Only once in the six years of The Chase, 2006, has the eventual winner been worse than 2nd place after the first Chase race. #48-Jimmie Johnson’s 39th at Loudon that year mired him in 9th place, 139 points out of first. Of course, we all know he rallied and won by 56 points over #17-Matt Kenseth that year. #33-Clint Bowyer stayed strong down the stretch to make Chase VII, and he’s the hottest driver over the last five races, with finishes of 13th, 4th, 7th, 6th and 1st, scoring 785 points [not counting the penalty from NHMS]. #18-Kyle Busch has been next best with 767 points and he dodged trouble enough at N.H. to place 9th. #99-Carl Edwards is third in points scored over the last five with 741. #14-Tony Stewart’s gamble on gas at Loudon dropped him to 24th place and he lost 74 points to first place as a result. He recorded a solid second at N.H. when he won Chase II in 2005, and left Loudon in first place. See more on my Chase Stats after New Hampshire page [note: #33 penalty not applied to these stats] and for Chase History and more see my Chase News stats and more page.(9-23-2010)
