NASCAR's playoffs have finally arrived.  The 12 drivers who will compete for the championship have been reset in points, and they're ready to battle it out for 10 races.  Some drivers are on a roll, while others haven't been firing on all cylinders.  Mark Martin shot to the top of the standings with his 4 wins and just signed a contract extension with Rick Hendrick through 2011, Matt Kenseth missed the Chase for the first time, Brian Vickers and Juan Montoya made the Chase for the first time, and for Kyle Busch it was too little too late.  Here are the 12 drivers who will compete for the championship:


Who's hot and who's not as we head for Loudon?  Check out this week's power rankings...

NEW THIS WEEK: Sam Hornish Jr.
DROPPED OUT: David Stremme
ON THE GAS: Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch
ON THE BRAKES: Matt Kenseth, Juan Montoya, Tony Stewart

20. Marcos Ambrose (-2): The Tasmanian Devil finished a (not so) solid 22nd at Richmond.  Aye mate, not a very good night, but you've impressed us all this year.

19. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-2): Junior finished 21st.  He was heading towards the front early, but as has been the case much of this year, he fell back and never made it up.

18. Matt Kenseth (-6): He had handling problems early, missed his pit stall, got the lucky dog and never did anything with it, finished 25th, and as a result, his streak of making the Chase has come to an end.  After the race, when asked where it went south, Matt replied "the 3rd race of the year."


17. David Reutimann (-2): Reutimann finished 21st.  He had a mathematical chance to make the Chase, but he would've had to lead the most laps, win the race, and hope Matt Kenseth basically finished dead last.  None of that happened, but Reutimann has still had the best season of his career.

16. Sam Hornish Jr. (previously NR): Hornish got himself another top 10 finish after starting 33rd.  He's been running much better as of late.

15. Clint Bowyer (+5): Clint finished 6th at a track where he has always run well.  He moves up so many spots in the rankings due to finishing ahead of all those guys.  He ran well all night, but unfortunately it was too little too late.

14. Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie hasn't been the consistent force we've seen.  Yes he finished 11th, but that was because he fell backwards at the end of the race where we are all used to seeing him find his way to the front.  It's been an uncharacteristic stretch leading into the Chase for Jimmie Johnson.

13. Kevin Harvick (+3): Happy probably wishes he could restart the season with his last couple races.  A 9th place finish at what has always been a great track for him was a welcome sight.  Too bad the first 24 races of the year were so abysmal.

12. Ryan Newman (+1): Newman had no breathing room, and he finished 10th.  It was enough to get him into the Chase, something nobody ever thought possible for a brand new team.

11. Kasey Kahne (-2): Kasey's 13th place finish wasn't exactly stellar.  Alas, the Allstate Girls are happy to see him back in the Chase once again.

Check page 2 for the top 10.