Rating the Hollywood Casino 400: 3 Stars ***

In perhaps the craziest race of the 2012 Chase, Matt Kenseth came out on top while nearly half the field did not finish the race, and that’s at a 1.5-mile track that typically produces fairly pedestrian racing. But all of that still wasn’t enough to get the final race of the season in the North anything above a 3 StarRating.

The wrecks began early and often Sunday at Kansas Speedway, and they affected nearly everyone regardless of running order or position in the points standings. Chasers Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart all spun. Aric Almirola even wrecked while leading the race.

All of the carnage had a chance to really shake up the points standings, but it turned out the Brad Keselowski maintained his seven-point lead on Johnson while narrowly missing several of the wrecks that led to a track-record 14 cautions.

However, the fact that Johnson stayed just seven points out of the lead is truly remarkable. Johnson spun in Turn 4 and smashed up the rear end of his car. The damage looked extensive enough to send the car to the garage for repairs, but the #48 pit crew went to work and fixed the back of the car to the point where it could not only maintain minimum speed, but to the point where Johnson could drive back through the field to finish ninth.

Races like that are why the #48 team has won five championships and competed for a championship nearly all of the 10 years it has existed. There might not be another team in the sport right now that could have fixed a car with that much damage without losing a lap and have a driver who could drive it back into the top 10.

As for Keselowski, he also salvaged a day when the #2 car was not good enough to compete for the win. He started in 25^th and hung near the top 10 most of the day, finishing eighth.

That’s not a bad day for Keselowski and the #2 team, but they are going to have to produce a couple of top-fives soon or Johnson will make his move and take the lead.

Other contenders Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne finished inside the top 10, and Denny Hamlin finished in 13^th. All three of those drivers will likely need top-five finishes the rest of the way to win the championship, and possibly just to stay in contention by the time the series reaches Homestead for the final race.

Hamlin’s big chance could be next week at Martinsville, where he has won four times. Unfortunately for Hamlin, who sits 20 points out of the Chase lead, Johnson has won there six times. Next week will still be one of the better chances for either Hamlin or Johnson to make up ground on Keselowski, who doesn’t have a win at Martinsville.

The funny part is there will likely be fewer cautions at Martinsville than there were this week at Kansas, although the number of cautions at Kansas was in large part because the track was repaved over the summer and speeds were up dramatically from past races.

But before we head off to the next race, Kenseth and the #17 team should be commended for their win at Kansas and second in the Chase. Kenseth sits 11^th in the points standings, is headed to the #20 car at the end of the season and does not have a realistic shot at winning this year’s championship. However, Kenseth and his team have continued to put together races consistent with his performance throughout his entire career.

Both the driver and team are very professional. It will be a shame to see that partnership broken up when the season comes to a close.

Have a great week, everybody.

Rating the Hollywood Casino 400: 2 Stars **

Sunday’s race at Kansas certainly looked like a lot of Chase races in the past five years as Jimmie Johnson ran his trademark Chase-dominating race and scored his second win of the season. However, he stunk up the show, which turns in the fourth 2 Star Rating in the four Chase races.

Wow, has Kansas become the new California? In past years, the Chase race at California was the most predictable race of the season. Johnson would dominate. Period. Move on to the next race.

Well, he did the same thing Sunday.

While NASCAR may be pleased that the points standings are remaining close, this certainly looks very similar to the last five years. That #48 car was on a rail nearly the entire race Sunday. When that team hits the setup right, nobody can catch it.

Overall, the race at Kansas emphasized the issues many NASCAR fans love to complain about. Johnson kicked the field’s butt, there were debris cautions and much of the race was devoid of any action. It’s wonderful that the middle of the field looks like a swarm of bees after restarts, but some of that action has to continue after the first few laps.

After the field settled down after the restarts, that was it. Everybody rode around until the next pit stops.

It’s not the drivers’ faults, necessarily. The racing, or lack thereof, we have seen in the first four Chase races isn’t terribly different than several of the races during the middle of the regular season.

Unfortunately, the current configuration of the cars makes it incredibly difficult to pass. Nobody made a pass at New Hampshire, the only lead changes at Dover came after a restart and Kansas looked similar to those past two races. The only difference was this track was a bit longer and had a tri-oval.

However, all is not lost. The lack of action in the first part of the Chase has kept the points standings bunched together. Right now eight drivers are still within 20 points of the lead, and the front three are separated by just four points. That could set up a wild run to the championship.

Also, the racing should get better in the coming weeks. Races at Charlotte are usually interesting and exciting more often than not. Talladega is a wild ride no matter the rules or style of racing and Martinsville has been the most exciting short track on the schedule the past few years.

So, shake off the early Chase cobwebs and get set for a stretch of races that hopefully turns up the excitement factor. Maybe excitement is too strong of a word at this point. A race that is a little more watchable would be a good start.

Thank goodness most of the Chase has yet to be run. Although the standings are tight, the races have had very little tension.

The next few races have to be better. But hey, they can’t be much worse.