NASCAR Kenseth's drop lets competitors back in

The points leader contends that he's still in good shape.
(Saturday's race was not completed in time for this edition.)
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- If Matt Kenseth is concerned about his points lead, he isn't letting on.
Seemingly untouchable two weeks ago, Kenseth has had consecutive poor races, losing 177 points from his lead. His closest competitors now believe they've got a chance.
"I don't listen to that stuff," he said. "We're just doing the best we can every week. We're still in good shape. It does no good to worry about what happened last week or the week before."
The final stretch of six races began Saturday night with the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Struggled
Kenseth struggled in qualifying and started a disappointing 29th on Saturday night. But Lowe's has typically been a good race track for Kenseth. He scored his first career victory here in 2000 and has placed second in the past three races here.
"Running there with a great handling car is one of the best feelings in the world," Kenseth said. "We'll see how things shake out Saturday night."
But Kevin Harvick, who is second in the points and just 259 back, knows one more poor finish by Kenseth will put him within striking distance.
"The blood is dripping," said Harvick. "We're trying to find out where the trail is."
Harvick's hopes are bolstered by history: The late Alan Kulwicki registered the biggest comeback with six races to go in 1991, overcoming a 278-point deficit to Bill Elliott to win the title.
Although Kenseth has scored his lowest finishes of the season the past two weeks -- he was 33rd in Talladega and 36th in Kansas -- some still believe the race is over.
"If he had not lost a couple hundred points the past two weeks, we would be saying 'He's got a 259-point lead with six races left. It's in the bag for him,' " said three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip, now a commentator for Fox. "All he's done the last two weeks was shown he is fallible and we didn't think he was.
"But if he continues to falter -- and I don't think he will -- it would be one of the biggest letdowns we've ever seen."
System's advantages
In a points system that rewards consistency, Kenseth has been the model most of the year with one victory and 22 top 10 finishes. But since blowing an engine in Talladega and wrecking in Kansas, his closest competitors have sudden hope.
"We can see the trail ahead of us," said Richard Childress, Harvick's car owner. "But we know we have to watch our back door just as much as we're watching our front door."
Lurking right behind Harvick is Dale Earnhardt Jr., 325 points behind Kenseth.
Ryan Newman, who has a series-high eight victories and started from the pole on Saturday night, is fourth, 364 points back.
Jimmie Johnson, who won both races here in May and started third in his bid to become the first driver to sweep the season at Lowe's. He's fifth in the standings, 380 points back.
All think they have a chance if they focus solely on their own efforts over the final stretch.
"We just go out and do the best job we can and take the points we can," Newman said. "I think I'm putting 100 percent into it every week. It doesn't matter to me what anybody else does."