Let's start from the back and work up to the front, like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. did Saturday at Bristol, moving from 40th all the way to third.
With only two races to go until the Chase begins, there's no real hope of anyone else other than the current top 10 competing for the title. It wasn't like these guys were the only ones who were worthy of making the field, but let's review a trio of drivers who were strong in the early going and stunk down the stretch.
Carl Edwards was the darling of the Nextel Cup circuit after his third-place finish in 2005. Today, he's 13th, 261 points out of the Chase.
Edwards' season started with a 43rd-place finish at Daytona and didn't improve from there. He had only three top-5s and two top-10s in the season's first 10 races. After four wins in 2005, he doesn't have any in 2006.
If it wasn't for bad luck, Greg Biffle wouldn't have any luck at all. He's 12th in the standings, 251 points away from the Chase.
The driver of the No. 16 National Guard/Subway Ford Fusion had the strongest car at California in February, but blew an engine on lap 229 and finished 42nd.
After finishing seventh at Bristol in March, the bad luck returned. Biffle was wrecked by Kurt Busch at Texas and lost another engine at Talladega. His first ten races had only three top-10 finishes, including fourth at Richmond and eighth at Las Vegas.
Biffie found some momentum after Richmond with seven straight top-10s, but fell right back into the bad rut with only two more top-10s after that.
You can't make championship runs that way.
But one of the more disappointing ones has been Kahne, who looked so promising as recently as his win at Michigan in June. At that point, Kahne won his fourth race of the year, tied with Johnson and Kenseth for most in 2006, and was sitting third in points, only 244 off Johnson's lead.
Since then, Kahne has just two top-10s and now needs some major help to get in to the Chase. That, and a little luck.
Meahwhile, Kenseth is making noise as a serious contender for the title. He hasn't been any worse than third in points all season since winning at California in February. His worst finish was a 38th at Richmond, but his second-worst finish was 24th at Martinsville in April. Everything else has been solid - not quite as solid as Tony Stewart was a year ago, but it's momentum at the right time.
After he missed the Chase a year ago, Jeff Gordon has gotten back on his game and sits in fifth in the standings. As the 2006 season has unfolded, he's found too many reasons to complain about too many things too often.
Saturday night was the latest example as he got in the face of Scott Riggs, a non-Chaser who beat him out for fourth at Bristol on Saturday. He had the nerve to say on camera that Riggs needed to "relax" as they were racing for that position over the final laps.
Excuse me, but Mr. Four Championships didn't have any reason or right to gripe about what happened. Gordon didn't spin out, was able to hold his line, and barely missed passing Riggs, anyway.
If Gordon was so bothered by what happened Saturday, he needs to see a therapist. That other Bristol race, the one where he WAS spun out by Matt Kenseth and ended up in 21st, is long, long gone.
Let it go, Jeff. Let it go.
Let the real drama begin at New Hampshire on Sept. 17.