BRISTOL, Tenn. — Jimmie Johnson is the favorite to win a fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship.

No, Kevin Harvick should be considered the favorite.

Well, there is also Denny Hamlin with five wins and 50 bonus points to start the Chase.

What about Kyle Busch? He has two wins.

With three races left before the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, the ups and downs of this season have produced multiple — or no — championship favorites, depending on your perspective.

And no driver seems willing to lay claim to the favorite title entering Saturday night's Irwin Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"I still think (Johnson's) team is the team to beat," said Kevin Harvick, who leads the series standings and has three wins this season, including last weekend at Michigan.

"No matter how good somebody runs, I still think that those guys are the ones to beat just for the fact that they have won it the last four year being in a somewhat similar situation."

Jeff Gordon was asked his favorite and hedged a bit.

"They step it up in a way that you can't compete with," Gordon said of Johnson's team. "And so, until they don't do that, you've got to keep them as a favorite."

But he also likes Harvick.

"I think that (Richard) Childress has really stepped it up, especially with Kevin and that No. 29 team," he said. "I think that last weekend they kind of solidified themselves as the favorite, in my opinion."

Johnson, who started the season with three wins in five races then added two more in June, was more than happy to put the burden of favorite status on Harvick and his No. 29 team.

"If you look at their success on all types of track, the No. 29 is doing a great job collecting a lot of points everywhere we go," said Johnson, who won the pole Friday for Saturday night's race.

"He has the talent, the team does and they have it all on the line right now and they're doing a great job," Johnson said."We're definitely working hard to catch those guys."

The pole is Johnson's first of the season and first at Bristol. Carl Edwards will start second, Joey Logano third, Tony Stewart fourth and David Reutimann fifth.