NASCAR rail: Season to date at a glance

THE LOWDOWN: Last week before the race at Bristol, Chad Knaus told reporters the team was happy with its performance. They could put their teammates' setups on the car and run as well as them, but the No. 48 team was testing new designs in preparation for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. One must be skeptical about that comment, or how long Lowe's will be supportive of a team struggling to stay on the lead lap, but they are not alone. The land rush for the top 12 is going to be intense in the coming weeks, since Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards are all just outside the mark.