The odds are pretty good that Sunday’s race at Martinsville will boil down to a Jeff Gordon vs. Jimmie Johnson battle. The two teammates have won five of the last seven at Martinsvill. Clint Bowyer has finishes of 22-23-11 in three starts, so a top five would be huge and keep him within one race of the lead. Jeff Burton moved into stage spot #10 with his fourth at Lowe’s. He leads Martin Truex by +12, and Matt Kenseth by +76 [only the top 10 go to NYC and the stage at the banquet]. Carl Edwards will have to get scorching hot to get back into Chase contention from fifth place and 240 points out, and Martinsville presents an uphill challenge as “Flip” doesn’t have a top 10 in six starts. Tony Stewart has to still be considered a contender with the races coming up, but he must put five straight top 10s or better together. It’s hard to count sixth place on back as being in reasonable contention at this point. See the Chase stats after Charlotte page for more.(10-18-2007)
