Goodbye Kansas, Hello 'Dega: NASCAR's Chase Defines Contenders

It's pretty safe to assume right now that the remaining one-and-a-half mile races will be the "Jimmie Johnson vs the Roush Fenway Racing" show that makes fans let bygones be bygones or resort to jinxing our "favorites."

In any case, The Chase is starting to shape the true title contenders from those who fall out of contention in the next few races.

The 2008 season has assumed two forms: Toyota's, and Kyle Busch's, strong start and the recent rise of their Bowtie and Blue Oval opponents in Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle.

About the only surprise that fans have been gushing over (which speaks a lot for this year's title chase) has been the fall of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch has been truly hampered by mechanical issues in the Chase—it's so bad that I'm even considering predicting which part of his car to break down at Talladega.

Tony Stewart is truly in a lame duck situation; he's working on building his Stewart Haas operation for next season as he has been shooting hard for the title in '08. The big picture is what he truly is going after.

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin has been inconsistent, though most of it is not of his doing. Only a poor finish at Dover thanks to his car issues that day have hampered his efforts in the Chase.

The sudden arrival of Roush Fenway Racing should not come as a surprise. But, in a season when Toyota/Kyle Busch have been so dominant, anything besides a Busch win seems as shocking as the Yankees not being in the playoffs in October.

Then again, when you have Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle chauffeuring your cars to the front, anything short of a top five from them is true disappointment.

Then there's Hendrick Motorsports. This was supposed to be their year according to MANY sporting publications. Their "Fantastic Four" garnered the front cover of Sports Illustrated's annual NASCAR preview magazine for the 2008 season. W

Whether it was the almighty cover jinx or the fact that the media overly hyped them, HMS has really fallen short on its "superstar blowout" predictions.

Still, Jimmie Johnson has carried the HMS banner quite well. For the past seasons, when the 48 car was off in a race in this point of the year, we'd usually see Chad Knaus and his crew make the miracle adjustment to salvage a top ten (at MOST). Wins? Nah, not really.

But since his 2006 championship, the 48 team has really brought its game to the track: it's called "I'll win and win a lot when the points game counts, especially if I'm in it!"

With that in mind, JJ and the rest of the Chasers are now going from a relatively tame race in Kansas to an unpredictable plate race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Now admit it Junior Nation, you're probably thinking "this is the week Dale Jr. pulls it off and wins the race!" And oh yeah, the Top seven will fall out cause of The Big One so he'll truly be in the championship picture!

Well, maybe one of those two will happen. Or two. But not in any particular order or preference.

NASCAR's Chasers will be heading to the biggest wild card of the entire championship race of the year. There won't be any talk about the dreaded COT body, aeropush, cookie cutter racing or lack of lead changes.

Instead, the collective racing nation will probably have hearts beating so fast, they might even rival the speed of the 43 cars circling around the 2.66 tri-oval in Alabama this coming Sunday for the AMP Energy 500.

There'll be nervous paces to be had in our living rooms, a lot of praying, and of course, a lot of cheering and jeering towards our TV screens or at the track for those lucky and sane enough to go to possibly the MOST rowdiest track on the circuit when it comes to the fan.

If I had to predict what will happen at 'Dega, it's most likely that the HMS brigade will be there contending for the win against the Childress and Gibbs bunch; RFR won't be too far from stealing the big "W." If any driver is desperate for a win and will probably make the most daring of moves for the victory, it's that driver sitting in 6th in points.

We all remembered what Jeff Gordon did last October, shooting to the outside with a nice push from Tony Stewart to pass by JJ for the win and points lead. And if he had chosen wisely (like the Knight said in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) in this past spring's race, he'd probably have won or been in the top five.

JJ will likely retain the points lead, but there's bound to be some shuffling between second through sixth.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the week reprieve before the storm. Because this championship race might still have some life in it just waiting for a kick of excitement.