The theme for the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup so far, at least for this humble researcher, is competition.

Not only do we have a tie atop the standings, with Kevin Harvick getting the tiebreaker and therefore the points lead over Carl Edwards, but only 19 points separate Harvick/Edwards from ninth-place Jeff Gordon.

Now, it's difficult to compare past years' Chases to this year, because of the change in the points system, but I think I've found a way.

Those 19 point are equivalent to a 25th-place finish on the track. Last year at this time, it was a 101-point spread from first to ninth, with 101 points being equivalent then to a 20th-place finish.

And that's the only Chase year that even comes close to being as competitive as this year's. The next closest spread between first and ninth came in 2005, when it was a 138-point spread, or about a ninth-place finish.

I hope I didn't lose you there, but let me break down this year's Chase and the Dover race using my usual three-tiered approach:

Team parity

From 2007-10, Hendrick Motorsports won 45 of the 144 races, or about 31 percent. Meanwhile, Hendrick rep Jimmie Johnson won all four titles, and a Hendrick driver finished second in two of those seasons.

But this year, the competition among teams is much more even (check out the accompanying list).

The six teams that make up the Chase field all have between three and five wins between them, with each of those teams having had two drivers represent them in Victory Lane.

The competition is nice and spread out, meaning that this championship is up for grabs for nearly anyone.

Trivia break! What team got its first Sprint Cup win this season?

The lead's the thing

You might remember the note from last week about how no driver with the Chase points lead after two races has ever gone on to actually win the title. If not, go ahead and read -- I'll wait.

But this week, the lead's the spot to be in.

In five of the previous seven Chases, the leader at this point went on to win the title. In 2009, Jimmie Johnson was second, and in 2006, he was all the way back in eighth.

Trivia break! Who were the points leaders in 2006 and 2009 who didn't win the title?

Oh, yeah, the race!

I don't traditionally like to go this long without mentioning the race winner, but I just love those notes. I tried showing them to Kurt Busch, but he tore them up. I think he understands, though.

Busch killed the field on the final two restarts on his way to victory. His average speed on the first two laps after a restart was 150.637 mph.

That was a mph faster than any other driver in the field. Jimmie Johnson was second at a 149.626. Only one other driver -- Kyle Busch -- was even over 149 mph.

Trivia break! Who has the fastest average speed on restarts this season?

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 devised my own little nerdy formula, using recent performance this season, along with recent performance at the specific track.

Remember, this isn't for the Chase as a whole, only heading into Kansas.

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Kurt Busch
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Tony Stewart
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Kyle Busch
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Denny Hamlin
11. Ryan Newman
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Trivia break answers

1. Furniture Row Racing got its first win with Regan Smith in the Southern 500.

2. Jeff Burton led after three races in 2006; Mark Martin led in 2009.

3. Kurt Busch's brother Kyle Busch is the fastest on restarts for the whole season.