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When a championship - winning coach hands the keys to one of his assistants and things aren't clicking as expected, fans and media wonder if something is wrong.

So when Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Cup champion, had a string of three straight finishes of 38th or worse this season starting in April that dropped him to 22nd in points, the questions came. Was there a communication problem with new crew chief Chip Bolin?

Did Kenseth and the crew miss longtime crew chief Robbie Reiser, who had moved up to general manager of Roush Fenway Racing?

"It wasn't like Robbie retired or moved to the Bahamas," Bolin said Thursday by phone. "He's right down the hall. But it was like a head coach had left and turned the entire operation over to the coordinators. We had to figure out the management structure, and that takes time. It wasn't like we flipped a switch, but things got better."

Bolin points out that the bad finishes weren't a result of poor setups or bad pit stops. A couple of blown tires and a few crashes hurt Kenseth.

Bolin's team responded as Kenseth reeled off six straight finishes of eighth or better. It put the team right back in the hunt to make the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup. Kenseth moved from 12th place to 10th with last Sunday's fifth-place finish at Michigan but is only 74 points out of 13th.

One bad finish in the next three races could put Kenseth out of the playoffs for the first time. He and Jimmie Johnson are the only drivers who have made the Chase every season since its inception in 2004.

Though Kenseth is still looking for his first win this season, he doesn't appear worried. He has confidence in his ability and his team. That includes Bolin, whom Kenseth said is getting used to being in charge.

"He's fallen right into the role of calling races," said Kenseth, who was at Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday for a fan event. "For me, it wasn't a big change. I've worked with him for nine years. He was the guy with his head down on the computer, looking at the data and trying to make the car faster."

Bolin is buoyed by the fact that the team is heading to three tracks – Bristol, California and Richmond – where Kenseth has five combined wins the last six seasons. Bolin knows anything can happen in the Chase.

"If you don't think you can contend, then you shouldn't be in the Chase," Bolin said. "We have one of the crews by which most others are measured, and we have one of the best drivers. Sure, I think we can win it."

Rankings include drivers from all professional racing series and are based on wins, trends, contributions to the sport and not just driving ability. (Rankings from previous week in parentheses)

1. (1) Kyle Busch (NASCAR): Finished second last weekend at Michigan

2. (2) Lewis Hamilton (F1): Leads the points as circuit heads to Valencia, Spain

3. (3) Scott Dixon (IndyCar): Controls his championship destiny with three races left

4. (4) Tony Schumacher (NHRA): Can anyone in Top Fuel beat him?

5. (6) Carl Edwards (NASCAR): Got fifth win and should challenge Busch in Chase

6. (7) Kimi Raikkonen (F1): Second to Hamilton in the standings

7. (5) Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR): Tough day at Michigan but still third in standings

8. (8) Helio Castroneves (IndyCar): Looking for first win as series goes to Infineon

9. (9) Felipe Massa (F1): Hopes to gain ground and move up from fourth in standings

10. (NR) Greg Biffle (NASCAR): Fourth at Michigan puts him seventh in points

Dropped out: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR) Note: F1 and IndyCar did not race last weekend.

Flipper: Carl Edwards won his fifth Sprint Cup race, and if the Chase started now, he'd be 40 points behind Busch.

Cat in the hat: Jack Roush was all smiles in Victory Lane as four of top five spots belonged to Roush Fenway drivers.

Five alive: Tony Schumacher earned his fifth straight Top Fuel victory and 10th of the season last weekend.

Closing in: David Ragan's third-place finish at Michigan has him 26 points out of the 12th and final Chase spot.

Hendrick hurts: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all finished 17th or worse at Michigan.

Backing up: Denny Hamlin has had five finishes of 23rd or worse in the last eight races to drop from seventh to 12th.

Dodgers: Dodge didn't have a good day at Michigan as no Dodge finished in the top 20.

Early loss: Doug Kalitta lost in the first round of eliminations and is 10th in the Top Fuel standings.