Power Rankings: Texas

Jimmie Johnson's win at Texas made Gordon the only Chase Contender locked in for the championship race. While the seven other Chase drivers scramble at Phoenix, the No. 24 team can focus all its attention on winning a fifth Cup title at Homestead.

A solid third-place finish put Harvick in a more comfortable position -- third in the Chase standings -- heading into Phoenix, a track where he has won the last four consecutive Cup races and is the all-time winner with seven victories.

Two straight top-fives in the Eliminator Round put Busch in a great spot for this week's event at Phoenix. And that's good for "Rowdy," considering he said Phoenix wasn't a "winnable race" with Harvick's recent dominance.

MORE: Busch: Harvick's 'got the stranglehold' on Phoenix

The dark horse of the Chase, Truex Jr. has quietly settled into the fourth spot in the Chase standings. This puts him on the upside of the Chase bubble for now, but he'll need a strong result at Phoenix to stay there.

MORE: Truex keeps title hopes alive at Texas

Edwards' top-five at Texas still left the No. 19 team on the outside looking in with a fifth-place spot in the Chase standings. To jump fourth-place Truex Jr., he'll need a solid result at Phoenix, where he owns two career wins -- but no top-fives in the past four races.

After dominating Texas, Keselowski's chance at Victory Lane -- and a Homestead lock -- was foiled by a winning pass by non-Chaser Jimmie Johnson. Now, the Team Penske driver likely faces a must-win situation at Phoenix. As he showed last year at Talladega, Kes is capable of getting a W when everything's at stake.

MORE: Dominant Kes takes a Texas tumble

Even a seventh-place result at Texas won't allow Busch to coast into the championship at Homestead easily on points -- he likely needs a win at Phoenix.

If bad things indeed happen in threes, Logano's chances at Phoenix aren't looking good, as he comes off two finishes of 37th or worse. Once the frontrunner for the title, there is a very real possibility that the No. 22 team could miss out on even making it to the championship round.

MORE: Cut tire puts Logano in big Chase hole

After a 20-race winless drought, Johnson crashed the Chase party for seven title contenders. "Six-time" may be out of the running for the championship, but he's proved that he's certainly not done.

MORE: Watch Johnson's late-race pass

Riding a top-six streak for the past three weeks, Earnhardt Jr. & Co. look poised for a strong end to their season despite the lack of a championship berth. Having finished four of the last five races at Phoenix in the top 10 and reached Victory Lane twice in his career, Junior's weekend at Phoenix looks promising.

If there's one thing that could brighten up Hamlin's outlook after his sour 38th-place result at Texas, it's the fact that he's batting .500 for top 10s at Phoenix – and has a chance to foil some Chase drivers' chances at victory this weekend.

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Newman's famous moving of Kyle Larson to secure a spot in the 2014 championship race. While he's no longer in the title hunt, we don't expect anything like this from the No. 31 this year -- maybe just a consistent top-10.

Due to his two-race suspension, Kenseth will be out of the No. 20 again this weekend at Phoenix. But his return at Homestead should be an interesting one – and we have high expectations for the No. 20 driver, who has finished nearly half of his 15 races at the Florida track in the top 10.

McMurray battled Gordon for the win at Martinsville and followed it up with another top 10 at Texas. His strong year will undoubtedly bode well for the No. 1 team's spirits heading into next season.

Menard continued on his top-15 pattern this week, earning a 13th-place result in the Lone Star State. That trend doesn't appear to be turning for the better at Phoenix, a track where he's only recorded two top 10s in 17 starts.

Answering his 43rd-place finish at Martinsville with a 15th-place result at Texas isn't stellar for Bowyer, but he'll have a clean slate next year when he jumps into the HScott Motorsports Chevrolet. Perspective.