Dover in a nutshell? Well, Jimmie won, Matt did not, and Kyle had to settle for a mere Top Five. What has not changed is that the trio remain the only relevant drivers as they head to Kansas for Sunday's fourth round of the Chase.
This grading system is pretty basic. Top 10’s, with extra consideration given for wins and Top 5’s, can help you earn an A+. Keep it in the Top 20 each race and that is worth a B. Just by finishing 30th each time out and that would still get you a C-. Less than that is a failure; a failure to compete, a failure to get noticed.
Matt Kenseth is the man to beat in the 2013; there is no doubt about that. He has now won both chase races with his teammate, Kyle Busch finishing 2nd just like Chicagoland last weekend.
After the week's worth of who is in, who is not, who has been naughty, who has been wronged, we got back to racing. Sadly, the most exciting thing about the day was watching Kyle, Larry, and Kenny discuss the week that was. The race, for me, turned out to be a bit of a let down.
With everything on the line as far as Chase berths, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
The cliché holds true this week as “it all comes down to this”. Six guys have already claimed their top-10 spots when The Chase begins next week at Chicago – Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth…that’s 2 Chevy’s, a Ford, and 3 Toyotas in case you're keeping score.