Magic Number is 11th not 8th since penalty AND: #20-Tony Stewart can clinch the Winston Cup Drivers Championship buy finishing 11th or better in each of the last two races and no one can catch him, needs to average 129 points a race the last two races, 11th is worth 130. The most #6-Mark Martin can get is 4807 (4437 + 370 [185×2]), so 4807 – 4549 = 258, 258/2 = 129. 11th is worth 130 points, or a 12th (worth 127) and lead a lap for 5 points will clinch it for Stewart.(11-3/4-2002) AND Only the top seven drivers in the points race still have a mathematical chance of winning this year’s title. Any driver more than 151 points out of the lead after the race in Phoenix this coming weekend will be eliminated from the championship race. After Sunday’s race, only Mark Martin is within 151 points of Stewart.(as long as they start the last race…of course)(11-4-2002) AND Jim Utter from ThatsRacin.com has some info – How the Cup title could be won, or not: There are several scenarios under which Tony Stewart could wrap up his first Winston Cup championship this weekend at Phoenix. If Stewart gained 73 points on second-place Mark Martin, he would leave with a 185-point lead and would win the title even if he did not race at the season finale at Homestead, Fla., next weekend. If Stewart gained just 39 points on Martin, he would need only to take the green-flag at the season finale to win the championship. And finally, if Stewart finished 11th or better in the final two races, he would win the title regardless of the performance of any other driver. Several other scenarios come into play, based on Martin’s performance. Among them: Should Martin finish 16th or higher at Phoenix, Stewart couldn’t clinch the title this weekend, and Martin could not take the points lead this weekend if Stewart finished 39th or better. In the event the points battle ended up a tie, the driver with the most wins would be the champion. Right now that is Stewart with three to Martin’s one. However, should Martin win the final two races, they would be tied and the tie-breaker would move to second-place finishes, then third, and so forth to determine a champion.(ThatsRacin.com)(11-8-2002)
