iNSIDE SCOOP: Three-Man Monte

After three races in the Chase, it is exceedingly obvious that the title will fall to one of three drivers this season.

Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson have distanced themselves from the other 10 competitors with steady runs at Chicagoland, NHMS and Dover. 

Everybody else is scrambling.

Kansas is the place for this weekend’s duel, and it’s almost identical to Chicagoland, where Kenseth swept to victory over Busch. He runs well on 1.5-mile tracks, and the team he drives for has had success there.

Busch has finished second, second and fifth in the first three races, but still got passed by Johnson, who won at Dover.

There’s a reason Johnson is called Five-Time. He and his team run exceedingly well in the Chase. The first 26 races are just window-dressing. Of course, the last time Johnson won a title was 2010, so the pressure to pop the top on a six-pack of titles is mounting.

He unlocked part of the combination at Dover, but then, no driver has won more races there than he has. It was sort of expected. Kansas isn’t a bad track for Five-Time, just not a great track like Charlotte, which is the week after. If he’s going to go, now’s the time.

As for the rest of the field, Chase-eligible, it’s going to be an uphill slog. Fourth-place drivers Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon are 39 points behind after three races, perilously close to a full race worth of points.

Pit miscues, mechanical woes and just plain missing the setup have abounded in positions seven through 13. Kasey Kahne is likely out of it after crashing, Carl Edwards broke a hub at Dover, Dale Jr. finished second at Dover after the Ziegfield Follies erupted on pit road…the list goes on.

One oddity exists in the points list: after Dover, Tony Stewart was still ahead of Denny Hamlin and Smoke hasn’t raced since Pocono in August. I’m still shaking my head over how bad the 11 team has been this season, even with Hamlin behind the wheel. He wasn’t even all that competitive at Richmond.

Of course, he’s hurt and is dealing with a lot of pain from the broken vertebrae at Auto Club Speedway, but still…

One wonders how badly the Richmond debacle is affecting Clint Bowyer. He hasn’t been himself in the Chase. 

Goodyear will bring the Multi-Zone tread tires back for Kansas, and that should help with grip. Kansas was repaved last year, and still has a ton of grip, but the weather will be colder and that could help even more.

I wonder how long it’s going to be before Martin Truex Jr. makes the move to Furniture Row? It makes a lot of sense for him to go to FRR, since he likely will need a ride and they need a driver. He’s the best option. I would look for something around Charlotte next weekend.