DOWN TO IT; With three races to go, five drivers have a legitimate chance to win the Cup.(Kevin Harvick)(Mark Martin )(Tony Stewart )(Matt Kenseth )

Byline: Al Pearce

Eight drivers began the Bass Pro Shops 500 near Atlanta harboring realistic hopes of hoisting the Nextel Cup. They ranged from series leader Matt Kenseth to eighth-ranked Kasey Kahne, a mere 99 points behind. Most NASCAR-watchers agreed that only ninth-place Jeff Gordon and 10th-place Kyle Busch were virtually out of the Chase for the Championship.

After Atlanta, feel free to add Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Kahne to that list.

Harvick ran poorly, finished 31st and fell to sixth, minus 121 points with three races remaining. Martin was solid until a late-race accident left him 36th in the garage and eighth in points, minus 201. And Kahne was coming on until he crashed in an incident that he blamed squarely on himself. He finished 38th, dropped to ninth and trails by 210 points. Gordon ran well and moved from ninth place to seventh but still lost ground to Kenseth. And 10th-ranked Busch's bad day only added to his Chase woes.

After seven playoff races-with Texas, Phoenix and Homestead looming-five drivers still have hopes. Former champion Kenseth leads Jimmie Johnson by 26 points, rookie Denny Hamlin by 65, and Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 84. Kenseth hasn't been ranked worse than fourth during the Chase, but his four closest rivals haven't been nearly as consistent. Johnson, for example, has come from eighth to second in the past three weeks.

"I'm probably 50-50 on my chances,'' Kenseth said after the race. "I'd feel better if we had more of a gap, but it feels good coming out of here with the lead. At least we came close to running with them today. That feels good because other people's troubles have kind of put us in the points lead. We had a 44th-place car on Saturday and finished fourth today, so the crew did a great job.''

Defending series champion Tony Stewart (he's not eligible for this year's Cup) won the 500, his second win during the Chase, his fourth this year and the 28th of his career. He led seven times for 146 laps, including the final 11 laps and 95 of the final 127. He easily beat Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth and Greg Biffle, another non-Chaser. Stewart, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon and Johnson led all but 13 of the 325 laps, and one or the other led every lap past halfway.