 Before the race , Jeff Gordon led the Drivers ' Championship with 959 points , followed by Clint Bowyer with 870 . Kurt Busch was third with 827 points , Jimmie Johnson was fourth with 817 and Denny Hamlin was fifth with 811 points . Kurt 's younger brother Kyle Busch , along with Tony Stewart , Carl Edwards , Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten . In the Manufacturers ' Championship , Chevrolet was leading with 39 points , five points ahead of their rival Toyota . Ford , with 32 points , was five points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third place . Edwards was the race 's defending champion . 
