NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers worked in the two-car tandems necessary to make their way through the draft at Talladega Superspeedway.

For some, it was a formula for success; for others, not so much.

So how does the Chase field look after the race at Talladega Superspeedway? We take a look:

Started ninth, finished 11th: Edwards joined the majority of the field in pitting on Lap 164, but his drafting partner, Greg Biffle, opted to remain on the track for a lap to gather bonus points before the two paired off once more. They raced at the back of the pack for most of the day, a strategy that looked like it would backfire when late cautions, coupled with a late pit stop by the pair, slowed the action. However, Edwards led a lap, rallied to finish 11th and extended his points lead to a Chase-high 14 points over teammate Matt Kenseth.
 

Started 11th, finished 18th: Kenseth (right, with crew chief Jimmy Fennig) has carefully put himself in the heart of the Chase. He led 21 laps and, working with partner David Ragan throughout Sunday's showdown, put himself in solid position late before falling deeper in the pack for his final finish. Still, Kenseth made up a position in the Chase with the run.

Started 16th, finished fouth: Look who's back. Keselowski continues to surprise the competition with his solid championship bid in his first Chase appearance. The Penske Racing driver moved up in the standings once more with his performance at Talladega. A former winner at the track, he worked with Dave Blaney throughout the race, led one lap and put himself in position to challenge the front-runners late in the race.

Started 12th, finished seventh: Stewart certainly did nothing to hamper his Chase hopes. He led 30 laps in a strong performance, avoided trouble and held on for his final finish. That puts the two-time champ and Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner/driver only 19 points off the leader's pace with four Chase races to go.

Started 13th, finished 32nd: Harvick sustained significant damage during a crash on Lap 104 that started when AJ Allmendinger slipped off the front of teammate Marcos Ambrose and hit three other racing tandems. Harvick returned to the race but pitted just as the field took the green flag to pull out the fenders because he had smoke in the car. He was one lap down but lost that as he came back onto the track. On Lap 127 Harvick restarted 36th but was soon radioed by NASCAR to fix the smoke issue. He had a broken oil cooler, which several RCR crew members worked to fix. He returned to the track on Lap 135 in 37th place, seven laps down.
 

Started 34th, finished 33rd: Busch was caught for failing to reduce speed on pit road early in the race, when he was heading for a pit stop and racing partner Joey Logano spun in the trioval. Busch did not make a stop, however, instead choosing to head down pit road and back onto the track — and, thus, earning the penalty. He led five laps and was racing again among the front-runners when he was sideswiped by AJ Allmendinger in a multicar accident. Busch spent several laps undergoing repairs before returning to the track, well out of contention.
 

Started second, finished 26th: Johnson, who had been running near the back with Dale Earnhardt Jr., was sideswiped when Andy Lally and Terry Labonte crashed on Lap 162. Johnson’s right side sustained some minor damage in the incident. It didn't slow him significantly, but he was lost in the shuffling order late in the race for his final finish. Although he led one lap, the five-time champion is now 50 points behind leader Edwards in the Chase.
 

Started 14th, finished 36th: The 2004 champ's Chase hopes pretty much came to an end at Talladega when he was caught up in a crash. On Lap 173, Busch had nowhere to go as Bobby Labonte spun across in front of his car, ending Busch's chance for a solid outing on the restrictor-plate track.

Started sixth, finished 25th: Earnhardt Jr. wanted to run near the front, but he and drafting partner Jimmie Johnson spent much of the race hanging back and trying to avoid trouble. Junior led two laps in the race, drawing cheers from the excited Alabama crowd, but settled for a midpack finish.

Started fifth, finished 27th: Gordon looked to be in solid position to challenge for the win late. He hooked up with Trevor Bayne and the two were surging through the middle of the pack when their hookup came apart and Gordon was shuffled back to his final finishing position.

Started 31st, finished eighth: Hamlin earned the free pass on the first stop after being the driver without a drafting partner early on. He then picked up teammate Kyle Busch as a drafting partner after an incident with Joey Logano dropped him off his teammate’s bumper. But Busch sustained significant damage in a Lap 104 crash. Hamlin took on his own damage in a late-race crash but still managed a top-10 finish.

Started 10th, finished 38th: Newman brought out the race’s second caution when he spun on Lap 80. He returned to the track on Lap 115 but spent the rest of the afternoon deep in the field.