Chase Picture: Down To Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin And Kevin Harvick

And then there were three.

In the best example yet of why NASCAR doesn’t need to institute an elimination round in the Chase, all but three drivers have virtually eliminated themselves from championship contention: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

Johnson expanded his points lead by five markers with a third-place finish (Hamlin was fourth), giving him a total margin of 41. Harvick is 77 points back, and everyone else is more than 150 behind.

And the No. 48 added to its advantage in a fashion that used to be remarkable but is now practically expected anytime something goes wrong for Johnson.

On lap 34, Johnson went for a rare spin as the Charlotte crowd burst into wild applause, cheering as if Dale Earnhardt Jr. had just taken the lead.

Fortunately for him (and unfortunately for the rest of the NASCAR world), Johnson didn’t hit anything, recovered and drove back through the field – even challenging for the win.

“I’m so relieved,” he said afterward. “I’m glad to be sitting here in the third spot and leading the points. It’s amazing what goes through your mind when you’re sliding sideways on the back straightaway.

“I saw my hard work for the year and dreams of being a five-time champion go away. Fortunately, I got the car turned away from the inside wall.”

At that point, Johnson said, it “scared me straight.” He was able to keep his composure and finish in the top five.

That was bad news for Hamlin, though the Joe Gibbs Racing driver (now 41 points behind) said he “wasn’t disappointed at all” to finish one spot behind Johnson.

“He’s a champion and I’m not,” Hamlin said. “He’s figured this stuff out and he’s got a great team as well as we do, but I haven’t hit the ‘Go’ button yet and I feel like there’s still more left with our team.

“I’m minimizing my risk right now and I feel like if I’m going to have a shot to win this thing when we get to Homestead, I’ve got to minimize those risks.”

That includes not making it three-wide on restarts, Hamlin said, and taking advantage of other opportunities for aggressive racing.

“I take a little more conservative approach and it costs me five points here and there every couple races, but the main thing is that I’m not racing my way out of this thing in these first five races,” he said.

Harvick has historically been subpar at Charlotte, but achieved his goal of getting a single-digit finish at the 1.5-mile track.

“I think for us, it was damage control,” Harvick said. “For me, this is just a struggle. I struggle getting the feel that I want. To come out of here with an eighth feels like a victory.”