With only three races left in the season -- and, in all likelihood, much less than that left in the Chase -- we look at the contenders, the pretenders and the future champions.
Current standings (movement): Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya (+1), Tony Stewart (-1), Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle (+1), Ryan Newman (-1), Kasey Kahne (+2), Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin (-2), Brian Vickers.
Who's up: Why are those two men smiling? Because they're the only two who were happy after Sunday's snoozer. Jamie McMurray wasn't a part of the Chase, but he got a much-needed win. Jimmie Johnson, simply by standing still while the whole world fell apart around him, pretty much clinched the Chase on the first day of November. Oh, and Kasey Kahne did well and moved up two spots, which is nice for him.
Who's down: Everybody else. At one point, Johnson's pursuers were within 30 points of him. But then the final Big One collected Gordon, Martin and Montoya, and that was pretty much that. Denny Hamlin continued his up-and-down Chase with a downer that dropped him out of the top 10 and, for the moment, means he's out of the running for a trip to Vegas at the end of the year for the awards banquet. Yes, that's what they're driving for now.
Outlook: It's all but a done deal for Johnson, who now has nearly a 200-point lead on the field with three races to go. (To put that in perspective, if he has a 196-point lead going into Homestead, he doesn't even need to show up.) Let the screaming and complaining continue, but it's irrefutable -- Johnson is the unchallenged king of NASCAR right now, and nobody else is even close.
All right, you're up. Your thoughts on the Chase? Go!
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