by Larry McReynolds

The teams and the cars that performed well in July should perform well this weekend. Unless they've hit on something aerowise or chassiswise, the teams that struggled at Chicagoland will have a tough go of it at Kansas. As we start to see multiple racing grooves, cars will get strung out, and we can see long green runs and fuel-mileage strategy come into play.

Kansas requires the whole package. It's just that type of race track. You've got to have a good handling chassis. It's got to be good from an aerodynamic standpoint. You've got to have good horsepower because you're in the gas so long, and pit strategy can definitely play a role.

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Who to Watch

Jeff Gordon: When I look back at his win at Chicagoland and the fact that he won the first two Kansas Speedway races — the only multiple winner there in track's first five Cup races — Gordon will be the Chaser to watch.

Kasey Kahne: At high-speed tracks, it doesn't seem to matter if there's a little or a lot of banking, or if it's a mile and a half or two miles, Kahne is definitely the man to beat.

Tony Stewart: All of the Joe Gibbs Racing cars will run well at Kansas, but Stewart, in particular, should run up front. He had a great run going at Chicagoland, and it's another one of those races that he'll reflect on when he thinks about missing the Chase for the Nextel Cup. As the cars were coming to take the green flag headed to overtime at Chicagoland, he had to pit for fuel.

Matt Kenseth: It's the type of track where Roush Racing cars run well, and they're starting to get a little bit of momentum on their side so Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards should run well, too.

Richard Childress Racing: Week in and week out, all three RCR cars are strong, and they will be tough again this weekend.

What to Watch

Pole not crucial: On Friday, the top 35 guys will spend most of their practice on race setup. Qualifying is important everywhere, but it's not the end of the world at Kansas because there's a lot of room to race and pass. On pole day, the cars will be right around the bottom of that mile-and-a-half race track, but during Saturday's practices and Busch race, they'll be along the rim if they need to be. Pit selection isn't as critical as it was at Dover last week. Pit road is fairly wide, and the boxes are fairly big so it's not as critical as it was at Dover.

First-time Kansas winner: In five events since the track opened for Cup races in 2001, we've had five different Bud Pole winners, and Jeff Gordon is the only repeat winner. Only two Chaser have won there — Gordon and Mark Martin, who won there a year ago. Joe Nemechek and Ryan Newman are the other winners.

Possible power outages: There were more engine problems in one weekend at Dover than I can remember because the Monster Mile isn't normally very hard on engines. At Kansas, you will see hanging, sustained rpm so the Childress and Hendrick camps are digging deep to figure out why they had problems last week. Kyle Busch's engine failure happened very early in the race. Kevin Harvick's power-plant problem happened in the middle of the race, and Clint Bowyer's engine was starting to go sour on him late in the race. I'm anxious to get to Kansas and talk with Danny Lawrence at Childress and someone with the Hendrick group to find out what went on with those engines. But I'm sure the engine builders are getting more and more aggressive, too.

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Teamwork: Of the teams that are in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, the organizations doing the best job of supporting their Chase teams are Richard Childress Racing and Evernham Motorsports. RCR's Clint Bowyer wants to win a race, but he wants to do everything he can to help his two teammates, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick. Burton will help Harvick, and Harvick will help Burton because they are together in the top five. Evernham Motorsports' Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler will do anything and everything they can to help Kasey Kahne. The Roush drivers will help Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. Martin Truex Jr. will do anything in the world to help Dale Earnhardt Jr. If Kyle Busch can help Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson lead a lap, he will because he feels like the worst he's going to finish is 10th, and it's going to take a small miracle for him to get back into contention.

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FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.