Kyle Busch speaks with the media during NASCAR Sprint Cup testing at Lowes Motor Speedway. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images Photo) » More Photos

Someone else gets hot. Already this season, Edwards and Kahne have put together mini-streaks, with Kahne earning three victories and a second-place finish in five races and Edwards winning three times in a six-race stretch.

And let’s not forget the always-dangerous Jimmie Johnson. In the final five races of 2006, he had one victory, three runner-up finishes and five top 10s. Last year, he won four races in a row during the Chase. Johnson could very well light it up again this fall. He and Edwards are the two drivers most likely to go on a hot streak at money time.

Someone else gets consistent. If Busch has trouble in a couple of Chase races — a blown engine here, a crash there — either Earnhardt or Jeff Burton could emerge as serious challengers based on their relentless consistency this season. Jeff Gordon could come into play here, too. None of the three has been as fast as Busch, but they are experienced drivers unlikely to make mistakes down the stretch.

Distractions. Nobody in the Sprint Cup garage is better at managing high-strung personalities than Joe Gibbs, a master motivator and someone who so far has kept harmony within the team despite the lopsided fortune Busch has enjoyed and the frustrations Stewart and Hamlin have endured.

But with Stewart officially a lame duck, one wonders what, if any, effect that will have on team chemistry. Stewart will be focused on the championship without question, but these things sometimes have a way of throwing off the team’s balance.

So what does it all mean?

For the moment, Busch remains the unquestioned king of the hill in the Sprint Cup garage. Over the next 17 weeks, a lot of folks will be trying to knock him out of the top spot, starting this weekend in Indy. See you there.

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to