On Sunday, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup continues with the fourth of its 10 championship-deciding races, at Kansas, with the following developing storylines:

· Close Competition Heightened By The Chase: This past Sunday at Kansas Speedway, nine of the top-10 finishers were Chase drivers – a record for the six-year-old format. And that was no fluke. In the first Chase race at New Hampshire, seven of the top-10 finishers were Chase drivers; the next week at Dover, it was eight of the top 10.

Clearly, the drivers who qualified for the Chase are racing to win, leaving nothing on the table.

Said Jeff Gordon: “That’s why they made the Chase.”

Added Tony Stewart: “It shows how competitive the Chase is.”

· Auto Club Speedway Joining The “Playoffs” Bodes Well For Johnson
An adjustment to the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule placed Auto Club Speedway’s second 2009 event in the thick of the Chase – and that is excellent news for three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson as he tries to overtake point leader Mark Martin, who is clinging to an 18-point lead.

Johnson, a native Californian (El Cajon) also is the defending race winner of the Pepsi 500. In addition, he’s being inducted into the speedway’s “Walk of Fame” this weekend.

And one more thing: Johnson has three victories at ACS, tied for the series high with two other former series titlists, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth

· Stewart Is Back: This is by no means a surprise, but Tony Stewart is up to fourth in the standings after winning at Kansas, only 67 points behind the leader, Mark Martin. Stewart was atop the standings prior to the Chase, after the 26-race “regular season” that precedes the Chase. Stewart is a two-time (2002 and ’05) NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

· JPM In 3rd: Anyone thinking Juan Pablo Montoya’s championship chances aren’t for real, think again. The former open-wheel star, in his third NASCAR season, comes to California 3rd in the standings, only 51 points behind Martin.

· Gordon Hanging Tough: A runner-up finish at Kansas kept four-time series champion Jeff Gordon in the hunt. He’s seventh in points, 103 behind Mark Martin. Gordon’s three victories at Auto Club Speedway came in 1997, 99 and 2004.