Last week, I predicted tthat the Chase for the Sprint Cup was down to three drivers, and, almost as if the other 9 read that (and a few others on more prominent sites) they made me out to be a liar.  Quite frankly, I couldn't be happier.

Kansas shook up the standings a little, but more importantly, it lessened the lead Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya had on the rest of the Chasers.

Tony Stewart won the race, as we all know, gaining valuable points on Mark and Jimmie who finished 7th and 9th respectively. 

More importantly, only one non-Chaser, David Reutimann, finished in the top ten.  While Mark and Jimmie didn't finish far back,  Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne all finished ahead of them in the race, meaning they all gained a few points on the two front runners.   And with Tony winning the race, he too, made up ground.  By the way, having nine of the top ten filled with Chasers is a record - that's right, it has never happened before that the Chasers have been so dominant.  At Loudon, 7 Chasers were in the top ten, at Dover 8 charged in, and with Kansas having 9, it makes one wonder if Fontana will see all top ten spots held by Chasers.

Reutimann was the spoiler, but both Dale Earnhardt Jr and Brad Keselowski seemed early contenders, a position Jr has found himself in all too often of late.  Jr's crew missed a lug nut and lost a lap, then get caught in the pits to lose another lap before a belt finally came off and seized up his engine, ending his day early.  Keselowski, too, got trapped in the pits, losing a lap, but it was the admonishment from NASCAR early on in the race that got people talking.  He and JPM were racing for position when NASCAR "requested" that he be a little more careful and not race the Chasers quite so hard.   I thought this was supposed to be "racing" but whatever.  Although I love Montoya and all he has been able to accomplish, if he can't handle a little racing, maybe he doesn't belong here?  Just saying.

As much as the good finishes were the story, so were the poor finishes for the Chasers.  Ryan Newman finished back in 22nd, after issues with the car.  No, it isn't a poor finish, but top 20's won't cut it when you are in the hunt for a Championship.  Ryan dropped two positions in the standings to ninth, 164 points out of first.  Brian Vickers, on the other had, finished in 37th, after on-track problems, and also lost two positions, dropping him to 12th in the standings.  He is now 250 points out of first and that likely will be too far to move to be in contention for the Cup.

The teams head to Fontana this weekend, for one of the most boring races in the Chase.  The 2 mile track features little "racing" and is more of a follow the leader.  Recently, the track management proposed to International Speedway Corp (ISC) that a project to increase the banking in the corners from 14 degrees to 23 degrees might bring in more fans and make the racing more exciting.   Atlanta and Lowe's are about the same, but both are 1.5 mile D Ovals.  Can you say restrictor plates?  If they increase the banking to 23 degrees, that would be a likely side effect.

But back to the Chase, by virtue of Ryan's and Brian's poorer finishes at Kansas, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne all moved up one position each.  The top twelve is now only separated by 250 points.  That's right, only 250 points.

I think I'll keep making those bold predictions, because it seems the exact opposite comes true.