A tempest in a D-cup-shaped track: Succes on the intermediate tracks determine who makes the Chase.

Any driver who develops a superiority on intermediate tracks ...

Oops, some explanation is in order. We're talking about tracks from 1.5 to 2.0 miles, moderately banked (14-24 degrees) and mostly D-shaped.

They are the steel girders that support the Sprint Cup championship: Fontana, Vegas, Atlanta, Texas, Charlotte, Michigan, Chicagoland, Kansas and Homestead.

It's too early in the season to get bent out of shape about anything, but for those hoping someone other than Jimmie Johnson wins this year's championship, his victory in the first intermediate race is, well, disconcerting.

Johnson's Chevrolet didn't dominate - a lucky break helped him win - but it was fast.

The next two races, Las Vegas on Sunday and Atlanta on March 7, could provide a pattern. Every driver who finishes in the top 10 in all three races, beginning with the Auto Club 500 already completed, is probably going to make the Chase. He definitely will if he maintains the pattern.

Winning the championship may be greatly aided by proficiency at unique tracks like Talladega and Martinsville, but the contenders are going to come mainly from those who produce consistent finishes in the Great Intermediate Desert of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series.