Johnson in uncharted waters

It could be argued that Hamlin began his title run in April at Phoenix. Yes, he finished 30th that day, but he finished the race, just 10 days after knee surgery. That showed his team he was in it to win it.
Last week’s result: 1st

This is a must-win race for Johnson. Yes, a must-win. Thirty-three points is a lot to overcome against a guy who is finishing in the top five every week, and really the only way to make up ground is to win.
Last week’s result: 9th

How tough is this Chase? In the eight races, Harvick’s average finish is 6.1 and still he trails by 59 points. A 6.1 average would have been good enough to win the Chase in 2004, ’05, ’06 and ’09.
Last week’s result: 6th

Want to know how weak the Chase is after the top three drivers? Edwards picked up two spots in the standings with a 19th-place finish. In fact, he has only three top 10s in the Chase and still he’s fourth.
Last week’s result: 19th

Further evidence of how the bottom nine have failed to perform. Kenseth’s average Chase finish is 14.6 – 3.6 spots worse than Joey Logano has been over the same stretch.
Last week’s result: 2nd

Says he has some unfinished business to take care of at Phoenix, and no, he’s not talking about dealing with Jeff Burton. Is a win finally in the cards for Gordon? Unlikely.
Last week’s result: 37th

Would it be any consolation for Busch to somehow help his teammate Denny Hamlin win his first championship? Probably not.
Last week’s result: 32nd

For what it’s worth, the old driver of the No. 20’s average over the last eight races is six spots worse than the new driver of the No. 20 (Logano).
Last week’s result: 11th

Forget Phoenix. Biffle is just looking forward to getting down to Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track where he’s won three times.
Last week’s result: 5th

Aside from the battle for first, there is still an interesting battle for fourth, which, believe it or not, Bowyer is still in contention for.
Last week’s result: 7th

If Roger Penske won’t give Busch permission to park it, we will. Probably best if he does, that way he can’t say anything more that he’ll regret in 2011.
Last week’s result: 24th

This was supposed to be the year Burton challenged for the championship. As the Chase turned out, it’s been the exact opposite.
Last week’s result: 36th