Larson has erased a 55-point deficit to take a one-point lead on top-seeded Denny Hamlin heading into a stretch of three 1.5-mile ovals where Larson has excelled. He has three wins apiece at Kansas Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the next two tracks on the Cup circuit.

In any of the past 12 years, this weekend’s trip to Bristol Motor Speedway would have come with a clear playoff focus. As the third race of the Chase, it would have been a cutoff race, leaving the bottom four drivers desperate to point or win their way into the next round.

Everyone has incentive every week. The focus is on the drivers at the top, not the cutline. So far, NASCAR's Chase format has done the job.

After years of near misses, Creed says chemistry with his Haas Factory Team helped transform 15 runner-up finishes into three victories and an early Chase points lead.

Denny Hamlin hasn't been bad through the first three races of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase, but he certainly hasn't looked as good as he did in the regular season, either.

Bubba Wallace has recently hinted more than once at needing "a generational run" to claw back into the thick of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason. The three Chase presented by Mobil 1 races so far have produced a pair of top-10 finishes for Wallace,