Mr. Johnson heads to Homestead

After two years of wondering what's wrong with Jimmie Johnson, we can safely say he's finally got this new Chase thing pretty much down pat.

At a track he's basically dominated in the past, Johnson grabbed another dose of Martinsville Speedway magic and earned his ninth career win Sunday in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at the paper clip. Another grandfather clock -- the standard trophy the track awards to the race winner -- is nice, but a shot at his seventh championship likely has the driver of the No. 48 a little more excited this week.
Johnson can use the upcoming races at Texas and Phoenix to get himself mentally ready for the mission at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Unlike in years past, where he basically had to stay out of trouble and get a decent-enough finish to claim the checkered flag trophy, Johnson actually has to -- wait for it -- race hard come Nov. 20.
He'll only have three other drivers to worry about, but finishing ahead of them is the only way to guarantee he'll be alongside Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with the most championships in NASCAR history.
The 41-year-old from El Cajon, Calif., now has 79 career wins, only four behind Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time list and five behind Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison. Elite company, indeed.
In his 15 full-time seasons in Sprint Cup, the fewest wins Johnson has had is two (2011). With his win at Martinsville, this is the third time the Hendrick Motorsports driver has had four checkered flags in a season (2005, 2014).
So how well will Jimmie really need to do at Homestead? He's finished ninth in each of the last three races there. Not bad, but both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch won to make sure they secured the championship.
Johnson hasn't so much as led a lap at Homestead since 2012. Take it for what it's worth, but it's clearly go time this time around.
There are still two races left in the final round before the Championship 4, but Johnson has dealt a big blow to all four Joe Gibbs Racing cars in their Chase for the title. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch finished third, fourth and fifth at Martinsville, but Joey Logano is lurking as another potential party spoiler after he finished ninth.
Then again, winning matters, and Carl Edwards -- even though he finished 36th after wrecking Sunday -- still has a shot.
He needs a win, but it's still a shot. Same goes for Harvick and Kurt Busch.
Edwards won at Texas in April. Harvick has won six of the last eight at Phoenix and led 994 laps in the last five trips there.
Strap yourself in for the last two races before we set the final four. Nothing is over until the guy in the flag stand says it is.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @TommyZee81 or @Tomzsports. Email him at tominator19@yahoo.com.
THIS WEEK'S RACES
Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Fort Worth, Texas.
-SPRINT CUP: AAA Texas 500, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.
Race distance: 501 miles, 334 laps.
2015 champion: Jimmie Johnson
-XFINITY SERIES: O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
2015 champion: Brad Keselowski
-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Longhorn 350, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN affiliate.
Race distance; 350 kilometers (219 miles), 146 laps.
2015 champion: Erik Jones.

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.

Hamlin comes through chaos, wins at Glen

For race fans who found a way to watch NASCAR’s second and final road course race of the 2016 season, the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen – the 2.45-mile, 10-turn bit of mayhem that was Watkins Glen – the trip over to USA Network was well worth the time.

After all, NBC’s Olympic coverage was only in its second day, so all the good stuff from Rio hasn’t happened yet, right?
Let’s grab a grip on our collective steering wheels for a minute. The 90-lap tilt at the Glen had plenty of prize-fight punch and enough twists and turns that made slipping away from swimming qualifiers an easy choice.
In the end, Denny Hamlin kept himself free from the trouble and put himself in Victory Lane for the second time this season, first since the memorable run past Martin Truex Jr. at the Daytona 500.
There were plenty of potential pitfalls Hamlin had to dodge along the way, including seven of the race’s eight cautions that happened over the final 40 laps. Two yellow flags came inside 10 to go, and the field couldn’t complete a full lap each time, including a seven-car wreck that collected Chris Buescher and David Ragan.
Oh, yes. Even guys well back in the field were part of the race drama, as we’ll discuss in a moment.
As for those who were up front most of the way, Brad Keselowski had the lead from Lap 54 until Hamlin took it away on a restart at Lap 81. With Martin Truex Jr. trying to pressure Hamlin at the front, Keselowski got into the No. 78 Toyota and sent him into a spin.
Keselowski’s Penske Racing teammate, Joey Logano, took advantage of the fracas and finished second, while Keselowski finished third, which was where he started at the white-flag lap. Truex somehow held on to his sanity and ended up seventh.
With no new addition to the race winners list, Kyle Larson may be the one thanking his good-luck charms he still has his spot in the Chase with four races left. Larson – who qualified on the outside pole – got tangled up with A.J. Allmendinger in the late-race chaos and finished 29th.
Larson’s cushion: Eight points over Trevor Bayne, but only three in front of Buescher, and it could have been worse.
Buescher, who won last week at Pocono, had a golden opportunity to slip into the top 30 and become eligible for the Chase, but lost it when he was in the wrong place at the wrong time only five laps shy of the finish.
Helped by a 17-minute red flag, Buescher’s crew on the No. 34 Ford worked furiously and got him back on track to finish 30th, one of three cars one lap down. Ragan wasn’t as fortunate, ending up seven laps down in 33rd.
As we head to Bristol in two weeks, Buescher still has to make up three points to get into the top 30 and get into the Chase. Once he gets in, that will leave only four non-winner spots left to claim.
After Bayne, Kasey Kahne – who is closing in on the two-year anniversary of his last win – is 11 points behind Larson. The sad part for all three drivers is once Buescher becomes Chase-eligible, that leaves them with a huge climb. Jamie McMurray is the next driver in front of Larson in the standings, and he’s up by 30 points.
With the high drama of two excellent road-course races in the rear-view mirror for another year, the final off week of the season couldn’t have come at a better time. Those with championship aspirations know that the final four races before the Chase will make or break their seasons.
We’ll definitely need some time to make sense of it all.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports or email tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

-XFINITY SERIES: Mid-Ohio 200, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (2.258-mile road course), Lexington, Ohio, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, USA Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 203.2 miles, 90 laps.

2015 champion: Regan Smith

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until Aug. 17 for the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

-SPRINT CUP: Off until Aug. 20 for the Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

At long last, Stewart breaks winless drought at Sonoma

Since I began my career in sports writing nearly 20 years ago, one of the bigger lessons I was taught was when it comes to being a good reporter, you simply have to keep cheering out of the words you put on a page.
With what went down at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday, it was next to impossible to jump up and down like a kid about to be let loose in a candy store.
For all the heartaches, all the bad luck, all the stress and pain, Tony Stewart finally grabbed a dose of nirvana at a track he’s more than familiar with.
Stewart got a break when a well-timed pit stop put him in front, then he worked a final restart to perfection and had to hold off a hard-charging Denny Hamlin to win the Toyota/SaveMart 350. It was Stewart’s eighth road-course win (third at Sonoma) and 49th career Sprint Cup win, but it meant so much more than an average race day.
The last time Stewart won came at Dover on June 2, 2013. Three years and 24 days later – a stretch of 84 races – Stewart found his way back to Victory Lane.
And if you can’t appreciate how it unfolded, please go back and check yourself for a pulse, heart or soul.
At lap 83, Stewart and his No. 14 Chevrolet sat in 17th place. Five laps later, the race’s fourth and final caution came out. All of a sudden, Stewart found himself in front of the field.
He didn’t let it go over the final 22 laps, including one precarious restart and two bump-and-run exchanges with Hamlin in the final three turns.
Just like Kyle Busch before him one year ago, Stewart – despite missing the first eight races – has met the first requirement for making the 2016 Chase. One checkered flag in the win column.
Now comes the harder part. Stewart still needs to get to the top 30 in points, but he’s closer than you think.
With 10 races to go until the Chase, Stewart is 32nd in points, but only nine behind Brian Scott and three behind Regan Smith. Since he returned eight races ago, Stewart had struggled with only one top-10 and three straight early exits.
But after a seventh-place run at Michigan two weeks ago, it had the feeling of a turn-the-corner moment for the entire Stewart-Haas Racing organization.
When the checkered flag flew, the picture captured by the Fox cameras of Stewart’s father, Nelson, wiping away tears showed you just how special the breakthrough moment was. Stewart led laps only one other time on the 2016 season at Kansas, but ended up 12th.
In the bigger picture, Stewart may have the win, but he can’t afford to backslide into finishes he endured at places like Dover (34th), Charlotte (24th) and Pocono (34th) if he wants one last shot at a fourth Sprint Cup title.
Smoke is also one win away from becoming the 13th driver in NASCAR history to reach 50 career wins. After what he’s been through since his last one, from the broken leg that cost him 15 races in 2013 to the tragic accident involving Kevin Ward and missing the first eight races this year due to a non-racing injury, Tony Stewart has definitely risen from the ashes.
Stewart said he wasn’t having much fun driving a Sprint Cup car to the media on Friday. What a difference a little luck can make to improve the feeling.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile D-shaped oval), Daytona Beach, Fla.

-SPRINT CUP: Coke Zero 400, Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps.

2015 champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

-XFINITY SERIES: Subway Firecracker 250, Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 250 miles, 100 laps.

2015 champion: Austin Dillon.

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until July 7 for the Kentucky 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Side note: At least John Wes Townley and Spencer Gallagher can go to their neutral corners after their little wrestling match at Gateway that happened with five laps to go Saturday night. It's all raw emotion, though, and it definitely got everyone talking.

Kenseth survives three-way battle at Dover

With all of the success enjoyed by the other drivers at Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth may have felt like a fifth wheel. Bad breaks and bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere in 2016.

In the season’s first 11 races, Kenseth’s three teammates – Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin – won six of them. The driver of the No. 20 car could only manage a pair of seventh-place finishes at Phoenix and Richmond.
But after a turn-the-corner moment with a fourth at Kansas last week, Kenseth finally joined the JGR victory party, capturing his first and the race team’s seventh win of 2016 by winning the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway.
And the opportunity came with the help of a good break, for a change. Kenseth was able to take the lead just before a Matt DiBenedetto spin at lap 354, and when an 18-car pileup happened off the restart five laps later, it set up a fight to the finish that made for riveting viewing.
First, there was Kyle Larson. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi had his shot over the final five laps and even got to Kenseth’s bumper a few times. There would be no bump-and-run.
"I had gotten close to his bumper a couple times," Larson said to NASCAR Wire Service. "I may have even got into him once. I didn't want to do anything dirty. I respect Matt Kenseth a lot. He's definitely, in my eyes, the cleanest racer out there. He always races me with respect. I try to do the same with him.”
But Kenseth ended up as the one in Victory Lane, earning his 37th Cup win and tying Kyle Busch and Bobby Isaac for 19th on the career list. Lesson for Larson: being a nice guy is one thing, but it doesn’t get you race wins.
Rookie Chase Elliott was also in the mix. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet finished third, best of his career so far. Elliott got by Larson for second with 20 laps to go, but had to give up the position three laps later due to difficulty with lap traffic.
They call Dover the Monster Mile, and everything that happened – from the big late-race wreck (are we sure that wasn’t Talladega?) to the riveting three-way fight to the finish – gave more credence to the nickname.
Every little thing that can help put fans back in the seats is certainly worth it, and the AAA 400 Drive for Autism played a valuable part in making progress toward that goal.
Normally, I don’t spend any time talking about Formula 1 racing here, but from what I saw on my device as I crawled out of bed Sunday morning was a beautiful attention-getter.
The Pirelli Grand Prix of Spain from Barcelona was won by Max Verstappen. Of course, you’re asking “who’s he?” Right?
Verstappen is basically an 18-year-old kid from Belgium who went out and made history, becoming the youngest Formula 1 race winner ever at 18 years, 228 days. Sebastian Vettel was the previous record holder at 21 years, 73 days.
If that doesn’t make you say “whoa,” please check for a pulse.
Verstappen led 30 laps, including the last 23 where he survived a shootout over the 2.89-mile Catalunya course with none other than Kimi Raikkonen (20 career wins, 2007 season champion) bearing down on him. Like Larson, Raikkonen got close but never could complete a pass for the lead.
Verstappen got the win in his 24th start in F1. It was the first time he’s led laps.
If you don’t have the NBC Sports Live Extra app on your device, find a way to watch the replay of the Spanish Grand Prix. It’ll make you believe anything really is possible.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and email tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Concord, N.C.

-SPRINT CUP: Sprint Showdown, Friday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

2015 champion: Clint Bowyer

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

2015 champion: Denny Hamlin

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 201 miles, 134 laps.

2015 champion: Kasey Kahne

-XFINITY SERIES: Off until May 28 for the HiSense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Hamlin makes hearts skip a beat with Daytona win

Now that’s a way to start a NASCAR season.
Whether you watched Jeff Gordon make his debut with Darrell Waltrip and Mike Joy in the Fox TV booth or listened to the call via MRN on Sunday, what we saw in the Daytona 500 was special.
Denny Hamlin looked like he didn’t have enough left in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota to get his first victory in the Great American Race. Matt Kenseth, for all his struggle to get to the front after switching to a backup car, had his third career 500 win (2009, 2012) well within reach.
But when Hamlin got the push he needed from Kevin Harvick on the final lap and made the move that left Kenseth to fade back, the race to the finish was on.
And what a finish it was.
Hamlin, who was fourth as the field headed to Turn 3, somehow won the drag race to the line with Martin Truex Jr. and won his first Daytona 500. It was the first for Toyota and the final margin was a microscopic one-hundredth of a second.
Actual distance: 12 inches. And that may be too high of an estimate to the naked eye.
Not only did Hamlin win, he basically grabbed it from Truex Jr. over the final 100 feet, if even that much. Beating and banging without wrecking.
This was easily one of the best Daytona 500s in a long, long time. The finish was even closer than Harvick’s win by just .02 over Mark Martin in the 2007 race.
Hamlin admitted in his post-race news conference that he had no idea how he pulled the win off. Once he was able to get past Kenseth – one of his teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing – with a move to the inside that had serious potential to cause a huge wreck, it was gas-mashing time.
And Truex Jr. was the latest to be on the receiving end of heartbreak from another exhilarating Daytona 500 finish.
As the now-retired Jeff Gordon said in his debut broadcast with Fox on the finish, “I’ve got chills up my spine. That was amazing.”
It was the perfect capper to a Speedweeks that was chock full of storylines.
• Rookie Chase Elliott, who replaced Gordon in the No. 24, won the pole last week, but couldn’t avoid the infield grass early. He ended up 37th, 40 laps down.
• The consensus in the garage was that Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the car to beat, but he got into an infield wall with 30 to go and finished 36th.
• Despite qualifying on the outside pole and leading 40 laps, Kenseth ended up 14th when his block on Hamlin backfired.
Add in the challenges with the new charter system, fields limited to 40 cars, and a competitive Sprint Cup rookie class, and we’re just getting warmed up for the season to come.
The new low-downforce package is in play when the series gets to Atlanta next weekend. It will be intriguing to see how it performs on a mile-and-a-half track.
And after that, it’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Kobalt 400 on March 6. It will be my 12th straight year covering the racing there, and I can not wait.
There are fun times and a fun season ahead. If you choose to call the racing boring, that’s your business, but it’s about time to push the focus on the positive.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter, @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile quad-oval), Hampton, Georgia

-SPRINT CUP: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox (check local listings). Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 500.5 miles, 325 laps.

2015 champion: Jimmie Johnson

-XFINITY SERIES: Heads Up Georgia 250, Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 250.25 miles, 162 laps.

2015 champion: Kevin Harvick

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: GreatClips 200, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 200 miles, 130 laps.

2015 champion: Matt Crafton.

Best of times, worst of times at Loudon

On any other day – at least one in the regular season – Matt Kenseth’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway would have been a bigger story for some obvious reasons. A Chase berth secured along with a chance at his second Sprint Cup championship.
While Sunday’s victory at the Sylvania 300 was the best of times for Kenseth – including a ticket to the Contender round of the Chase – it was overshadowed by the worst of times for other drivers with one more race left in the Challenger round.

Kenseth was able to keep his chances at another Sprint Cup trophy alive because defending champion Kevin Harvick got overconfident for the second straight week. This time, the fuel tank of the No. 4 went dry after leading 216 of the 300 laps and put Harvick’s chances at repeating on life support.
As the series heads to Dover International Speedway this weekend, Harvick is one of the four drivers who will be eliminated from title contention unless they do one thing.
It’s winning time.
Harvick’s misfortune came late in Sunday’s race with a 21st-place finish, but there were other exhibits of malaise that turned the standings on its collective head.
Surprisingly, Kyle Busch was the first victim. When his right front tire blew out at 160, it required extensive repairs to the No. 18 Toyota and Busch ended up 37th.
The end result: Busch fell from fourth all the way to 13th. The good news: Busch is only one point behind bubble driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 25th on Sunday.
Adding to the stress for Dover, two more drivers are adding to the potential chaos. Busch is tied with Paul Menard, and Jamie McMurray is a single point in front of Earnhardt in 11th place. Only two of the quartet will make it to the next round.
Even further up the standings, that pesky issue of restart enforcement claimed a pretty big victim at New Hampshire. Brad Keselowski was busted for jumping the restart with 58 laps to go while battling with Greg Biffle for the lead.
Keselowski fell back as far as 25th, but rallied to finish 12th and took out his frustration by calling NASCAR “an entertainment sport, not a fair sport.”
The 2012 champ is in a relatively safe position – eighth in points, 16 clear of Busch and Menard – but his comments make you wonder about how much truth is behind the words and how much is emotion.
Keselowski has an intelligent head on his shoulders, but the statement he made Sunday was as thick with emotion. When a championship is on the line, anything that throws the dream even the slightest bit out of whack brings out the competitive beast in anyone, but especially if he drives fast in circles for a living.
With one more race before the first four drivers see their title dreams fall to pieces, figure this as you get ready for this weekend’s race: winning is still the biggest point of emphasis, and a little help along the way – from rules, the fuel tank, or divine intervention – never hurts.

Followers and comments welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports. Tom will be at next week's NCWTS Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 501st race in the history of the series, and have discussion on reports of Tony Stewart's retirement after 2016 later this week.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Dover International Speedway (1-mile oval), Dover, Delaware.

-SPRINT CUP: AAA 400, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET,/11:30 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 400 miles, 400 laps

2014 champion: Jeff Gordon

-XFINITY SERIES: Hisense 200, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

2014 champion: Kyle Busch

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Rhino Linings 350, Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Saturday, 10 p,m. ET/7 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 350 kilometers (219 miles), 147 laps.

2014 champion: Erik Jones.

Kenseth wins Richmond, Chase field is set

Aric Almirola tried his best to do what he had to do, but came up just short. In the end, Matt Kenseth dominated and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, earning his fourth victory of the 2015 season by leading 352 of the 400 laps. It was Kenseth’s second-highest total of laps led in a race in his career.

With the top 16 drivers now officially locked in for this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup that begins next Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, Almirola made a strong push late in the race to make the playoff field for the second year in a row. After beating Kyle Busch off pit road on the race’s final pit stop, he restarted third with 17 laps to go.
The driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Foods/Waffle House Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports couldn’t challenge Kenseth and ended up fourth, just his second top-five finish of the season. It wouldn’t be good enough to make the Chase.
In total, 11 of the 16 drivers who qualified for this year’s Chase got in with race victories, down two from last season’s total of 13. Kenseth joined Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch with the highest win total of the regular season at four apiece.
Jeff Gordon is among the five non-winners in the field and will get one last shot at capturing his fifth Sprint/Winston Cup championship. Gordon has been shut out of Victory Lane in a season only three times in his 22-year career – his rookie season of 1993, 2008 and 2010. He’s been stuck on 92 career wins since last year’s fall race at Dover.
Ryan Newman and Paul Menard are also competing for this year’s title for Richard Childress Racing, and Newman could potentially surprise the field again. Newman made the championship race a year ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway and fell a half-second short of Kevin Harvick, who won the Ford EcoBoost 400 and his first Sprint Cup crown.
Newman posted only three top-10 finishes (8th at Daytona and Michigan, 10th at Bristol) in the last 10 races. He’ll need similar finishes if he wants a chance at the title again. Newman hasn’t won since the 2013 Brickyard 400 and has led only 19 laps all season.
Menard won the XFINITY race on the road course at Road America in his home state of Wisconsin last month, but has just one career win in 317 Sprint Cup starts. His last top-10 finish came at Michigan in June and he was 26th at Richmond on Saturday.
Menard has led one lap all season (Texas), but his point total was good enough to get him in the playoff field.
Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer are the other non-winners who made the Chase. Like Newman, McMurray hasn’t won a Cup race since 2013 (Talladega 2), but he’s been consistent. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has been anywhere from 11th to 16th in the final running order in nine of the last 11 races, including 13th at Richmond on Saturday.
Bowyer had one of the worst distractions a driver could possibly endure when Michael Waltrip Racing announced Aug. 19 it wouldn’t be racing full-time at season’s end. Bowyer responded with a fifth-place showing at Bristol, 17th at Darlington and 10th at Richmond.
The Emporia, Kansas native has eight Sprint Cup wins in 351 starts, but none since 2012 (Charlotte 2). Bowyer had three wins that year and finished second in points to Brad Keselowski.
As for the rest of the contenders, here's how they'll line up:
-Kenseth: Wins at Bristol 1, Pocono 2, Michigan 2 and Richmond 2. Could be an interesting champion because it's been 12 years since he won his only Sprint Cup title. If he pulls it off, Kenseth matches Terry Labonte, who won his titles in 1984 and 1996.
-Johnson: Always a contender, as six Sprint Cup titles -- all in the Chase era -- can attest. Wins at Atlanta, Texas, Kansas and Dover.
Hasn't been struggling, by any means, but may be thankful Michigan isn't among the Chase tracks. He was 39th in June and 19th in August. Side note: Johnson turns 40 on Thursday.
-Kyle Busch: Story of the year with his comeback from broken ankle and fractured leg. Met every criteria to get in the Chase and may be a serious contender to match big brother Kurt with his own Sprint Cup trophy.
Wins at Sonoma, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Indianapolis, all four coming in a five-week period. Only blips since starting his hot streak: 17th at Daytona, 21st at Pocono and 11th at Michigan. None of those tracks are in the Chase.
-Joey Logano: Three wins on year at Daytona 1, Watkins Glen and Bristol 2. Made final round last year, finished fourth. Since the June Pocono race, where he finished fourth, the Penske Racing driver's worst runs were 22nd at Daytona and 20th at Pocono in August.
Everything else has been no worse than seventh. That's how titles are won.
-Kevin Harvick: Has two wins on the year at Las Vegas and Phoenix, but also one other amazing stat that sticks out like Superman's chest. The defending Sprint Cup champion has finished second 10 times in the first 26 races.
A few more of those may not ease the pain of coming so close so many times, but holding the trophy again at Homestead will be as soothing as an ocean breeze.
Harvick hits the 40-year-old milestone on Dec. 8.
-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Is this the year for Junior Nation to celebrate their driver's first Sprint Cup title? Hendrick Motorsports hasn't won since Junior did it at Daytona in July, so the curiosity factor is there.
Earnhardt's other win came at Talladega, and the field is cut to the Eliminator round after they race there on Oct. 25. Will be one huge party if he finishes the sweep.
-Kurt Busch: Wins at Richmond 1 and Michigan 1. Didn't have the injury issues his little brother did, but missed the first three races due to a NASCAR-mandated suspension for legal matters in the case of alleged domestic violence with ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.
It's been 11 years since he won his Sprint Cup title. Since finishing second to Kyle Busch at Sonoma, Kurt was fifth at Kentucky, then 10th at Loudon and Daytona.
On the flip side, he was eighth at Indianapolis, 37th at Pocono 2, and fifth at Watkins Glen. The first three-race block will be the preferred finishing order to advance out of the Challenger round.
-Carl Edwards: Wins at Charlotte and Darlington.
The memory of finishing in the flat-footed tie for the 2011 championship with Tony Stewart not withstanding, Edwards is in a good place on a race team that's absolutely on fire. Won't be surprising if all four of the Joe Gibbs cars make it to Homestead for a title shot.
-Brad Keselowski: The 2012 Sprint Cup champ earned his win at Auto Club Speedway in March. Since finishing 29th at Daytona in July, BK hasn't missed a top-10 finish, including three runner-up efforts (New Hampshire, Pocono 2 and Darlington). It's the roll you want to be on with this championship format.
-Martin Truex Jr.: Won at Pocono 1 to earn his third career victory. The Furniture Row No. 78 may be a single-car operation based out of Denver, but the New Jersey native has benefited from being there. Truex has led 497 laps this season, second-highest total of his career (581 in 2007).
-Denny Hamlin: Saving the best for last, so to speak. Hamlin's win was at Martinsville in April.
Hamlin tore the ACL in his right knee Tuesday, yet finished sixth at Richmond.
He tore up the other knee in 2010 and nearly -- check that...probably should have -- won the Sprint Cup title.
Hamlin made the final four a year ago. Don't be surprised if he plays well through the pain and gets there again.
For the second year in a row, there are three rounds of three races each that trim the Chase field down to the final four who battle at Homestead to determine who will be celebrated as the Sprint Cup champion for 2015 in Las Vegas in December.
A race win gets a Chaser into the next round, but good finishes can also carry him through. With five non-winners in the field, it’s anyone’s guess who will hold the big trophy.
If last year’s title fight was any indication, race fans are in for another treat this time around.
Followers and comments are welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Chicagoland Speedway (1.5-mile superspeedway), Joliet, Illinois.

-SPRINT CUP: MyAFibRisk.com 400, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affilate.

Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.

2014 champion: Brad Keselowski

-XFINITY SERIES: Jimmy John's Freaky Fast 300 powered by Coca-Cola, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

2014 champion: Kevin Harvick

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: American Ethanol E15 225, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 225 miles, 150 laps.

2014 champion: Kyle Busch.

Hamlin in world of hurt heading to Chase

In my daily check of interesting news items on the NASCAR wire, there was a story that was a serious jaw-dropper, mainly for the timing and the questionable judgment involved.
Denny Hamlin, solidly among the Chase contenders for the 2015 Sprint Cup title, put himself in a world of hurt when he tore the ACL in playing a game of pickup basketball Tuesday night.
The need for a work-life balance is always a delicate issue, even for regular working folk, but that balance sits on a razor-thin thread for athletes like NASCAR drivers.
All work and no play may make Denny a dull boy (allegedly), but Hamlin's hoops adventure doesn't inspire much confidence. He has a history of the injury, having torn the same ligament in his right knee playing basketball before the start of the 2010 season.
When it happened the first time, Hamlin initially elected to postpone the surgery until after that season. That approach lasted until the sixth race of the year, which was a win at Martinsville, the first of eight victories that season.
Hamlin was in contention all the way to Homestead, but lost the title to Jimmie Johnson. He's been medically cleared to run the last 11 races of 2015, but has a more daunting task this time around, mainly because he's 34 years old instead of 29. Injuries don't heal as fast, but it's all in the attitude.
Medical science has done wonders in allowing athletes to heal much quicker -- Tommy John surgery ring any bells? -- but what happens once Hamlin gets involved in a wreck? Does he play it too safe?
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has three straight top-5 runs -- fifth at Michigan, third at Bristol and Darlington -- and he reached the final round at Homestead last year, coming home in third place.
Hamlin already has the hard part out of the way by making the Chase. The hard work -- made harder by his creaky knees -- has only just begun.
Followers and comments welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.

No surprise here...JGR rules again at Bristol

The race may not be happening for a few more hours (about nine at the time of this posting), but it's Bristol, baby. Not just any other race, but the Irwin Tools Night Race held qualifying late Friday afternoon.

And in a repeat of last week -- with a slight tweak on the names -- Joe Gibbs Racing drivers will occupy the top three spots at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile."

Denny Hamlin won the pole for Bristol with a lightning-quick run of 131.407 mph, just in front of teammate Kyle Busch, who ran his No. 18 Skittles Toyota around Bristol at 131.263 mph. Carl Edwards will go off third after posting a qualifying speed of 130.655 mph.

Matt Kenseth, last week's winner from the pole at Michigan, qualified a little further back in 13th.

The top three in qualifying from a week ago were Kenseth, Hamlin and Edwards, with Busch finishing sixth.

Got the idea? Better do it now because the Gibbs cars are on a major roll and will be in the title conversation throughout the Chase.

As for those who were in the big news of the week, soon-to-be free agents David Ragan qualified fourth and Clint Bowyer qualified ninth. With the dissolution of Michael Waltrip Racing effective at season's end, the duo is basically in full-on audition mode.

While the racing will probably be the complete opposite of the snoozefest that happened at Michigan, the same fact of life applies for Bristol. If you start near the front, chances are good you'll end up there, too.

Among the last 10 races, the only disturbance in the winning force happened when Kyle Busch came from 19th in the spring race of 2010. Since then, no race winner has started from worse than 12th.

And since my local paper didn't publish it (again), here is your lineup for tonight's Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol. Enjoy.