Last week, we opined it was “go time” for #14-Tony Stewart if it he wanted to get into serious contention. Smoke must have been paying attention as he marched to victory at Kansas and catapulted 39 points and one position closer to first place #5-Mark Martin. He now lurks just 67 points out of the lead. #24-Jeff Gordon gained ground with a second at Kansas and California is another opportunity for the four-time champ to gain points. At 103 points out, J.G. needs to keep chopping. In four of the first five Chases, the eventual champion was leading after three races. The exception was 2006, when #31-Jeff Burton led by 69 points after 3 races, only to be overtaken by #48-Jimmie Johnson’s historic rally to win his first title. That would make Mark Martin the favorite to go on and win Chase VI. See year-by-year comparison, race-by-race, notes and more on my Chase Stats after Kansas page and the Chase rules, how the Chase would had worked out back to 1975 and history on my 2009 Chase Rules and Notes page.(10-10-2009)
