Clinch scenerio for Homestead: #48-Jimmie Johnson is closing in on history and doing so in style. Johnson victory at Phoenix in Week 9 boosted his points lead over second-place Mark Martin to 108 points. Johnson will clinch a record fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship if he finishes 25th or better in the Chase finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
•So now, Martin's predicament begs the question: How many times has Mark Martin gained more than 108 points on Jimmie Johnson, in a single race? The answer is nine times including once at Homestead, in 2005.(11-16-2009)

Clinching Scenarios: What Johnson Can Do To Lock Up The Championship: With two races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, #48-Jimmie Johnson leads the standings by 73 points over second-place #5-Mark Martin and 112 points over third-place #24-Jeff Gordon. With the standings tight as the season comes to a close, everyone wants to know what Johnson has to do to clinch the title.
Phoenix: For Johnson to clinch at Phoenix International Raceway, he will need to lead by 195 points after the race. Currently up 73 points, he'll need to gain 122 points by the race's end. If he does that, he will clinch no matter what any other driver does.
Homestead: For Johnson to clinch at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he will need to average a fourth-place finish over the final two races, or fifth and a lap led in each of the final two races, or sixth and the most laps led in each of the final two races. If he does that, he will clinch no matter what any other driver does.
AND if Martin wins and leads the most laps at Phoenix, he would become the new championship leader if Johnson finishes 14th or worse and doesn't lead a lap.(11-11-2009)
AND II if Gordon wins at Phoenix and leads the most laps [195 pts, would have 6380], he could leave Pheonix with the points lead IF Martin finishes 5th [155 pts] or worse and leads no laps and Johnson finishes 27th [82 pts] or worse and doesn't lead a lap.(11-13-2009)

Chase Notes / Facts: Chad Knaus pitted #48-Jimmie Johnson at the right time and stole a sixth place at Talladega, putting tons of daylight between the #48 and the nearest contenders. Texas doesn't look promising for his challengers as Johnson has four podium finishes [1st, 2nd, 3rd] in his last six starts at TMS. He ran his Top 15 or better Chase streak to a simply amazing 33 races. Update on the highlights of that streak:
" No finish worse than 15th
" 29 Top 10s out of 32 races
" 22 Top 5s
" 20 Podium Finishes
" 11 Wins
Kurt Busch threatened to clinch Chase I early in 2004, but a blown engine in race #6 at Atlanta caused a 42nd place finish and allowed Johnson to make a strong run that stopped just 8 points short of overtaking Busch at Homestead. Johnson led by 183 points at this time last year but only managed a 15th at Texas and that kept the #48 from clinching at Phoenix. #5-Mark Martin leads #24-Jeff Gordon by only 8 points heading to TMS. #42-Juan Pablo Montoya is 55 behind in 4th place and #14-Tony Stewart is 95 out in fifth. If Johnson decides to skip Texas to make it interesting, all four would be knee deep in the championship hunt. #11-Denny Hamlin's blown engine at Dega dropped him 11 points behind Carl Edwards for 10th place and the final speaking spot at the Las Vegas banquet. See year-by-year comparision after 7 races, race-by-race for 2009 on my Chase Stats page after race 7 page.(11-5-2009)

Here’s a look at how close things have been after three races in previous Chases:
2009: Six drivers within 100 points of lead
2008: Three drivers within 100 points of lead
2007: Three drivers within 100 points of lead
2006: Five drivers within 100 points of lead
2005: Five drivers within 100 points of lead (a sixth was exactly 100 back)
2004: Four drivers within 100 points of lead/(Virginian-Pilot)(10-5-2009)

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup facts:
• 22 different drivers have made the Chase, including Brian Vickers and Juan Pablo Montoya, who each made their first Chase this season.
• There will be 3,152 laps and 4,095.48 miles run during the 2009 Chase.
• Only one driver has made all six Chases for the NASCAR Sprint Cup: Jimmie Johnson
• Three drivers have made five Chases: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Kenseth has made all five previous Chases, but missed this year’s after finishing the regular season 14th in points.
• In the 50 Chase races, Jimmie Johnson has won a series-high 14 races. He’s followed by Carl Edwards (six), Greg Biffle (six), Tony Stewart (four) and Jeff Gordon (three).
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to average a top-10 finish in Chase races (8.7).
• In the 50 Chase races, Greg Biffle has an average finish of 14.4. But in the 20 Chase races where he was in contention for the championship, Biffle has an average finish of 9.6.
• Three drivers have notched more than 20 top-five finishes during Chase races: Jimmie Johnson (26), Jeff Gordon (22) and Carl Edwards (20).
• Nine drivers have more than 20 top-10 finishes during Chase races: Jimmie Johnson (36), Jeff Gordon (34), Carl Edwards (29), Tony Stewart (26), Kevin Harvick (25), Kurt Busch (25), Matt Kenseth (23), Greg Biffle (22) and Jeff Burton (22).
• Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, two drivers have a Driver Rating of at least 100.0: Jimmie Johnson (108.8) and Carl Edwards (100.0).
• Ryan Newman’s average starting position in Chase races is 10.9, which ranks second to Jimmie Johnson’s 9.5. But in the 20 Chase races Newman has been in contention for a championship, he has an average starting position of 5.1.(NASCAR)(9-15-2009)

"Classic" 2008 Points Standings...the old way, not the Chase after Homestead:
(Traditional Points...the old way, not the Chase)
1) #99-Carl Edwards 5236 [9 wins]
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5220 -16 [7 wins] CHASE CHAMP
3) #18-Kyle Busch 4984 -252 [8 wins]
4) #16-Greg Biffle 4747 -489 [2 wins]
5) #31-Jeff Burton 4709 -527 [2 wins]
6) #29-Kevin Harvick 4691 -545
7) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4605 -631 [1 win]
8) #24-Jeff Gordon 4537 - 699
9) #20-Tony Stewart 4487 -749 [1 win]
10) #07-Clint Bowyer 4487 - 749 [1 win]
11) #11-Denny Hamlin 4439 -797 [1 win]
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 4316 -920
13) #6-David Ragan 4299 -937
14) #9-Kasey Kahne 4085 -1151 [2 wins]
(11-16-2008)

"Classic" 2007 Points Standings...the old way, not the Chase after Homestead:
(Traditional Points...the old way, not the Chase)
1) #24-Jeff Gordon 5455
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5102, -353 CHASE CHAMP
3) #20-Tony Stewart 4749
4) #17-Matt Kenseth 4718
5) #11-Denny Hamlin 4623
6) #5-Kyle Busch 4585
7) #99-Carl Edwards 4574
8) #07-Clint Bowyer 4556
9) #31-Jeff Burton 4549
10) #2-Kurt Busch 4371
11) #29-Kevin Harvick 4344
12) #1-Martin Truex Jr. 4314
13) #12-Ryan Newman 4046
14) #16-Greg Biffle 3991
15) #25-Casey Mears 3949
16) #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3929
(11-18-2007)

"Classic" 2006 Points Standings...the old way, not the Chase after Homestead:
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5158 CHASE CHAMP
2) #17-Matt Kenseth, 5154, -4
3) #29-Kevin Harvick, 4838, -320
4) #20-Tony Stewart, 4727, -431
5) #11-Denny Hamlin, 4725, -433
6) #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 4641, -517
7) #24-Jeff Gordon, 4567, -591
8) #31-Jeff Burton, 4535, -623
9) #9-Kasey Kahne, 4497, -661
10) #6-Mark Martin, 4484, -674
11) #99-Carl Edwards, 4428, -730
12) #5-Kyle Busch, 4416, -742
13) #16-Greg Biffle, 4075, -1083
(11-19-2006)

"Classic" Points Standings - Top 15...the old way, not the Chase after Homestead, race 36 of 36:
1) #20-Tony Stewart, 5199 CHASE CHAMP
2) #16-Greg Biffle, 4984, -215
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 4771, -428
4) #6-Mark Martin, 4676, -523
5) #99-Carl Edwards, 4597, -602
6) #2-Rusty Wallace, 4512, -687
7) #17-Matt Kenseth, 4451, -748
8) #12-Ryan Newman, 4409, -790
9) #19-Jeremy Mayfield, 4281, -918
10) #97-Kurt Busch, 4248, -951
11) #24-Jeff Gordon, 4174, -1025
12) #42-Jamie McMurray, 4130, -1069
13) #38-Elliott Sadler, 4084, -1115
14) #29-Kevin Harvick, 4072, -1127
15) #88-Dale Jarrett, 3960, -1239
(11-20-2005)

"Classic" 2004 Points Standings...the old way, not the Chase after Homestead:
1) #24-Jeff Gordon 5042
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson 4995 -47
3) #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4869 -173
4) #97-Kurt Busch 4795 -247 CHASE CHAMP
5) #20-Tony Stewart 4701 -341
6) #6-Mark Martin 4597 -445
7) #42-Jamie McMurray 4597 -445
8) #17-Matt Kenseth 4376 -666
9) #12-Ryan Newman 4361 -681
10) #38-Elliott Sadler 4315 -727
11) #18-Bobby Labonte 4277 -765
12) #9-Kasey Kahne* 4274 -768
13) #29-Kevin Harvick 4228 -814
14) #88-Dale Jarrett 4214 -828
(11-21-2004)