#48-Jimmie Johnson’s drive to a third straight title is going pretty much according to plan, as he takes a 69-point lead to Martinsville, a track where he has failed to make the top 10 in only one of 13 starts! He also hasn’t finished worse than fourth since the spring race of 2005 and has four career wins at Martinsville. #31-Jeff Burton vowed his team was “dangerous” as a Chase contender going into Saturday night’s race at LMS and he certainly made a statement with the win. The #31 bested the #48 by one position in the spring Martinsville race. #16-Greg Biffle and #99-Carl Edwards each only have one top 10 finish at Martinsville on their resumes. Edwards’ situation is especially important as he lost 96 points to Johnson at LMS and is now more than one race out at 168 points. Only the Top 10 Chasers make the stage at the Waldorf for the championship banquet. At the halfway mark, 11th place Matt Kenseth is 6 points out of 10th place Dale Earnhardt Jr., and last place Denny Hamlin is 26 out. See more Chase stats on my Chase Stats after Charlotte page.(10-17-2008)
