Yesterday I looked at Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Juan Montoya and their chances of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Today I will look at those drivers sitting from ninth to 12th in the current standings.

It is simple to say that if any of these drivers have a bad race they will be vulnerable to be jumped over and on the outside of the top-12 that get a playoff berth. They just have to land a solid finish at Richmond Saturday night and they will be running for a championship shot.

Ryan Newman:

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Army Stewart-Hass Chevrolet, is ninth in the standings, 81 points ahead of Brian Vickers, who is 13th. Newman can clinch a berth with a 16th place finish. If he leads a lap he can clinch with a 17th and if he leads the most laps he can clinch with a 19th.

Last week at Atlanta, Newman did not have a great car. However, the team worked on it throughout the night and Newman brought home a ninth place finish.

Newman was strong at Richmond in the spring race, as he brought home a fourth place finish. If he can run strong again, he will put both Stewart-Hass cars in the Chase in the teams first season (Tony Stewart has already clinched a spot). Newman would also be back in the Chase after missing out as a member of Penske Racing last season.

More than anything, this team will be trying to score a win, because Newman is winless in 2009. A win would give him 10 bonus points once the Chase starts and a lot of momentum.

Mark Martin:

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg’s Chevrolet from the Hendrick Motorsports stable of cars, is 10th in the standings, 69 points ahead of Vickers. Martin can clinch a berth with a 12th place finish or better. If he leads a lap he can clinch with a 14th and if he leads the most laps a 15th place finish will get the job done.

2009 has been a resurgent year for the 50-year old Martin. He has a series-high tying four wins to go along with five poles and 13 top-10 finishes. Last week at Atlanta, Martin ran in the top-10 all race and came home in fifth.

A fifth was also what Martin scored in the spring Richmond race. Martin, who will race once again full-time for Hendrick Motorsports in 2010, is looking to win his first Cup Series championship. It has eluded him for years and he will be determined to not let a chance to run for the championship slip by him at Richmond.

Greg Biffle:

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Roush Fenway Ford, is 11th in the points, 68 points ahead of Vickers. Biffle can clinch a berth with an 11th place finish or better. If Biffle leads one lap he can clinch with a 13th and if he leads the most laps he will clinch with a 15th or better.

Last week at Atlanta Biffle fell a lap down, before getting the free pass on a caution and getting back on the lead lap. He made the best of it, coming home with a 10th place finish. When Biffle was a lap down, the up-to-the-second points standings showed him in 13th place. There is no questioning the rally his team made was important heading into Richmond.

The spring race at Richmond saw Biffle come away with a 17th place finish. If he does that Saturday he will not clinch a berth unless he gets some help from Brian Vickers not running well too.

Like Newman, Biffle is winless and would like to grab 10 bonus points for a win and get into the Chase in a big way.

Matt Kenseth:

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Dewalt Roush Fenway Ford, is the driver squarely on the bubble in 12th place. He is only 20 points ahead of Vickers. Kenseth can clinch a berth with a second place finish if he leads a lap or a third place if he leads the most laps.

In the spring race at Richmond Kenseth did not lead a lap and finished 13th. Last week, Kenseth scrapped the wall early in the race when his car was ill-handling. After seeing himself out of the top-12 in points and running in the 30’s, Kenseth and the Dewalt team rebounded to finish 12th and move back into the 12th place in the standings.

When asked about his chances of making the Chase after the race Kenseth seemed like he didn’t care whether he made the Chase or not. He is just disappointed in how poorly he has been running and sick of not being in contention for wins.

Kenseth won the Daytona 500 and then the second race of the year at California, but only has two top fives since that time. If he doesn’t put together a very strong finish at Richmond, the former Cup Champion will be on the outside looking in at the Chase for the first time in his career.

Friday:

Friday I will finish up this three part segment and take a look at the three drivers who are currently outside the Chase and what they need to do to make it in.