championship point with just ten races remaining in the season. Roush Racing owns half of the Chase for the Championship and NASCAR is livid. That was a major slap in the face, after their two most marketable drivers, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., failed to make it into the top ten.

Rumors were being circulated that the number of Chase participants was going to be elevated to twelve, instead of ten, and that ownership limits might be imposed. NASCAR CEO Brian France recently made it known that limiting ownership of teams wasn't a rumor, it was under serious consideration. That pretty much means that Roush will have to sell off a team or two.

Liberal estimates have the number set at four, but more conservative factions are thinking there will be a three team limit in the Cup Series. I can understand the three team philosophy, if you are going to impose limits, then impose them where they mean something. Four teams in the Chase isn't much better than five, but three makes a difference, especially of they make changes like adding two more drivers and maybe even two more events.

Right now, like I stated above, one owner owns half of the teams in the Chase. If two more teams were added to the competition and the ownership limit was cut to three, then one owner could only have a quarter of the contenders if all of his teams made it in. If they are going to do this Chase junk, then they should at least make it fair for everyone.

They're making a big thing out of new people coming into team ownership in Cup racing, but it isn't much of an issue at all. A good share of the smaller teams are under an umbrella of some type from a multi-car team. This includes engine deals, along with technology information that is sometimes shared between two or three ownerships who have formed a coalition. To begin with, these are usually teams within the same auto manufacturer's umbrellas.

Look for some drastic changes to take place during the off season, or maybe even before, concerning team ownership and the Chase for the Championship format.

Ricky Rudd, that's who. Who'd have thought that the aging veteran driver would play a part in the advanced musical seats game the drivers have played this season.

Word has it that Rudd could be the key that unlocks the driver's seats to a lot of race cars. There was a lot of earlier speculation that Rudd was going to throw in the towel after this season. Now it seems that a one year deal to drive the #41 Texaco sponsored Dodge for Chip Ganassi would open up the advanced taboo deals culminated by Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray earlier in the season.

When asked about the above mentioned possibility this past weekend at Martinsville Speedway, Rudd refused to comment, not wanting to let the proverbial cat out of the bag to mess up his chances of a solid one year run with a class team. Rudd used to drive the #28 Robert Yates Racing Texaco sponsored Ford, and had great relations with the Texaco people. During the three seasons Rudd drove the Texaco/Havoline car, he scored three wins, 24 top five finishes, and 53 top ten finishes along with winning three pole positions.

Word in the garage area has it that Texaco doesn't want to sponsor an unhappy lame duck McMurray in the car for a year. They feel it wouldn't be a positive advertising or marketing campaign, given his curt demeanor and his hard feelings toward team owner Chip Ganassi for not waiving the option year on his contract.

Let's see if I can get this straight. If Rudd takes over the #42 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2006, that will free up McMurray to move a season early to his new ride in the #97 Ford for Roush Racing. This move would free up Kurt Busch to leave the #97 a year early to drive the #2 Dodge for Penske South Racing that will be vacated when Rusty Wallace retires next month.

All of the above maneuvering leaves an opening in the #21 Air Force sponsored Wood Brothers Ford. Speculation is that John Andretti may occupy that seat for a year while Wood Brothers grandson Jon Wood gathers more experience driving in the Busch Series. The scenario has Jon Wood moving to the #21 in the 2007 season. All of this initially depends on whether the Wood Brothers can acquire sponsorship next season for the #21, as the Air Force is leaving at the end of this season. Given their longevity in the Cup series and their winning record, although in the past, they shouldn't have a lot of trouble garnering solid corporate backing.

No, I'm not thinking of Halloween, I'm thinking that the season's end will soon come to pass. When you're down to counting the remaining races on one hand, it's time to look at what's on the table.

Three of the remaining events are on 1.5 mile tracks that are referred to as "cookie cutter" tracks because of their similarity. The one mile track at Phoenix makes up the other event in the last four. Phoenix is shaped kind of like an off-angle D, like Nazareth, where the Busch and IRL cars used to run. It's considered a flat style track and there's an extra corner with a small straight thrown in between the third and forth corners angled off toward the front stretch. Texas and Atlanta are D shaped 1.5 mile ovals where Homestead-Miami is a paperclip shaped 1.5 mile oval.

In comparing the performance of the top two drivers, we find that point's leader Tony Stewart started/finished the last four events in the Chase last season like this:

• Atlanta = s/15th – f/9th
• Phoenix = s/5th - f/8th
• Darlington = s/6th – f/17th
• Homestead = s/8th – f/4th
• Texas (event #7) = s/17th – f/8th

• Atlanta = s/8th – f/ 1st
• Phoenix = s/13th – f/ 6th
• Darlington = s/4th – f/ 1st
• Homestead = s/39th – f/2nd
• Texas (event #7) = s/8th – f/9th

You'll notice that Texas is taking Darlington's place this season and I added how each driver fared last season in the one and only Texas event, which was held in the spring. In looking at the comparison between the top two drivers it's easy to see that Johnson by far has the best record in the Chase at the remaining tracks. The stats make the mere 15 point lead of Stewart's look even smaller!

Third place driver Ryan Newman is only 63 points down from Stewart, followed by Greg Biffle, who is in fourth place, 83 points down. Newman started/finished last season like this:

• Atlanta = s/1st – f/17th
• Phoenix = s/ 1st – f/2nd
• Darlington = s/7th – f/34th
• Homestead = s/3rd – f/ 30th
• Texas (event #7) = s/15th – f/39th

• Atlanta = s/5th – f/10th
• Phoenix = s/23rd – f/13th
• Darlington = s/19th – f/24th
• Homestead = s/2nd – f/1st
• Texas (event #7) = s/4th – f/31st