#48-Jimmie Johnson’s mind-numbing streak of 33 Chase races with no worse than a 15th place finish, 29 top 10s, 22 top 5s and 11 wins, ended in the early mishap at Texas. #5-Mark Martin fell 35 points of maximizing the opportunity and #24-Jeff Gordon came up 66 points short. Johnson’s 73-point advantage is still the second largest in Chase history with two to go. Johnson’s trouble at Texas prevented the first-ever “early clinch,” meaning he could have been the first champion in the six years of the Chase sew it up before Homestead. Carl Edwards finished 39th while Kasey Kahne finished 33rd, and Kahne now leads Edwards by 41 points for 10th place [and the final place for a banquet appearance]. See year-by-year comparison and more on my Chase Stats after Texas page and Chase History, rules and more of my 2009 Chase History & Rules page.(11-12-2009)
