NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Power Rankings: Top 12 Drivers Coming Out of Kansas

Well, if there's one thing we learned from yesterday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, it's that you never, ever count Jimmie Johnson out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Ever. No matter how bad his first couple races are, he will come back and find a way to beat you.

By leading 197 of 272 laps, Johnson backed up his runner-up finish at Dover last week with his first win of the Chase, bumping him up to third in points. But it's a tight battle: seven drivers are within 20 points of the leader, and Johnson still doesn't hold the point. And like every week, these power rankings are subject to drastic change from week to week. But here's what we have for now:

1. Carl Edwards (2161 Points)

Edwards now holds the points lead by the skin of his teeth after scoring a fifth place finish on Sunday. With three top-fives and a worst finish of eighth so far in the Chase, the fact that Edwards only holds a one-point lead should illustrate just how consistently strong drivers will have to be to win this championship.

2. Kevin Harvick (-1)

Harvick is only a point back of Carl Edwards in the standings, but one has to wonder how long that will last. True, he scored a dominant win at Richmond in the last regular season race, but in the four events since, he has only one top five and 11 laps led total. We know that the No. 29 team is good (in a Chase-free world, they'd have won last year's title), but they may need to be a little better to win it all.

3. Jimmie Johnson (-4)

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Jimmie Johnson starts the Chase off struggling, then rips off a few dominant wins, sucks all the wind out of everybody's sails and runs a momentum train on the entire field to win his umpteenth consecutive championship. We're up to the first dominant win in that storyline right now. Chasers beware.

4. Brad Keselowski (-11)

There's always a driver, every Chase, that isn't expected to do much (or even return to the Chase the next season), but comes in and absolutely shocks the world with consistent finishes and driving beyond his years in Sprint Cup.

This year, Keselowski is that guy. He's keeping it close thanks to three top five finishes—and give some credit to crew chief Paul Wolfe, who has made sure that the No. 2 team has scored a bonus point for leading a lap in every Chase race.

5. Matt Kenseth (-12)

Quietly consistent, Kenseth isn't just racing for the championship this year—he's racing for a sponsor, as Crown Royal will leave after this season. He's led laps in three of four races, including 26 at Kansas, where he took home a fourth place finish. In other words, he's doing what he does best: just staying in the hunt.

6. Kurt Busch (-16)

Well, the win at Dover was good, but following it up with a 13th place finish at Kansas isn't the way to challenge Edwards and Harvick. But like teammate Brad Keselowski, Busch has spent time in the lead in all four Chase races so far, which is a good sign for him. He just needs to eliminate the mid-pack finishes.

7. Tony Stewart (-19)

I'm starting to think that Smoke jinxed himself by talking about the "dead weight" he dropped after Loudon. Think about it: two wins in a row, all the momentum, the beginnings of a choke hold on the rest of the field and then two races in which he was completely a non-factor. Karmic revenge? Stewart fans surely hope not.

8. Kyle Busch (-20)

Yeah, he's been consistent enough to remain in the hunt, and one good race could turn the Chase upside down. But honestly, Rowdy hasn't done anything significant all Chase. His best finish was a sixth place at Dover. That's not championship caliber.

He may be the best of the second-tier Chase drivers—the guys who earned the right to make it, but have done nothing worthy of taking the title.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-43)

For the love of God, can Junior just get his stupid race win so we can write this season off as a success? It's been a hell of a turnaround for him this year no matter what, but still.

10. Jeff Gordon (-47)

Well, if not for that engine letting go three laps short of the scheduled finish, Gordon might have made the points battle a lot closer. But this team appears to be reverting to its doldrums from the early part of the season, directly after the Phoenix win. Another rough finish like the 34th place at Kansas and this team is out of it.

11. Ryan Newman (-54)

Newman's teammate and owner Tony Stewart suffered through a pair of midpack finishes in the past two Chase races, but Newman has been midpack all Chase long. He could very well be the first Chase driver to miss the end of season banquet for the series' top 10 drivers.

12. Denny Hamlin (-79)

Every year, there is one driver who uses up whatever he has in the tank in the regular season just to make the Chase. Then, once the Chase actually comes, he has a bad finish or two, destroying any momentum he might have had, and can't even manage any decent finishes. This year, Denny Hamlin has a great shot at being that guy.