Power Rankings: Kyle Busch a title lock? Not with Johnson Chasing

Updated July 14

It's easy to get wrapped up in Kyle Busch's remarkable season, but let's not etch his name on the championship trophy just yet.

Chase is the perfect word when it comes to Jimmie Johnson during the final 10 races. (Getty Images)

As Jeff Gordon has learned twice in the young history of the Chase, it's all about what you do over the final 10 races, not the first 26. Last season, Gordon held a 300-plus-point lead ahead of the Chase only to see Jimmie Johnson come through with his patented finishing kick to snag the title.

And it wasn't as if Gordon was a slouch in those final 10 either. He had two victories, six top fives and nine top 10s, and it still wasn't enough to hold off Johnson and the 48 team, which has had a knack for turning it up a notch late in the season.

Johnson had won four times with six top fives and led a lap in all but one Chase race en route to the 2007 championship. In 2006, he finished first or second in five of the final six races. In finishing second in 2004, he won four of the final six races. And in 2003, he ended the season finishing second or third in the final six.

So you can rest assured the 48 team will harken back to the one that got away Saturday night at Chicagoland as they fixate on putting an end to Busch's dominant run.

"On that last restart, I should have given him the inside," Johnson said. "For a two-lap shootout, the outside always wins. I didn't make the best decision there on the restart. I apologized to my guys and to Lowe's and to everyone. On the bright side, we had a great race car and great stops and we showed that we can beat that No. 18 tonight."

Busch was surprised as anyone that he was able to pull out his seventh win of the year. When Johnson overtook him on a restart with 16 laps remaining, he had all but conceded. But another caution with five laps left gave him new life.

"Without that caution, the race was over," said Busch, who has won three of the past four races. "Just judging by what was in front of me and what I knew at that particular point, the race was over. Jimmie was going to lead us to that checkered flag without that caution."

But the caution did come, giving Busch one last shot. He made a magnificent move around the outside of Johnson on the restart and hung on all the way to the checkered flag. Busch hasn't need much luck this season, but when good fortune has presented itself, he has had the wherewithal to take advantage.

"I'm hoping we don't lose it," Busch said. "There's definitely been some luck in this first part of the season. You know, you've got to have some of that to win some of these races.

"Some people say you would rather be good than lucky. Some people say would you rather be lucky than good. I would rather have a little bit of both and be able to go out there and capitalize with all of it on your side."

Power Rankings after Chicagoland: