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Fleischman: If there's bad blood, the NASCAR Chase must be here

RYAN NEWMAN is angry at Tony Stewart. Matt Kenseth is annoyed with Brad Keselowski, again. Kevin Harvick posted a video on Twitter of an enraged bull charging into a grandstand, saying the bull reflects his mood entering the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

RYAN NEWMAN is angry at Tony Stewart. Matt Kenseth is annoyed with Brad Keselowski, again. Kevin Harvick posted a video on Twitter of an enraged bull charging into a grandstand, saying the bull reflects his mood entering the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Tempers are dialed in: Gentlemen, start your Chase.

After Stewart wrecked Newman's car with 37 laps remaining in Saturday night's Richmond race, Newman said his former boss has anger issues and is bipolar. The wreck knocked Newman, who previously drove for Stewart's team, from the 16-driver Chase group.

Stewart said he was retaliating for Newman hitting his car three times in the race. The Indiana natives used to be friendly. Now, they are unhappy Hoosiers.

On Monday's "NASCAR Race Hub" on Fox Sports, veteran driver Michael Waltrip said Stewart told him he isn't angry at Newman for his derogatory comments; Stewart is "just disappointed."

Hmmm...Stewart better keep an eye on Newman during Chase races.

Regarding Kenseth-Keselowski, during a restart at Richmond, Keselowski missed a shift, then slid up into Kenseth's car. Two laps later Kenseth smacked the wall with a flat tire. Keselowski acknowledged he made a mistake.

As NASCAR fans know, these two have a history: A couple years ago, after Keselowski bumped Kenseth's car on pit road following a race, Kenseth pursued Keselowski in the motor home area and tackled him.

Clearly, the Chasers are in the mood to go racin' in the 10-event format. After the third Chase race, Oct. 2 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware, the bottom four in points will be eliminated from title contention. The Chasers will later be trimmed to a final four eligible for the championship in the season finale Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Here is how this observer sizes up the field:

Favorites: Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano.

Threats: Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch.

Longshots: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Tony Stewart, Austin Dillon.

Longest shots: Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher.

First-time Chasers are Larson, Elliott, Dillon and Buescher.

My nominees as the first four out of the Chase are Buescher, McMurray, Stewart and Dillon.

The previous four Chase champions are: Kyle Busch, 2015; Harvick, 2014; Johnson, 2013; and Keselowski, 2012.

In last year's Chase, Harvick finished runner-up to Kyle Busch. Jeff Gordon was third and Martin Truex Jr. was fourth.

Kenseth has never won a Chase title. His only championship was in 2003, the year before the Chase was launched. A major reason NASCAR created the Chase was Kenseth's decisive 90-point margin over runner-up Johnson in '03. Kenseth clinched the title with several races remaining.

"It takes away a lot from the individual races," Kenseth said during a recent Philly visit promoting the Oct. 2 Dover race. "Before, you'd try to win. If you didn't win, you'd take pride in a top-five finish. When Denny (Hamlin) won (the season-opening) Daytona 500, they were talking about being locked into the Chase. I mean, we had six to seven months to go before the Chase began."

Kenseth understands that, with NASCAR competing this time of year with the NFL, college football and soon the major league baseball playoffs, the Chase stimulates attention.

"I'm one of the guys whose been around a while," he said. "I'm a traditionalist. I resist change. But I'm a fan of whatever the fans are fans of."

For those who clip and save, in my season preview I correctly predicted 12 of the Chasers. My mistakes were, anointing as Chasers, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Aric Almirola (Almirola? What was I thinking?). I'll take a pass on Earnhardt, since he would have made the Chase if he weren't sidelined with concussion symptoms.

This week's race

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400

Chicagoland Speedway

Joliet, Ill.

When: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: NBCSN/WNPV (1440-AM)

Course: 1.5-mile oval

Distance: 267 laps/400 miles

Forecast: sunny, upper 70s

Last year's winner: Denny Hamlin

Last year's pole winner: none, inclement weather

Track qualifying record: Joey Logano, 189.414 mph (September 2013)

Track facts: This is the first race in the 10-race Chase . . . Jimmie Johnson, a six-time Chase champion (five in a row, 2006 through 2010), has the most Chase race wins, 26. Tony Stewart is next, with 11. Kevin Harvick has nine, Carl Edwards eight, Matt Kenseth seven, Denny Hamlin six, Joey Logano five, Brad Keselowski four, Kurt Busch three, Kyle Busch one . . . In last year's Chicagoland race, winner Hamlin led only nine laps, including the last five. Edwards was runner-up; Kurt Busch was third. Kyle Busch led the most laps (121), but finished ninth . . . Stewart is the leading Chicagoland race winner, with three. Harvick and Keselowski are two-time winners at the track . . . New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville hosts the JustDrive.com 125 NASCAR K & N Pro Series East race Saturday at 5:15 p.m.

CHASE STANDINGS

(seeding according to results)

1. Kyle Busch. . . 2012

2. Brad Keselowski. . . 2012

3. Denny Hamlin. . . 2009

4. Carl Edwards. . . 2006

5. Kevin Harvick. . . 2006

6. Jimmie Johnson. . . 2006

7. Matt Kenseth. . . 2006

8. Martin Truex Jr.. . . 2006

9. Joey Logano. . . 2003

10. Chris Buescher. . . 2003

11. Tony Stewart. . . 2003

12. Kurt Busch. . . 2003

13. Kyle Larson. . . 2003

14. Austin Dillon. . . 2000

15. Jamie McMurray. . . 2000

16. Chase Elliott. . . 2000

Up next: New England 300, Sept. 25, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H., 2 p.m.; TV: NBCSN; last year's winner: Matt Kenseth.