Take 5: Five Takeaways From The Third Chase Race

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Take 3 – Is it me or are Gordon, Harvick and Keselowski still the favorites?

Heading into the chase the majority of chase grids had Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski making it to the final race in Homestead-Miami. Along with that trio the fourth driver in the mix was commonly either Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jimmie Johnson, with Joey Logano also getting some love as well. Three races into the chase and it would seem that the trio of Gordon, Harvick and Keselowski remain the favorites and the ones to beat. If anything, I would say that Logano has placed himself ahead of Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson when it comes to being a favorite to make the final race just based on his performance thus far in the chase. However, with the points being wiped clean everyone is once again on equal ground. Outside of those six drivers it’s hard to imagine any of the other six making it to the final race in the chase. Sure guys like Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman all have the ability to get hot and win some of the upcoming races but for whatever reason it doesn’t seem like they will. Maybe it’s because they have only combined for five wins on the year while the group that includes Gordon, Harvick and Keselowski has combined for 21 wins this season. For the sake of NASCAR let’s hope that something interesting happens and the entire chase doesn’t wind up being predictable.