No Chase, no chances?

FONTANA, Calif. -- David Reutimann saw Mark Martin's bumper in the mirror and took a deep breath.

It wasn't jitters exactly. Reutimann knew the NASCAR veteran -- considered one of the cleanest racers in the business -- wasn't going to cause any trouble as they battled side by side last week in the Sprint Cup event at Kansas.

Yet Reutimann also knows the stakes are different for the 31 drivers on the outside of the Chase for the championship than for the 12 drivers such as Martin who are vying for a title.

Sure, Reutimann was racing to win. He just wasn't going to risk Martin's shot at finally grabbing the championship to do it.

"It's nerve-wracking to race a guy in the Chase because you don't want to touch the guy," said Reutimann, who finished eighth, one spot behind Martin. "You don't want to be the guy that, 'Well, if this hadn't have happened, such and such would have won the Chase or won the Championship.' You don't want to be that guy, none of us do."

It's a fine line the non-Chase drivers must walk during the 10-race Chase, which continues Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. It doesn't mean non-Chasers have to pull over like they're making room for an ambulance when a Chase guy gets on their bumper.

Yet the non-Chasers like Reutimann know there are only two ways to ensure yourself time in the spotlight during the Chase, win a race or ruin a Chase guy's day. And considering non-Chasers rarely make it to Victory Lane -- Greg Biffle was the last to do it in 2007 -- the alternative isn't that appetizing.

"But you can't roll over for those guys," Reutimann said.

Maybe, but there is a certain amount of etiquette involved, a lesson Cup newcomer Brad Keselowski experienced in Kansas. Keselowski's No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was working near the lead when he found himself in close quarters with Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya, both Chase drivers.

Stewart, perhaps agitated by the way Keselowski was driving, radioed his concerns to crew chief Darian Grubb. A short time later NASCAR officials sent word to Keselowski's crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., that the 25-year-old driver needed to calm down. Stewart, however, didn't view it as situation where a Chase driver was getting preferential treatment.

"It was more a young rookie driver that was racing in the Nationwide Series or the Truck Series and that's how you race on Friday and Saturday, that's not how you race on Sunday," said Stewart, a two-time Cup champion. "I realize it's a longer race and there's more give and take. He's young. He's aggressive. He wants to do well. He wants to earn respect. He's got to understand you've got to be patient."

Keselowski, a surprise winner at Talladega in the spring, didn't take the call personally.

"I thought it was somewhat humorous because it seemed the Chase drivers around me were the ones who were racing aggressively," Keselowski said.

NASCAR officials monitor drivers' conduct during the race and often relay any concerns to the offending teams. Vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said Keselowski wasn't singled out because he's not in the Chase.

Hamlin earns top spot: Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway.

Hamlin averaged 183.870 mph during his qualifying run around the 2-mile oval. The pole is his first of the year and seventh of his career. Hamlin's last pole came at Richmond in 2008.

David Reutimann will start second, followed by Greg Biffle. Three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson will start fourth. Points leader Mark Martin will start 10th.

Juan Pablo Montoya, third in points, qualified fifth but damaged his car on his second qualifying lap after scraping the wall.

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