Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's take it easy. Who was it that said Jimmie Johnson was out of this year's Chase?

It definitely wasn't me, although I did wonder if he had the speed this year he's had in years past. And it probably wasn't anyone who's watched a lot of NASCAR over the past six years or so.

Johnson's win Sunday at Kansas Speedway was both dominant and historic, but there's plenty of time to talk about that. For now, let me chat up a little Carl Edwards.

Lost in all the excitement of Johnson's win was the fact that Edwards came from a lap down, made a mad dash through the field on the final restart and finished fifth. That's what I call a championship day.

That's four straight top-10 finishes to start the Chase for Edwards. Last year, no Chaser pulled that off.

In 2009, three drivers did it, but one went further, as Johnson had seven straight, a task he also accomplished in 2008. We know how those seasons ended.

I know we're riding the Johnson train now, but somehow, Edwards has quietly snuck back into the points lead.

Now, to hop back on that Johnson train!

K.C. masterpiece

It's hard to think Johnson was in a slump, but he hadn't won in 21 starts, the longest streak of his career. Plus, it had been over a year since his last win in a non-restrictor plate race.

Johnson led 72.4 percent of the laps at Kansas, the seventh-highest total in any Chase race. He also became the first driver to lead over 70 percent of the laps in a Chase race on two occasions.

Trivia break! Johnson's win broke a tie for ninth all time in wins with who and moved him into a tie for eighth with who?

One for the boss

The win was the 199th for Hendrick Motorsports, which is one victory from joining Petty Enterprises (separate from the current Richard Petty Motorsports) in the 200-win club.

Johnson and Jeff Gordon have done the bulk of the winning, taking 140 of the 199 wins. That alone would be tied with Junior Johnson's team for the third-most wins behind Petty and Hendrick.

Only four teams have had 100 Cup wins, with Roush Fenway Racing's 124 joining the other three. Richard Childress Racing is at 99.

Trivia break! Who is the only driver to win a Cup race for Childress and Hendrick?

Best yet to come

Scary as it sounds, there might be more improvement ahead for Johnson.

In his career, Johnson's win percentage is 18.8 with a 10.8 average finish over the first four Chase races.

In the fifth to seventh Chase races, his win percentage jumps to an unreal 42.9, with an even more unreal 3.7 average finish.

Trivia break! Whose record for most laps led in a Kansas race did Johnson break? (Hint: It was set earlier this year.)

Chase power rankings

I wanted to come up with something to rank the strength of the Chase drivers on a race-by-race basis. So I came up with a nerdy formula, using recent performance this season, along with recent performance at the specific track, to predict who'll be strong in the next race.

Here are my Chase power rankings for Charlotte:

Trivia break answers

1. Johnson broke a tie for ninth with Lee Petty and moved into a tie for eighth with Rusty Wallace.

2. Ricky Rudd won twice for Childress and four times for Hendrick.

3. Kurt Busch led 152 laps at Kansas earlier this year; Johnson led 197.