With each pass at Atlanta, #48-Jimmie Johnson inched closer to an historic third consecutive championship. Cale Yarborough is the only driver in NASCAR history to accomplish the feat, winning championships from 1976-78. Johnson finished second to seven-time 2008 winner #99-Carl Edwards, who refuses to give up on a championship comeback. Edwards is now 183 points behind Johnson in the Sprint Cup Series standings with three races remaining. Johnson needs to average a ninth-place finish over the final three races to clinch a championship. So Edwards will need wins, and some bad luck for Johnson. Edwards does have some history on his side to keep the optimism alive. In each of the last three years, the winner of the Atlanta race followed up with a Texas victory (Johnson in 2007; Tony Stewart in 2006 and Edwards in 2005). Statistically, the remaining schedule sets up nicely for Edwards. At the Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, Edwards has two wins, seven top fives, an average finish of 13.5 and a Driver Rating of 101.0. Unfortunately for his cause, the layout favors Johnson even more. At the next three tracks, Johnson has three wins, 12 top fives, an average finish of 8.9 and a Driver Rating of 108.0.(NASCAR Public Relations)(10-28-2008)
