Matt Kenseth's No. 17 car has been heating up of late. Gavin Lawrence/Gettty Images

We'll call him DeepTank. When you observe him carefully -- and listen closely -- he can be one of the best sources in the Cup garage. I recently asked him who's going to win the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, and he poured a little grease in my ear.

"Here's the deal about the deal in New Hampshire on Sunday: I'm going to win that whole friggin' deal," DeepTank told me, excitedly, in an exclusive interview earlier this week as he was idling at a certain race shop just north of Charlotte. "It's like there's fire under my hood, bro. I mean, I can go really, really fast. And the thing is, my four wheels stick to the ground like glue when I bust through those corners. I mean, it's unreal. I'm lightening quick, dude, a total, absolute, 100 percent blur.

"But here's the real story about me on Sunday: I'm going to win because Matt Kenseth, my boy, is due. I mean, he's overdue. Remember, me and him, we won the Cup championship together back in 2003. Hell, we blew the field away. If you think about it, we're the reason there's this whole fancy schmancy 'Chase for the Championship' thing right now.

"I tell you what: When we were cruising to Cup title two years ago, the NASCAR honchos weren't too thrilled that nobody could compete with, well, me. Yeah, we got 'er done that year. We sure did. So they had to come up with the playoff thing and basically give all the guys who are in the top 10 a fighting chance with 10 races to go.

"But you know what, dude? That suits me and Matt just fine this year. You might laugh, but me and Matt, we're both real, real confident that we can still make the Chase. I mean, come on, did you see how Matt had me flying around that track last weekend in Chicago? Ain't none of those other four-wheel fools could have caught me.

"Yeah, I guess that Dale Earnhardt Jr. snookered my crew chief at that final caution there with just a few laps to go. I didn't think I needed four new tires during that pit stop, but I gotta go with what the boss Robbie Reiser says, so they put four new ones on me. Damn, they did feel good, but we lost track position. Junior only took two tires and I just couldn't catch that Little A, I mean Little E, at the end. If Matt and I had three more laps, Junior would have been toast, man, toast. But, shoot, we still finished second, and now we're in 16th place in the standings, just 178 points out of the Chase.

"So you watch me on Sunday. I'm gonna to be off the hook, and you can predict to all your readers at SI.com that I'm taking the checkers on Sunday. You heard it from me first, the horse's-friggin-mouth. Dang, I'm gonna make you look real smart. Now get of here; I've got gas to guzzle."

So there it is: Matt Kenseth's No. 17 DeWalt Ford, who's actually much more talkative than you'd think, is on record: He's going to win on Sunday. I agree.

O'Brien's O'Pinion

Vegas is starting to take notice. Though Rich O'Brien, SI's NASCAR editor, and I both failed to pick the race winner last week (it would have been the fourth straight week that one of us had correctly divined who was going to take the checkered flag), our picks both finished in the top 5. My choice for the checkers, Tony Stewart, wound up fifth while Rich's pick, Jimmie Johnson, came home in third. For the season I now hold a 78-point advantage over Rich (1,138 to 1,060) in our two-man race for the SI Cup.

Here's what Rich has to say about the New England 300: "Lars isn't the only one with high-powered sources. I had a meeting in a dark corner of the garage at Loudon with a competitor who has a very different take on this week's race. Here's a transcript:

"Hey, how about some respect here? Last time I looked, I was No. 1 (Well, actually, I'm No. 48, but you know what I mean). I've been at the head of the pack for 14 of the last 15 weeks and I don't plan to ease off anytime soon. Certainly not this week. Back in 2003 I swept both Cup races at Loudon; it must be that New England air. Me and my boys came up and tested here last week and I gotta tell you, I feel like I've got a brand-new chassis. I know we're supposed to be racing smart and just thinking top 5, but it's been a while since I've gotten to hang out in Victory Lane, and I think this is a good time to remind folks that my driver, the Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson, is always capable of grabbing the checkers."