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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Backmarkers Battle Fiercely
Robby Gordon is in danger of falling out of a guaranteed starting spot....
Tom Jensen  |  Posted March 12, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Robby Gordon has tried the Coca-Cola 600/Indy 500 double. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Just four races into the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the points battle already is getting intense — especially at the back of the field.

Per the NASCAR rule book, during the first five races of the year, the 35 guaranteed starting spots are awarded based on the final 2009 car owners points standings. But after the fifth race, the locked-in starting positions will go to the top 35 in 2010 car owner spots.

And that makes next Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway critically important for some of the full-time teams at the back of the grid. Because starting at Martinsville Speedway, anyone outside the top 35 in owner points will have to qualify on speed.

Here's how the top 35 in owner points stack up now:

• 31. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 Penske Racing Dodge, + 49 points over 35th place.

• 32. David Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing Ford, +42.

• 33. Brad Keselowski, No. 12 Penske Dodge, + 19.

• 34. Travis Kvapil, No. 34 Front Row Ford, + 10.

• 35. Mike Bliss, No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet, 0.

• 36. Kevin Conway, No. 37 Front Row Ford, 0.

• 37. Boris Said, No. 26 Latitude 43 Motor Sports Ford, - 24.

• 38. Robby Gordon, No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota, -27.

• 39. Max Papis, No. 13 Germain Racing Toyota, - 29.

Kvapil, who is in his first year with Front Row, said he's keenly aware of where he ranks in points.

“Right now, I feel pretty good about how things are going,” said Kvapil, who was the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion in 2003. “It seems like we're making progress with our communication, our car setups and our races. We have a lot to keep working on, but I think we're getting closer each week. We are still eyeing Bristol to keep the car in the top-35 in points. We're not putting the cart before the horse. The horse still needs some water here and there.”

Badly in need of a change of fortune is Gordon, who last week at Atlanta suffered a blowout on the third lap of the Kobalt Tools 500. “Our Sprint Cup program has had a really tough start in 2010,” said Gordon. “We simply haven’t had any luck.”

Tommy Baldwin, the owner of Bliss's car, has moved his team up from the start-and-park ranks last year to going full race distances this year as he attempts to gain a solid hold in the Cup ranks. “Although we do not have the finishes to show for it so far, I truly believe we have a top-25 caliber team,” said Baldwin. “We just need to start stringing together some nice results and we will be fine.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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