Eight races remain before the field is set for the 2009 Chase and the battle for positions 10-12 are heating up.

This past weekend, the Sprint Cup Series stars headed back to where the season began for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

When the smoke cleared on the track Saturday night, points leader Tony Stewart was left standing in Victory Lane.

Here are a few things Surprising and Not Surprising from Saturday night's race.

Surprising: Tony Stewart was apologetic in Victory Lane

This is a totally different Stewart than we've ever seen before. Since taking over the ownership role in the Sprint Cup Series, Stewart has been a lot more mellow.

After being involved in a wreck with Kyle Busch on the final lap of the race Saturday, Stewart was somber in Victory Lane.

"That's not the way I wanted to do it," Stewart said of his second win of the season.

Really?

The old Stewart would have said something to the tune of: "Block me once, I'll be forgiving. Try again, and you're going in the wall, just like Kyle Busch did tonight."

Whether it's because he's got the owner's cap on or not, the new Stewart is collecting fans (and wins) consistently.

Not Surprising: Crowd cheers when Shrub wrecks

Busch is one of those drivers that fans either love or hate.

On Saturday night, it was apparent that the majority of the front strech in Daytona disliked him.

After attempting to block Stewart one final time, Busch's No. 18 Toyota was sent into the outside wall.

As Busch emerged from the wreckage, he was greeted with a wave of claps and cheers (too bad they were because he wreck though!).

If you weren't watching the screen, you'd have thought Dale Earnhardt Jr. had just taken the lead, as that's the only time you hear the crowd roar that loud.

Surprising: Juan Pablo Montoya rebounds... Twice

Rebounding from an unscheduled pit stop at Daytona is tough. Doing it twice is just about impossible (unless you are Jimmie Johnson -- he could have problems five or six times and still win).

After an unscheduled stop put Montoya's No. 42 Chevy a lap down, he patiently waited and kept his nose clean until receiving the Lucky Dog.

Unfortunately, as Montoya was waved around the pace car, he was also shown the black flag and forced to make another stop after NASCAR officials saw something hanging from his Chevy.

Montoya peeled off the super speedway as the field took the green flag and was quickly a half lap down...again.

Montoya managed to wait patiently again, and after another caution was brought back, he was within seconds of the leaders.

After methodically working his way through the field, Montoya finished ninth, giving him his fifth top-10 finish in his last seven starts.

Now tell me this guy isn't points racing and headed towards a Chase berth!

Not Surprising: Nobody gave Jeremy Mayfield a ride

Mayfield has dug himself a rather large hole when it comes to landing any ride and/or sponsor ever again.

After being told he was allowed to race 24 hours prior to the deadline to enter a car in Daytona, Mayfield attempted to land a ride with a few other owners.

Car owners Larry Gunselman (No. 64) and Tommy Baldwin (No. 36) both refused to give Mayfield the wheel of their cars. Gunselman said it was because of sponsorship issues, while Baldwin said Mayfield had, "too much baggage" to be put in a car.

Mayfield allegedly tested positive for meth and had been previously suspended indefinately by NASCAR. A judge ruled last week that he could return to the track, but he did not have enough notice to field his own entry.

Mayfield released a statement saying he hoped to have things in order for this weekend's race at Chicagoland.

Surprising: Race for top-35 spot is ending

It's become apparent that the No. 82 Toyota of Scott Speed will not pose much of a challenge for a top-35 spot throughout the remainder of 2009.

Sure, there are 18 races remaining until the finale in Homestead, but the top-35 battle has been exciting nearly every year -- until 2009.

What started off looking like a solid battle has quickly turned into a 152-point lead for the No. 34 team.

While 152 is by no means impossible to make up over 18 races (8.4 points a race, or about three positions better), Speed has yet to prove he can beat the No. 34 Chevy on any given weekend.

Not Surprising: Race to Chase is tight

With only eight races remaining until NASCAR's version of the playoffs kicks off, three drivers are within 105 points of 12th-place (Mark Martin -65, David Reutimann -74 and Jeff Burton -105).

Throw in that Clint Bowyer (-135) and Brian Vickers (-168) are within striking distance, and its easy to see the battle for the top-12 positions will come down to Richmond.

Martin was the biggest loser on Saturday night, falling two spots to 13th-place.

Burton moved himself back to within stricking distance, and currently sits 15th.

Only 143 points separate seventh-place Ryan Newman and 14th-place Reutimann.

Final Lap

Surprising: Red Bull could be switching to Hendrick equipment in 2010.

Not Surprising: Martin Truex Jr. is expected to be named driver at Michael Waltrip Racing on Tuesday.

Surprising: Richard Childress Racing could be without a team in the 2009 Chase.

Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s struggles continue.