(Getty)If the past two Chase races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway are any indication, Sunday's Sylvania 300 will come down to fuel mileage. And Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer should be in the mix.

Two years ago, Stewart was running first and Bowyer was second when Stewart ran out of fuel a lap from the finish. Bowyer finished first. Stewart was 24th and never really regained his title hopes. Bowyer's were looking good -- until his car failed post race inspection and he was docked 150 points. He went from being 35 points behind Chase leader Denny Hamlin to being 185 points behind. He finished 10th in the Chase.

In 2011, Stewart and Bowyer were dueling again, but this time the roles were reversed. Bowyer was leading and ran out of gas in turns 3 and 4 as the duo was coming to the white flag. Stewart drove by and took his second Chase win in two races on his way to the title. Bowyer, who wasn't in the Chase, finished 26th.

This year, nine Chasers enter with New Hampshire victories to their name:

Good news for fans of AJ Allmendinger: He's completed NASCAR's Substance Abuse Policy Road to Recovery program, and that means he's been reinstated by NASCAR. He's now eligible to drive once again at any level.

Allmendinger had been suspended indefinitely earlier this summer for testing positive for a still-unrevealed stimulant at the Kentucky race. Allmendinger and his team had initially called the test results into question, but once a second sample turned up the same result, he consented to NASCAR's judgment. He told a curious story about taking Adderall, but in the end, he didn't disagree with the sport's judgment.

The knock on Allmendinger was that he would follow in Jeremy Mayfield's footsteps, fighting every inch of the way. He didn't; he took the wiser route and is now back in the sport faster than perhaps anyone expected.

Of course, he returns to a NASCAR changed even since he was suspended in July. Joey Logano has taken over his old seat, and there's no guarantee of another

Time again for another Yahoo! Sports NASCAR chat! Come talk to us about the Chase, Chicago and whatever else is on your mind. See you here!

Tony Eury Jr. and Danica Patrick. (Getty Images)

Just over a week after Tony Eury Sr. and JR Motorsports parted ways comes more surprising-but-not-really news: His son, Tony Eury Jr., has also left the company. Eury Jr. was both Danica Patrick's crew chief and a part-owner of the company.

"Unfortunately Tony Jr. is no longer with the company," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in a statement. "I had hoped he would be here for a long time, but as we've discussed the direction of JR Motorsports moving forward, it was clear our differences in ideas were too vast to overcome.  I love him like a brother, and you'll never hear me say a bad thing about him.  I know he'll have much success in anything he does going forward."

That's got to be tough for Earnhardt, but as the weeks wore on this season, it became clear that something was very off at JR Motorsports. The question, of course, is what. Let's speculate a bit: JR Motorsports revolves around Danica Patrick, and Patrick has, to put it charitably, not exactly lit the track on fire this

Brad Keselowski outruns Jimmie Johnson. (Getty Images)

The first race of the Chase is over, and that means it's time for Power Rankings! But we're doing things a little differently now that we're in the postseason. It's all-Chasers, all the time. Good job, good effort for those of you that didn't make it, but we've got bigger fish to focus on. We'll be judging who's running well, considering not just finishing position but quality of run, expected potential, and general gut feelings. As always, we hate your guy and are biased against him. Now, enjoy.

1. Brad Keselowski: We kept looking to Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards as the logical rivals to Jimmie Johnson, but is it possible we were looking at the wrong teams? Keselowski has now outthought and outdriven some of the biggest names in the sport, and he's got a series-leading (tied with Hamlin) four wins. That's about as definitive a statement on his arrival as you can make. Who else is thinking he's going to be around until Homestead?

2. Jimmie Johnson: Be afraid, everyone. Be

Denny Hamlin coasted to the finish line out of fuel on Sunday, dropping from 9th to 16th. (Getty)

Shortly after his final pit stop of the day during Sunday's Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Denny Hamlin, the points leader entering the Chase, found out that he was going to be short on fuel.

"We didn't get the car full," Hamlin said. "We decided to make an adjustment and not put all the fuel in it and it just -- he told me I was four laps short and it puts me in a box. I'm trying to hold my position and trying to slow down and just couldn't slow down enough there."

Hamlin had run comfortably in and around the top 10 all day, and was poised to finish 9th. When the checkered flag flew, he was 16th, coasting to the finish line, sure enough, out of fuel.

It was a seven point drop for Hamlin, who was positioned to be within 10 points of race winner and new points leader Brad Keselowski. Instead, Hamlin is 15 points outside of first place after the first race of the Chase.

Here's how all the Chase drivers did on Sunday:

1. Brad Keselowski, 2056 points, (1st place on Sunday): The pass

Just before the first race of the 10-race 2012 Chase for the Cup began, Tony Stewart was busy sizing up the competition:

That's none other than Delana Harvick, wife of fellow Chase driver Kevin Harvick. "And for the record," she later tweeted, "if uncle tony wins today it's not my fault!!! #sneakyassgraber"

Could be worse, Delana. He could've thrown a helmet at you.

Denny Hamlin should be in title contention at Homestead. (Getty)

You have to wonder how many times Denny Hamlin has played out the final two weeks of the 2010 Chase in his head.

By now, you know the story just as well as Hamlin does: dominating the season's penultimate race at Phoenix, fuel mileage came into play and Hamlin and then-crew chief Mike Ford pitted for fuel late in the race to ensure that his car would make it to the end under power. Hamlin finished 12th, and Jimmie Johnson finished fifth, closing the gap between himself and Hamlin at the top of the standings. Hamlin was dejected.

Hamlin was still the points leader by 15, but qualified poorly at Homestead and spun and damaged his splitter early in the race. His team scrambled all race and scraped out a 14th place finish. Meanwhile, Johnson qualified sixth and finished second. He won by 39 points. Hamlin was even more dejected.

Hamlin was a non-factor in the Chase in 2011 and started working with a sports psychologist to help his attitude.

Now, as we enter the 2012 Chase, Hamlin's atop