Jeff Gordon must outrun Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch at Kansas. Credit: Autostock

Chase Line: Kansas

NASCAR.COM's Ryan Smithson gets inside the numbers of the Chase for the Nextel Cup every Wednesday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It's interesting, really. Under the old system, Jeff Gordon has a 15-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR -- and everyone else -- would have obviously loved to see that battle, but the Chase for the Nextel Cup has created a three-man race.

Kurt Busch never thrived under the old points system, but if the new system had been in place when he started his career, he'd be fighting for his second title in just three years.

Under the old system, he'd be 215 points out in 2004, mainly because he has only seven top-fives, although three of those have come in a row.

Pretty darned good. Earnhardt Jr. has two tests remaining, and he plans to use those at Martinsville, where he badly wants to win, and Homestead, where he was slow on the new configuration last year.

Race Line: Kansas Jeff Gordon 6-1  Ryan Newman 7-1  Jimmie Johnson 8-1  Tony Stewart 8-1  Matt Kenseth 10-1  Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12-1  Kurt Busch 12-1  Mark Martin 12-1  Jeremy Mayfield 12-1  Elliott Sadler 25-1

Earnhardt Jr. isn't bad at Kansas, either -- he won the Bud Pole there in 2002 and finished sixth. The team tested there recently with a brand-new chassis and they were adamant that they were one of the best cars there.

Unfortunately, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s fiasco at Las Vegas -- his worst run of the year -- has led to fears that he won't do well on the 1.5-mile tracks, which make up four of the last seven races.

But since Vegas, there have been four races on the 1.5-milers, and his average finish on those is eighth, although some point out that Chicagoland, where he finished 22nd, is a good indicator to how he will do at Kansas.

In the seven races combined at Chicago and Kansas, Earnhardt Jr.'s average finish is 17th, although two of those are DNFs (both accidents).

Earnhardt Jr. is the only driver to lead a lap in all three races at Kansas.

Kurt Busch

Like Earnhardt Jr., Busch has a checkered history at the two tracks. In fact, neither one of them has a top-five there. In 14 combined starts, that is more than a tad surprising, and considering Jeff Gordon is only 48 points back, Gordon has a golden opportunity to close the gap.

Busch was sixth at Chicago in 2002 and that is a better indicator than last year, when he blew engines at each track. But Roush's engine program, as we noted last week, is the most improved in the garage, and Busch hasn't blown a motor all year.

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Although the pit mistake he made at Talladega might turn out to be even bigger than the Dale Earnhardt Jr. penalty. Gordon easily could have had a top-five at Talladega, but failing to pit with the leaders cost him at least 50 points.

As it is, Gordon is 48 back.

But no one has been better at Kansas than Gordon, who has a fifth and two wins there. The only driver better at Kansas is Ryan Newman, who has three straight top-two finishes there.

When Gordon wins, he almost always leads the most laps. In his five wins this year, he's scored maximum points four times.