#11-Denny Hamlin’s late charge to a win at Martinsville brought him to within six points of leader #48-Jimmie Johnson, the closest margin between first and second place after six races in Chase history. Tony Stewart led Johnson by 15 points in 2005 after six races. Kevin Harvick’s 62-point deficit in third in the second closest in the seven years of the Chase. The 2006 Chase had eight drivers within 141 points of the lead. #48-Jimmie Johnson has finishes of 6th, 9th and 2nd in the last three Chase Talladega races. #11-Denny Hamlin has finishes of 38th, 39th and 4th. #29-Kevin Harvick’s Chase finishes at Talladega in 2008, 07 and 06 were 20th, 20th and 6th. Last spring, however, Harvick won at Talladega, Hamlin finished fourth and Johnson came in 31st. Strategy will be interesting to watch as the leaders decide whether or not to “hang in the back of the pack” during the race and make a move with 10 or 15 laps to go.
The top three drivers in the Chase after 6 races 2004-2009
2009 (After 6 Races)
1-JOHNSON 6098/+118
2-Martin 5980/-118
3-Jeff Gordon 5948/-150
2008 (After 6 Races)
1-JOHNSON 6073/+149
2-Biffle 5924/-149
3-Burton 5921/-152
2007 (After 6 Races)
1-JGordon 6055/+53
2-JOHNSON 6002/-53
3-Bowyer 5940/-115
2006 (After 6 Races)
1-Kenseth 5848/+36
2-Harvick 5812/-36
3-JOHNSON 5807/-41
2005 (After 6 Races)
1-STEWART 5957/+15
2-Johnson 5942/-15
3-Newman 5894/-63
2004 (After 6 Races)
1-KU BUSCH 6015/+96
2-J Gordon 5919/-96
3-Dale Jr 5890/-125
[Chase Champ in CAPS] see more chase starts, results on the Chase Stats after Martinsville page.(10-26-2010)
