CONCORD, N.C. — Three weeks into the 10-race Nascar Sprint Cup playoff, this much is already clear: The defending champion, Kevin Harvick, is the driver to beat for the 2015 title. And Jimmie Johnson, who has dominated Nascar for most of the last decade, will not be the man to beat him.
It is too early to know whether that represents a seismic shift within the hierarchy of the sport or if this is merely an off year for Johnson, the six-time champion who was eliminated from the playoff last weekend at his best track, Dover International Speedway in Delaware.