Besides J.J.'s history run, keep an eye on Junior, five other stories

It's more than a safe bet to say Jimmie Johnson has all but locked up his record fourth straight Sprint Cup Series championship.

It would take a meltdown of epic proportions to keep Johnson from making history. At the rate he's going, he could very well have things wrapped up by the time the checkered flag flies at Phoenix, making his appearance in the Homestead season finale nothing more than a formality.

But if watching Johnson do something no driver in the 60-plus-year history of NASCAR has been able to accomplish isn't enough to keep your attention over these final three races, here are a few other stories worth keeping an eye on as we conclude the schedule:

New crew chiefs for Busch brothers

Brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch face the situation of getting acclimated with new crew chiefs. (Getty Images)

Kyle Busch will begin life without Steve Addington as his crew chief starting with Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite winning at a regular pace over the last two years, Busch's inability to make the Chase this season caused team owners Joe and J.D. Gibbs to shake things up, with veteran Nationwide Series chief Dave Rogers now calling the shots for the 18 team. They'll have the last three races to work on set-ups and other technical aspects of the car and, more important, on chemistry, something that seemed to be in place with Busch and Addington and will no doubt take some time to develop with the new pair.

Meanwhile, big brother Kurt will still have the departing Pat Tryson on the pit box at Texas, but there is much speculation a change will come before the final checkered flag of the year. Tryson is headed to Michael Waltrip in 2010 and with Busch mired back in sixth place in the standings, 312 points behind Johnson, getting a jump start on next season would seem to be the prudent move by team owner Roger Penske. It appears Busch's new crew chief will come from within the organization; if that choice has been made, why not get some on-the-job training?

Keselowski tuning up

Things are also changing with Penske Racing's No. 12 ride: Brad Keselowski will start the final three races of the year in anticipation of his move to the team as its full-time driver next season. The decision puts David Stremme on the sideline early, an unfortunate move for the Indiana native who appears headed to the Nationwide Series in 2010, but offers Keselowski an opportunity to get a feel for the car he'll drive next year. Keselowski has created a reputation as an aggressive driver in his short Nationwide Series and Cup tenures and it will be interesting to see how other drivers react to his full-time status as a Sprint Cup competitor.

Fixing Junior

Lance McGrew was given the full-time crew chief position for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Hendrick team last week. That will give the frustrated squad some solidity and provide a chance to work on things over the next three races, knowing everyone will be back next season. The 2010 campaign will be a critical one for Earnhardt's career; another dismal year like this one would put Junior at a career crossroads, with the possibility of heading to another team like Richard Childress Racing or elevating his JR Motorsports Nationwide Series team to the Cup level all on the table of choices.

Changing manufacturers

Richard Petty Motorsports continues to move closer to a merger with Yates Racing. But with or without that deal, RPM has already committed to becoming a Ford team next year and is slowly making that transition this season. Elliott Sadler piloted a Taurus at Talladega last week but will return to Dodge trim for the rest of the season to fulfill RPM's contract with Chrysler. A.J. Allmendinger will get his turn in a Ford this weekend and the plan may be for the 44 team to finish the year in those colors in order to learn as much about the new manufacturer as possible.

Under the hood

Roush Fenway Racing rolled out the new FR9 Ford engine last week at Talladega with Matt Kenseth and David Ragan utilizing the powerplant. With two intermediate tracks left on this year's schedule, look for RFR to keep that engine in play as much as possible. With the bulk of the Cup schedule contested on mid-sized tracks, getting a read on the new engine's performance at these races would definitely be advantageous to Roush trying to turn things around next season after a disappointing 2009 campaign.

Changing addresses

The "Silly Season" rumor mill has been slow due to the economic issues still facing the sport. Simply put, there aren't nearly as many open seats or new teams coming on board for 2010 as there have been in years past.

Jamie McMurray had his stock rise tremendously after his Talladega win and still appears to be the leading contender to take over Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's No. 1 ride next season for the departing Martin Truex Jr. But there are reports the team's sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, is having second thoughts about McMurray, simply because he's not an outdoors enthusiast and may not fit the brand's marketing image.

If that snags the deal, then it could set off a chain reaction of moves, which could include Stewart-Haas Racing and RPM in the mix as well as drivers like Elliott Sadler and Casey Mears. This is a big domino to fall and it should happen in a matter of days.