With the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup starting this weekend at New Hampshire, here's a look at some of the numbers and facts surrounding this year's championship playoff field:

- With the change after the 26th race from the standard point standings to the Chase-adjusted playoff standings, some drivers rose mightily in the ranks of the elite, while others suffered. Here are the largest gains in position among the top 12:

Largest Gains

Largest Drops

Of course, the long-lasting effects of these positives and negatives might be…well, not all that long-lasting. Only 60 points separate the leader Johnson from Bowyer in 12th, so a separation of fewer than ten places between the two drivers at the extremes could possibly turn the Chase leaderboard on its rooftop.

- All three champions of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series (2004-present) are entered in the field: Kurt Busch (2004), Tony Stewart (2005), and Jimmie Johnson (2006).

- Every champion of NASCAR's premier division dating back to 2001 is in this season's Chase for the NEXTEL Cup: Matt Kenseth (2003), Tony Stewart (2002), and Jeff Gordon (2001).

- In all, nine series championships are represented by the drivers in the 10-race playoff field. Consider the six above, and then add Gordon's three prior championships from 1995, 1997, and 1998.

- Of the 22 NEXTEL Cup Series races in PIR's history, nine race wins are represented:

- Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are the only two drivers in the field of 12 to have qualified for each of the first four Chase playoff fields.

- Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Tony Stewart have each qualified for the Chase three times. Gordon's only miss came in 2005, and Busch and Stewart were off the mark in 2006.

- Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, and Kevin Harvick are each entering their second Chase. Hamlin, Burton, Busch, and Harvick all made their first playoff last season, and Edwards returns after finishing as the series runner-up in 2005.

- The 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup will be the first for second-year drivers Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr.

- Each Chase for the NEXTEL Cup has contained one Busch brother, but never have both Kurt and Kyle qualified for the championship field...until now. The 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup will include both Kurt's No. 2 Dodge and Kyle's No. 5 Chevrolet.

- The 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup will be the first 10-race playoff without Mark Martin. Martin drove a part-time schedule in 2007 in the No. 01 Chevrolet.

- 23 of 26 race wins from 2007 are represented by the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup field. Only race winners Casey Mears (Charlotte - May), Juan Montoya (Sonoma - June), and Jamie McMurray (Daytona - July) did not qualify for the 12-driver playoff. In 2004, 24 wins were represented, but this season's 23 bests the marks of 2005 (19) and 2006 (22).

- Seven competitors from the 2006 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup return. They are: Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, and Kyle Busch.

- Given the new rules for point distribution entering the playoff, Jimmie Johnson's 5060-point total is the highest for any driver entering the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, beating Jeff Gordon (2004), Tony Stewart (2005), and Matt Kenseth (2006), who all entered the playoff with 5050 points.

- The series points leader after 26 races has prevailed as champion only once (Tony Stewart in 2005), but the event occurred in an odd-numbered year - perhaps a good omen for the series leader Jimmie Johnson.

- Jimmie Johnson's 20-point margin over second place entering the first playoff race is also the largest for any leader in Chase history, edging the five-point margin given to past regular season leaders.

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