The NASCAR chase for the Cup begins This Sunday in Chicago: Here's how they stand entering the race!

2014 Chase standings going into Chicagoland 

1. Brad Keselowski 2012pts 
2. Jeff Gordon 2009pts 
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2009pts 
4. Jimmie Johnson 2009pts 
5. Joey Logano 2009pts 
6. Kevin Harvick 2006pts 
7. Carl Edwards 2006pts 
8. Kyle Busch 2003pts 
9. Denny Hamlin 2003pts 
10. Kurt Busch 2003pts 
11. Kasey Kahne 2003pts 
12. Aric Almirola 2003pts 
13. AJ Allmendinger 2003pts 
14. Matt Kenseth 2000pts 
15. Greg Biffle 2000pts 
16. Ryan Newman 2000pt

KASEY KAHNE WINS ORAL-B USA 500 AT ATLANTA

 It was Tony Stewart's return to racing that dominated the headlines before Sunday night's Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but it was Kasey Kahne who stole the show -- and a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

In a race that went 10 laps beyond its scheduled distance of 325 laps, Kahne surged past Matt Kenseth on the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win for the first time this year and the third time at the 1.54-mile speedway.Kenseth finished second and clinched a Chaspoints, leaving just two of 16 positions in NASCAR's 10-race playoff available in Saturday's regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway.

After streaking into the lead on a restart with 24 laps left, Kahne held the top spot until a caution for a fracas between Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. slowed the field with less than two laps left.

On the first attempt at overtime, a multicar wreck in Turn 1 wiped out the dominant car of polesitter Kevin Harvick,requiring a second attempt at a two-lap shootout.

With four fresh tires to Kenseth's two, Kahne overtook the No. 20 Toyota after he and Kenseth battled for a lap after the restart and pulled away to win the 17th race of his career by .574 seconds. 

"We were all over the place during the race, but the guys stayed with me and worked hard," Kahne said. "On those restarts -- I didn't know what would happen, because I had great restarts all night, and I struggle with restarts a lot. 

"That's big, because that is one of the things you have to be good at, and it worked really well tonight." 

It also took a huge weight off Kahne's shoulders, as the end of the regular season approached. 

"Yeah, we are locked in, and I hate that it comes down to this Atlanta or Richmond just about every year for me," Kahne said of the pressure to make the Chase. "Sometimes we are in, sometimes we are out. But thankful that now at HMS (Hendrick Motorsports), I've been in all three years now. We have the pressure all the way to Richmond, but we made it again--thankful for that."    

Denny Hamlin ran third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards. Danica Patrick finished sixth, beating by four positions the best previous finish by a female driver at Atlanta (Janet Guthrie was 10th in 1978). 

The race that turned the season around for Kahne provided little solace for Stewart.

Starting a Cup race for the first time since his involvement in the fatal sprint car accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. on Aug. 9 at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway, Stewart charged forward from his 12th-place starting position and ran as high as fourth in the early going.

But Stewart's race came undone moments after a restart on Lap 123, when Kyle Busch's Toyota pinched Stewart's Chevy into the outside wall off Turn 2, significantly damaging both cars. On Lap 160 Matt Kenseth, then the leader, passed Stewart to put the No. 14 a lap down.

Twelve laps later, a blown right front tire sent Stewart hard into the Turn 2 wall, forcing him to the garage and out of the race. Credited with a 41st-place finish, Stewart has one more chance—on Saturday at Richmond—to take advantage of a NASCAR dispensation that kept him eligible for the Chase. 

Having missed three races, Stewart must win at the .75-mile short track to qualify for NASCAR's 10-race playoff.

After exiting his car, Stewart declined requests for interviews, but crew chief Chad Johnston spoke to reporters in the garage. 

"I went into today with some pretty high hopes of finishing well and possibly coming out of here with a win, but it just didn't work out in our favor," Johnston said. "We got into a little trouble with the 18 (Busch) and got into the outside wall, knocked the toe out of it, and a lot of heavy right side damage.

"We were just trying to fix that and salvage what we could out of the day but then we blew a right front there right before that caution came out." 

If Stewart had issues on the track, so did one prominent driver on the Chase bubble. The shifter onClint Bowyer's No. 15 Toyota broke, preventing him from getting the car into high gear. Bowyer lost 22 laps in the garage as his team made repairs. He finished 38th, leaving his chances to make the Chase on points in dire jeopardy.

IndyCar Championship Celebration crowns Power

Less than 24 hours after winning the Verizon IndyCar Series championship, Will Power got his chance to celebrate.

Power, along with other drivers, teams and manufacturers, were recognized during the IndyCar Championship Celebration at Club Nokia at the LA Live entertainment complex in downtown Los Angeles.

Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., presented Power and team owner Roger Penske with a $1 million championship bonus check and replicas of the Astor Challenge Cup, the Verizon IndyCar Series championship trophy.

"It's still sinking in, really," said Power, a first-time series champion. "When you want something so bad for so long, it's such a relief when you finally get it. It's exactly that – a culmination of 15 years of hard work to get to this point."

In addition to the championship bonus, Power accepted the Jostens Champions Award, a ring valued at $10,000. He also won the Sunoco Diamond Performance Award and its $75,000 prize for winning the most races and the Verizon P1 Award for scoring the most points among pole winners.

Matt Jonnson, chief mechanic for Power's No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, accepted the Verizon IndyCar Series Chief Mechanic of the Year Award. Jon Bouslog of Team Penske accepted the Team Manager of the Year Award.

Carlos Munoz of Andretti Autosport - HVM accepted the $50,000 Verizon IndyCar Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award, while Jack Hawksworth won the Tony Renna Rising Star Award.

Charlie Kimball claimed the $25,000 TAG Heuer "Don't Crack Under Pressure" Award for advancing the most cumulative places during the season. Juan Pablo Montoya was voted favorite driver by Verizon IndyCar Series fans.

Jim Campbell, Chevrolet's vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports, accepted the manufacturer's award on behalf of Chevrolet.

Helio Castroneves of Team Penske was honored as the second-place finisher in the championship while Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing was honored for finishing third.

Highlights of the IndyCar Championship celebration will air on NBCSN on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, immediately following the re-air of the MAVTV 500.

Verizon IndyCar Series award winners:

Championship driver (Astor Challenge Cup): Will Power
Jostens Championship Driver Award (ring): Will Power
Championship team (Astor Challenge Cup): Verizon Team Penske
Championship team sponsors: Verizon
Championship team manager: Jon Bouslog
Chief Mechanic of the Year Award: Matt Jonnson
Sunoco Diamond Performance Award ($75,000): Will Power
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award ($50,000): Carlos Munoz
TAG Heuer "Don't Crack Under Pressure" Award ($25,000): Charlie Kimball
Second place championship driver: Helio Castroneves
Second place championship team: Team Penske
Third place championship driver: Scott Dixon
Third place championship team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing
Tony Renna Rising Star Award: Jack Hawksworth
Verizon P1 Award: Will Power
Manufacturers Championship: Chevrolet
Dan and Susie Wheldon "Make a Difference" Award ($1,000 charitable donation): Susie Wheldon
Verizon IndyCar Series Fan Favorite Driver: Juan Pablo Montoya