1. Brad Keselowski

Although Keseslowski hasn’t had much success at any of the four remaining tracks, neither did he at Dover or Chicago before the Chase began. He responded by winning both those races, the spring boards for his spot at the top of the standings this week — a position he maintained after an eighth-place finish at Kansas last week.

Keselowski also hadn’t historically performed well at other Chase tracks at New Hampshire, Talladega or Charlotte. But he was sixth at New Hampshire, seventh at Talladega and 11th at Charlotte. His eighth-place finish last week at Kansas was his third top-10 there in six races.

2. Jimmie Johnson

Johnson trails Keselowski by seven points, the same margin between the two entering Kansas. He kept himself in the title race by rallying from a mid-race crash and somehow finishing ninth.

And if there’s a track where Johnson might really be able to make a move on Keselowski, it’s this weekend at Martinsville, which is one of his best tracks. He has six career victories there and an average finish of 5.8.

Then there’s Phoenix in two weeks. That’s another favorite of Johnson’s. He’s won four times there.

3. Denny Hamlin

Hamlin’s 13th-place finish at Kansas dropped him to 20 points behind Keselowski. But Hamlin shouldn’t fret too much.

Hamlin knows as well as anybody how to get around the final four tracks: he is the only one of the three contenders who has won at each of them. Johnson, on the other hand, hasn’t won at Homestead; Keselowski hasn’t won at any of them.

David Scott, The Charlotte Observer