Following a rain-soaked regular season finale on Saturday night, NASCAR enters its version of the postseason, with the Chase for the Sprint Cup taking over the final 10 races of the 2012 season.
Things went all the way down to the wire, but the field of 12 drivers is set, and the only thing left to do is figure out who is going to walk away from the Chase with a championship.
Here are the biggest potential spoilers in the Chase field as we approach NASCAR's second season.
It took almost everything he had in him just to make it into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but Gordon is here and ready to get back to his winning ways. We see it all the time in sports, where someone catches fire at exactly the right time and rides the wave of momentum to a title.
While Gordon will start "at the back of the pack" as far as the field is concerned, he can make up the 12-point difference between himself and leader Denny Hamlin with a couple of really good races.
Even if you hate Gordon—and there are plenty of you that do—you have to respect what he did just to get in the field. He has the experience and smarts to make his last-second addition to the field count.
Matt Kenseth
One thing that I look for after wins is consistency. Obviously, winning is the most important thing, and it's the easiest way to score a lot of points. But beyond that, you need to find some level of consistency on the track in order to make a move up the standings.
Kenseth has finished in the top five nine times this season, which puts him seventh among all Chase qualifiers.
Better news than that, he has finished in the top 10 a total of 15 times, which is tied for third behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson. He hasn't found Victory Lane much this year—just once—but he has the consistency to stay at or near the top right until the end.
Brad Keselowski
Lost in all the fanfare surrounding Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the season that Brad Keselowski has had. He enters the Chase in fourth, but his credentials are second to none.
Starting with victories, Keselowski's three so far this season trail only Hamlin (4). Going beyond just the wins stat, he has 10 top-5 finishes and 15 top-10 finishes. Those are the kind of numbers that stand up against anyone else in this field.
Starting fourth in the Chase doesn't exactly make Keselowski an underdog, though when you look at the star power surrounding him, it is easy for him to get lost in the shuffle.
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