Head2Head: Who can race their way into the Chase?

When picking who will make the Chase, there are four reasons Kasey Kahne gets the nod on Juan Montoya.

The success. Kahne has wins at four of the tracks remaining before the Chase cutoff. He won at Pocono last spring and also has victories at Atlanta, Michigan and Richmond. Montoya, meanwhile, has only won at Infineon in a fuel-mileage finish. Looking at last year's Dover-to-Richmond run (accounting for the Fontana/Atlanta swap), Kahne posted a better average finish than Montoya: 19.92 to 27.35.

The experience. Kahne has felt the pressure of the Chase, while Montoya hasn't. In addition to making the field in 2006, Kahne was in contention in 2004 and 2008 as he finished 13th and 14th in the points, respectively.

The engine. The only thing slowing Kahne down this year (literally) has been a lack of horsepower. Starting this weekend, he will have the new Dodge R6P8 engine under his hood which should provide improved giddy-up. The power plant has done wonders for Penske drivers this season and will help Kahne in his push to make the Chase.

The momentum. In the last 10 races, Kahne has accumulated more points than Montoya and was reeling in race leader Kyle Busch before the final rain delay in the Coca-Cola 600.

Brash open-wheel veteran or soft-spoken young Sprint Cup star battling for a Chase berth -- this round goes to Kahne.

This is the year Juan Montoya gets over the hump and makes the Chase -- and team morale and attitude are a big reason for the boost.

With Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Montoya has found some stability. Brain Pattie is the perfect crew chief for Montoya and their stellar working relationship is starting to show in the results column. The goal for the team is to finish at least in the top 15, and it seems to be working.

The improvements in Year 3 of his Cup career are impressive. He hasn't won a race yet, but his four top-10s are two off his career best of six back in 2007. On top of that, his average start is seven spots better than his career average (14.8/21.4) and his average finish is six spots on the positive (16.1/22.4).

Only once this season has Montoya finished worse than 30th. In the last eight events, the No. 42 has put up a top-20 in seven of them, including his four top-10s.

But most impressive in Montoya's 2009 season -- no DNFs. In '07 he finished with four and last year it jumped to nine. This year, though, he has nine lead lap finishes and has stayed out of trouble.

Montoya is seeing these tracks for a fourth, fifth and sixth time. He's more comfortable in the car now than at any other point in his Cup career and it shows with his finishes. He's still learning, but he's also good enough to make the top 12.