Round of 8 set...where did the competition go?

The Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday was a typical Chase race -- Halloween theme not withstanding. We knew there would be four more drivers eliminated, and some of them ended up being serious surprises.

Brad Keselowski looked like he drove for all he was worth. The No. 2 led 90 of the 188 laps, but didn't count on the engine collapsing under the weight of the Chase and the expectations that come with it.
The car didn't perform, so BK's dreams of a second Sprint Cup went away with it. He finished 38th.
Martin Truex Jr. -- he of the on-fire mode with two wins in the first round (Chicago, Dover) -- never had a chance to advance when his engine quit at lap 41.
Any thought of contention vanished after that as Truex would finish 40th.
Such is life in the Chase. Some go all out, others just stay out and survive. All four Joe Gibbs Racing cars did what they had to do and moved one step closer to turning Homestead-Miami Speedway into their own backyard brawl.
Denny Hamlin was the best finisher at Talladega, and his third-place run was just barely good enough to grab the final transfer spot to the round of 8. He ended up tied with Austin Dillon (who finished ninth) and won out on the basis of his Talladega finish. Dillon's best of the second round was a sixth at Kansas, so his dreams are done,
Matt Kenseth had more than enough cushion to advance and did so in spite of finishing 28th on Sunday. He was 10 points ahead of Dillon and Hamlin.
Kyle Busch was even worse in 30th, but he was good enough to get by as well. His final margin came in at plus-6.
And Carl Edwards -- still without Twitter -- was sandwiched between his teammates in 29th. He was four points clear in the end and will continue his quest for the crown.
As things shook out, NASCAR did not penalize any of the JGR cars for the "100 percent effort" rule. Apparently, they did enough and earned their participation pass to the Round of 8.
-What in the world is Kevin Harvick thinking? Post-race pictures from Talladega appeared to show him going after teammate Kurt Busch following their runs Sunday. Harvick already had his win at Kansas to get him through to the next round, and Busch ended up fourth, good enough to finish second in the standings, one point behind Jimmie Johnson.
But apparently Harvick had an issue with a post-race bump Busch gave him on track. It carried over to pit road, and let's just say things will be interesting going forward.
Harvick and Busch are the only other multiple drivers for one team in the Round of 8. Joey Logano -- Sunday's race winner -- and Jimmie Johnson are on their own as they go after the title.
Onward and upward.
-As for the other race of the weekend at Talladega, the Camping World Truck Series had its first elimination of two drivers after the Fred's 250. There were no surprises.
Non-Chaser Grant Enfinger won the race, and Timothy Peters was the highest-finishing Chaser in third. Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek were in must-win mode, but didn't come close.
Hemric finished 11th whilie Nemechek lost an engine after just 13 laps and ended up dead last in 32nd.
William Byron was the only Chaser to win a race in the Round of 8 (New Hampshire), and he'll be joined by teammate Christopher Bell (Kyle Busch Motorsports), Peters, Ben Kennedy, Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton.
Crafton already has two championships on his resume in the truck series, but he knows full well getting No. 3 in the bag will be a wholly different experience.
Will he need to win to advance to Homestead? It will be nice, but pushing too much onto the plate too soon can backfire.
Just ask Keselowski and Truex on the Cup side what that's like. It's certainly not pretty, but that's why this system works.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @TommyZee81 or @Tomzsports. Email tominator19@yahoo.com. He'll be heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the NHRA Toyota Nationals final eliminations this Sunday.
THIS WEEK'S RACES
Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval), Martinsville, Virginia.
-SPRINT CUP: Goody's Fast Relief 500, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 500 laps, 263 miles.
2015 champion: Jeff Gordon
-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Alpha Energy Solutions 200, Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 200 laps, 105.2 miles
2015 champion: Matt Crafton
-XFINITY SERIES: Off until Nov. 5 for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.