by Jeff Hammond

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Next week's short-track race at Martinsville can be a wild card, and this week's race at Charlotte can be a variable in the Chase, too, with new tires on new pavement. At Talladega, Goodyear did an awesome job with a tire that was ideal for putting on a great show. It's hard to say which teams will do well until they get to Lowe's Motor Speedway and start figuring out how these tires respond in the fall compared with their performance on Memorial Day weekend.

Who to Watch

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon: We know how good these Hendrick teammates are at Lowe's. They've accounted for nine of Rick Hendrick's 13 wins at the track. Only 156 points out of the lead, the door is wide open for Johnson to make a statement and get back in the Chase.

Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne: Taking a new car from the Evernham Motorsports stable, Sadler should be strong. Kahne has been running unbelievably well at these high-speed, intermediate race tracks. He won the 600 at Lowe's in May.

Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick: Neither Richard Childress Racing driver is a bad pick on Saturday night. I like the Chase for the Nextel Cup because all 10 drivers run well, no matter where they wind up at the end of the races. They all make strong efforts and put forth some good results.

Mark Martin: Look at what the No. 6 team has been doing lately. They've been scoring points and keeping their championship hopes alive.

Matt Kenseth: After finishing 23rd at Kansas, Kenseth turned around at Talladega with a fourth-place finish, climbing back to within six points of the lead.

Brian Vickers: Coming off of the win at Talladega, Vickers cannot be ruled out. Vickers finally got his just desserts with a win for Hendrick Motorsports in honor of the late Ricky Hendrick

More non-Chasers/rookies: In the first two Chase races, the winners were title contenders. In the next two races, guys outside of the Chase scored victories. I could give you a long list of drivers who may contend for the win this week. Carl Edwards is dying to win a race. Greg Biffle wants to get back to victory lane so bad that he can taste it. They're going to be a little more aggressive and antsy. Don't rule out the rookies that have run extremely well. Not just Denny Hamlin, but Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson and Martin Truex Jr. could have a lot to do with the outcome on Saturday night.

What to Watch

Racing high and low: All of the sudden, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has become the rim king. He'll go ride the rim of the track, making the high groove work. Meanwhile, Tony Stewart leads a group of bottom feeders. They'll hunt the white line along the apron. Saturday night's race could go both ways. If it does, it's going to be wide open so it's hard to rule out drivers.

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Moonlight magic: Let the rough side drag in the Chase's only Saturday night race. There are going to be sparks. If the track will hold it, these drivers will race just like they did at Talladega. They're going to be on each other's back bumper, and it's going to be dog eat dog. Under the lights, the werewolves will come out this weekend. Some teams that are hungry and realize they are running out of races to make their mark this season will howl.

No place like home: Lowe's Motor Speedway is everybody's home field. Nobody can say that this isn't their home track. Everybody feels like they are defending their turf, which makes it a big race.

Truckin' with a new sponsor

Last week, our Red Horse Racing Craftsman Truck team welcomed a new and unusual sponsor, American Commercial Lines Inc., to NASCAR. Their main mission revolves around shipping on the waterways and in the ports of America and South America. They've got 2,600 employees, and they decided that they wanted to be part of our sport. We were lucky enough to get them on our truck at Talladega, and they also worked with Ray Evernham and his driver, Elliott Sadler, so it was a really good weekend for their first venture into NASCAR racing. We're really happy to have them. Hopefully they will spend more time with us and heighten the awareness of what they do. In the United States, they are like the silent railroad of the sea on the intracoastal waterways. We don't think about how much freight is shipped in a year's time by barges around our country, but they do a lot.

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FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.