Chicagoland thoughts and observations

Is anyone else getting a sense of deja vu? Kyle Busch swept the weekend events at Chicagoland Speedway, winning both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series races. Busch powered by Jimmie Johnson during a late restart in the LifeLock.com 400 to earn his seventh win of the season. Johnson was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart.

Thoughts and observations

I have what may be a dumb question. I thought the car of tomorrow was supposed to even things out and allow more teams to compete for wins. If that is in fact the case, how does Kyle Busch have seven wins this season?

Speaking of Mr. Busch, I have to give credit where credit is due. His move to pass Johnson on that last restart was a masterpiece. He set him up perfectly and used the momentum on the high side of the track to move past Johnson. No one ever said Kyle Busch can't drive a race car.

One last tidbit on Kyle Busch. Does everyone remember how the chase field is set once we have our 12 drivers? The top 12 are each given 10 bonus points for each victory you earn in the stretch before the chase. With that being said, here's how it would look if we started the chase right now:

1. Kyle Busch (5,070 points)
T-2. Carl Edwards (5,020 points, lost 10 bonus points for rules infraction)
T-2. Kasey Kahne (5,020 points)
T-4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5,010 points)
T-4. Jeff Burton (5,010 points)
T-4. Jimmie Johnson (5,010 points)
T-4. Denny Hamlin (5,010 points)
T-8. Jeff Gordon (5,000 points)
T-8. Greg Biffle (5,000 points)
T-8. Matt Kenseth (5,000 points)
T-8. Kevin Harvick (5,000 points)
T-8. Tony Stewart (5,000 points)

Yes, Busch would have a 50 point lead on Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne and a 70 point lead on the last five drivers in the chase. If he keeps doing what he's doing, that point spread may be as much as 100 points by the time the chase starts.

The hottest driver in the Sprint Cup Series not named Kyle Busch has to be Matt Kenseth. Despite falling a lap down with a flat tire midway through the LifeLock.com 400 he still managed to fight back to a 7th place finish, his 8th top 10 in the last nine races. That finish moved Kenseth up another spot in the standings to 8th, only 1 point behind teammate Greg Biffle for 7th. It's only a matter of time before he earns his first win of the season.

Brian Vickers and David Ragan continue to be the biggest surprises of the 2008 season. While neither driver has visited victory lane, they both continued to impress with top 10's this weekend at Chicagoland. Neither driver is out of chase contention either (Vickers is 95 points behind 12th, Ragan is 98 back).

The top 6 in the points have pretty much stabilized and are all pretty much locked into the chase, leaving as many as nine drivers to fight for the final 6 spots in the chase. The point separation from Greg Biffle in 7th to Denny Hamlin in 12th is only 35 points and the separation from Biffle to 15th place David Ragan is only 133 points. This thing ain't over, not by a long shot.

A new crew chief sometimes does wonders for a drivers confidence. Jimmy Elledge was announced as the new crew chief for AJ Allmendinger last week and the duo responded with a very competitive 13th place finish. But even that is misleading, the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota ran in the top 10 a good portion of the race and many (including myself) thought Allmendinger was going to get his first top 10, but alas, it wasn't to be. More runs like that and Allmendinger might just be the next breakout star.

Three drivers saw big drops in the point standings after Saturday's race. The biggest drop saw Denny Hamlin drop 5 spots in the standings to 12th, only 27 points ahead of Clint Bowyer. Speaking of Bowyer, he dropped three spots after Saturday's race and was replaced in the top 12 by Kevin Harvick. Lastly, Kasey Kahne also dropped three spots, forcing him all the way back into 11th. These three drivers can't afford to let that happen again, especially this close to the chase.

The No. 66 car driven by Scott Riggs continues to be just outside the top 35 in owner points, now only 13 points behind Michael McDowell in the No. 00 Toyota. The man on the move though is AJ Allmendinger. He is now only 122 points out of 35th and a guaranteed spot in every race. If I'm Scott Riggs and Michael McDowell he is the man I'm on the lookout for.