Bodog Beat

Jimmie Johnson is almost guaranteed to win his third Chase for the Sprint Cup in a row. (Image Courtesy Wikimedia)

Despite Carl Edwards capturing a big win in Sunday's Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he did not make up much ground on first place. Edwards only gained 16 points on Jimmie Johnson in the standings and now sits 183 points back with just three races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Unless things go terribly wrong in next week's race at Texas, the odds are good  that Johnson can clinch his third title in a row on Sunday. It would take two bad races for Johnson to lose his lead, and considering his track record that is unlikely to happen.

The other two remaining Chase contenders – Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton – struggled to finishes of 10th and 18th, dropping them to third (185 points back) and fourth (218 behind), respectively. While Burton is still in it mathematically, wrecking with Dave Blaney in Sunday's race likely ended any chance of him earning his first career Cup title.