Kenseth has a slippery hold on the 12th and final qualifying berth for the Chase for the Championship. He is only 34 points ahead of a surging Kyle Busch.

However, Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are the only two racers who have been in all five previous Chases. Referring to Sunday night's race at Atlanta and the Sept. 12 race at Richmond, Kenseth said yesterday on a conference call, "We just have to run our own race. We've been more consistent [lately].

"At Bristol [Aug. 22], we ran 10th. That's pretty good for how we've been doing lately, but most of the guys we're trying to beat for points finished in front of us. We're probably going to have to run in the top five or six the next two races. We've found some things in our cars to make them a little faster."

With his experience, Kenseth knows he has to focus at Atlanta and Richmond.

"There's probably a little more pressure and nerves, but when you're in a race, you have to do everything business as usual," he said. "There's only one car and one team we can control, and that's our own."

Any driver leaving Atlanta with a 196-point lead over the 13th place driver is guaranteed a place in the Chase.

Kenseth opened the season 2-for-2, winning at Daytona and California. Since then, he's had only two top-five finishes.

"After California, I was feeling pretty good," Kenseth said. "Then we went to Vegas and broke on the first lap. Ever since then, it's been a struggle. We ran good enough a few times to win races if all the stars aligned, which they didn't.

"We're known for, if we're having a mediocre day, somehow we'd figure out how to finish seventh, eighth or ninth. At the first Pocono race, we ran second, third and fourth, but couldn't make it on fuel and finished [16th]."

In the last three races at Atlanta, Kenseth and his No. 17 Ford have finished 12th, eighth and fourth.

Last weekend, with no Cup race scheduled, Kenseth, 37, raced late-model cars against his son Ross, 16, at Madison International Speedway in their home state of Wisconsin.

"It was really fun," Kenseth said. "We ran side by side and I got to watch how he was driving. He went home disappointed. We won both features and he finished second and sixth."

As a "Cheesehead" and Green Bay Packers fan, seeing Brett Favre in a Minnesota Vikings uniform is unsettling for Kenseth, to say the least.

"As a Packers fan, it's tough to see him wear purple," Kenseth said. "[But] you only get one chance at professional sports. If he wants to play and somebody will give him a job, he should play."

Thanks, Junior

"He was actually one of the people who pushed me fairly hard to take this deal," Keselowski said Tuesday. "He said when you have the opportunity to grow and take on a new challenge, you need to take it."

Keselowski, third in points in the Nationwide series, will take David Stremme's place in the No. 12 Dodge next year.

Penske Racing is getting a team player.