The rest of the field is in trouble. No. 48 is looking like a champion once again.
Jimmie Johnson had a dominant performance this past weekend at Dover International Speedway and moved one giant step closer to taking home an unprecedented fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title.
Johnson earned the season sweep at Dover with the win on Sunday, crushing the competition and leading the majority of the race. He closed the gap between himself and current points leader Mark Martin, who came in second on Sunday, to only 10 points. His performance led Martin to say after the race, "I'm pretty sure that dude is Superman."
Johnson probably doesn't have any super powers, but it doesn't change the fact that he is on his way to another Cup title.
Johnson and the rest of the Chase field head to a track where Johnson is also the defending champion.
Kansas City is the site of The Price Chopper 400, the third of 10 Chase races to finish out the 2009 season. It's the series' lone trip to Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile tri-oval where it seems like anything can happen.
Back in 2004, the first year the Chase was instituted, we saw non-Chase participant Joe Nemechek take the checkered flag, beating out Ricky Rudd. Jeff Gordon won the first two Cup races ever held at Kansas in 2001 and 2002 and is the only driver with more than one win in Kansas.
Johnson is certainly looking like the favorite coming into this weekend's race, but the rest of the field, especially the other 11 drivers in The Chase, aren't going to just deliver the title to him on a silver platter.
Tier 1 Start -- Jimmie Johnson
I didn't want to use a pick on Johnson this weekend at Kansas, but I just couldn't resist after the way he dominated at Dover. Johnson won this race back in 2008 and has an average finish of 10.4 in seven career races. Johnson has to be considered the favorite to win this weekend, so go ahead and burn one of your two opportunities to pick Johnson during the Chase.
Others to consider: Jeff Gordon; Carl Edwards
Tier 1 Sit -- Kurt Busch
Busch has never had too much success at Kansas and 2008 was no exception, finishing a disappointing 30th. He has only two top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway in his career, never coming in better than sixth. With a 20.8 finishing average at Kansas, look for Busch to lose a couple of spots in the standings this weekend.
Others to avoid: Denny Hamlin; Juan Pablo Montoya
Tier 2 Start -- Clint Bowyer
Bowyer has never picked up a victory at Kansas in his career, but has the highest finishing average of any driver at the venue. He finished second back in 2007, which was sandwiched by a ninth and 12th place result. Bowyer has finished in the top 10 in two of his last three races, coming in 15th last week at Dover. He carries some momentum into a track where he's had success, so capitalize on him this weekend.
Others to consider: Mark Martin; Greg Biffle
Tier 2 Sit -- Kyle Busch
Like his brother Kurt, Kyle Busch has had a poor history at Kansas. In five career races, he has finished outside of the top 20 four times. His other performance was a seventh place result in 2006. In 2007 and 2008, his combined finishing average is 34.5. Busch is not a Chase participant and has little history on his side this weekend, so look elsewhere.
Others to avoid: Ryan Newman; David Reutimann
Tier 3 Start -- Casey Mears
Mears has a surprisingly strong history at Kansas over the past six years. He finished second back in 2006 and has three top-10 finishes to his credit. He has a 13.8 finishing average in his career, better than the likes of Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. He is an easy choice in Tier 3 this weekend.
Others to consider: Jeff Burton; Kevin Harvick
Tier 3 Sit -- Joey Logano
Logano, a rookie, actually participated in the 2008 Cup race at Kansas last season and finished a dismal 39th, giving him the lowest finishing average of any driver on the circuit, just ahead of Marcos Ambrose, who came in 36th last season in his only career race at Kansas. Avoid both Logano and Ambrose this weekend.
Others to avoid: Marcos Ambrose; Martin Truex, Jr.
Tier 4 Start -- A.J. Allmendinger
He doesn't have much of a sample size at Kansas, but A.J. Allmendinger finished ninth last season in his only appearance. Allmendinger is coming off of a seventh-place result this past weekend and will be looking for his first pair of consecutive top-10 finishes this season.
Others to consider: David Ragan; Elliott Sadler
Tier 4 Sit -- Paul Menard
Menard has made two career starts at Kansas and has posted identical 27th-place results. That isn't too impressive and Fantasy owners should not be satisfied with a 27th-place result from a Tier 4 driver this weekend.
Others to avoid: Sam Hornish, Jr.; Bobby Labonte
Tier 5 Start -- Joe Nemechek
It's not too often that you get a former event winner all the way down in Tier 5, but that's what we have on our hands this weekend. Nemechek has two top-10 results in his career and a finishing average of 21.5 at Kansas. Despite a 38th-place result last year, get Nemechek active this weekend.
Others to consider: Robby Gordon; David Gilliland
Tier 5 Sit -- Regan Smith
Smith has made one start at Kansas and finished 32nd in 2008. That's the lowest finishing average of any Tier 5 driver at Kansas and is a good enough reason to leave Smith out of all lineups this weekend. Brad Keselowski and Scott Speed have never raced at Kansas, so leave them out as well.
Others to avoid: Brad Keselowski; Scott Speed
Ian's Starting Five
Tier 1 -- Jimmie Johnson
Tier 2 -- Clint Bowyer
Tier 3 -- Casey Mears
Tier 4 -- A.J. Allmendinger
Tier 5 -- Joe Nemechek
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