While it's still early in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the time for messing around has pretty much run out.
With three races down and seven to go, the championship is far from decided. Ten of the 12 drivers still are within 165 points of leader Mark Martin. But trends already are being set for who's going to be a big player.
Jeff Gordon, one of the season's top drivers before the playoffs began, already finds himself looking up at six other drivers in the standings. And he knows consistency at a high level is going to be his only chance of catching up.
That means finishing as strong as possible on days he doesn't have the very best car and finishing the deal when he does.
That's what Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, has done so well in racking up three straight series championships. And it's what Gordon knows he has to do if he's going to hoist the big trophy for the first time in a decade.
"We were a second, third place car (two weeks ago) at Dover," Gordon said. "We didn't finish there, so Jimmie and the 48 team, by far, they had the best car, the best team, and they won the race. So you have got to get your absolute best, and we haven't done that the first two races."
It got better for Gordon last week, as he outlasted everyone but Tony Stewart in a second-place run at Kansas
It's not over for Gordon, or most of the drivers in the top 12. The points reset for the Sprint Cup playoffs puts everyone back in contention. Even drivers who don't start great have the ability to catch back up if they can catch fire.
"You know, 10 races is a lot of laps," he said. "It's a lot of points that can be lost and gained. There's going to be a lot more drama over these next races, and all we can do is go and get our absolute best."
Comeback trail
Stewart has been atop the Sprint Cup standings for most of the season.
But a slow start in the playoffs left Stewart in a hole, kind of hard to believe for a guy who was more than 200 points ahead through the first 26 races.
So Sunday's win at Kansas was huge. Stewart still is 67 points behind leader Mark Martin but inched up to fourth in the series standings. He's the third driver to win in the first three Chase races.
"It just shows that you're going to have to be on for 10 weeks to win this thing, and if you have a bad day, there's going to be guys that are going to capitalize on it," Stewart said.
Notes of note
Juan Montoya's fourth-place run at Kansas kept him right in the thick of the Chase, third in points, 51 behind Martin ... Chevrolet clinched its 33rd manufacturers' championship with Sunday's results ... Seven drivers are racing in their home state of California this weekend.
Christian Potts 366-3531 cpotts@normantranscript.com
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No more messing around with Chase
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