DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For Saturday's Coke Zero 400, the Sprint Cup is back where the series began.

And what a season it has been. Tony Stewart proved that a start-up team can have success, as he's the point leader at the halfway mark. Jeff Gordon proved that he still knows how to win, as he showed at the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

Here's a look at what has happened so far and what we can expect as the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship approaches.

1. The emergence of Stewart-Haas Racing: Tony Stewart is putting on a clinic on how to be an owner/driver. Not only is he No. 1 in the points, teammate Ryan Newman is entrenched in the Chase standings at seventh.

2. The plight of the manufacturers: General Motors has made cuts in funding not to just the Nationwide and Truck Series, but also to the Sprint Cup teams. Chrysler has already cut some of its funding, while Ford has pulled back in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The one good thing about the lack of money is that it has helped balance the playing field for smaller teams.

3. Double-file restarts now the norm: Television ratings are falling, and some of the races have lacked the needed punch. So NASCAR decided to have all lead-lap cars start double file on restarts following cautions. The reception to the change has been good.

4. The fall of Dale Jr.: The matchup of Dale Earnhardt Jr. with one of the sport's super teams has been a disaster. Earnhardt Jr. comes into Saturday's Coke Zero 400 with almost no chance of making the Chase. He's 19th in points, and the move to get rid of crew chief Tony Eury Jr. hasn't helped.

5. The Chase plot thickens: While the top nine drivers in the Chase are pretty secure, spots 10 through 14 are separated by 17 points with nine races before the Chase field is set.

Joey Logano: There were people calling for the 19-year-old to be booted from the No. 20 Home Depot ride earlier this year. That talk has ended. Eight races ago, he was 32nd in points. He heads to Daytona 21st after winning last week.

Juan Montoya: Montoya doesn't have a top-five finish this year, but if the season ended now, he'd be the Chase.

Richard Childress Racing: Last year, three RCR drivers earned spots in the Chase. It doesn't look like the team will have one driver make it this year. The best hope is Clint Bowyer, who is 15th.

David Ragan: Last year, he was in the Chase hunt and wound up 13th in points. This year, he has managed one top-10 finish and is 30th in points.

1. The Jeremy Mayfield saga: His failed drug test has triggered lawsuits from each side, and Wednesday, NASCAR confirmed he tested positive for methamphetamines. A U.S. district judge then lifted NASCAR's indefinite suspension of Mayfield, who's the biggest name to be caught under the organization's tougher drug policies. This is one hot topic that isn't going away.

2. Carl Edwards and no wins: Edwards is fifth in points and is a lock to make the Chase. But he won nine races in 2008 on his way to a second-place finish. He has yet to go to Victory Lane this year.

3. The champ is waiting: Despite all the hoopla surrounding Tony Stewart's success, three-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson isn't going anywhere. Johnson is third in points, and no one knows how to win during the Chase better than the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet.