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Two Chase wins have Jimmie Johnson out front in the point standings.Good news and bad news as Chase heads to Lowe's
Johnson the only driver to win title without lead after four
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There is good news and bad news as the Chase heads to Lowe's Motor Speedway for the final Saturday night race of the season, the NASCAR Banking 500 (7 p.m. ET, ABC).
Follow the Chase with news and analysis from the track by NASCAR.COM's insiders.
The good news is this is the third-closest point battle in Chase history as Mark Martin trails Jimmie Johnson by 12 points after four races. In 2006, Jeff Burton led Matt Kenseth by six points after four races and in 2007, Johnson trailed Jeff Gordon by just nine points. Aside from those two years, the deficit between first and second place after four races were 29 in 2004, 75 in 2005 and 72 in 2008.
More good news, twice in Chase history the points leader after four races hasn't won the championship -- meaning just because Johnson currently leads heading to Charlotte, the Chase is far from over.
The bad news -- only one driver has not been the points leader after four races and won the championship ... Jimmie Johnson, in 2006 and 2007.
Johnson made up 156 points in six races back in '06. Six drivers are within that point frame right now -- Martin (-12), Juan Montoya (-58), Tony Stewart (-84), Gordon (-105) and Kurt Busch (-121). Can one of them join Johnson in overcoming a deficit in the final six races? Or will Johnson make history with his fourth consecutive title?
Inside the Data
Chase Drivers at Lowe's Motor Speedway
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmie Johnson | 16 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 1242 | 8.1 | 9.1 |
| Carl Edwards | 9 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 19.8 | 10.0 |
| Kasey Kahne | 11 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 616 | 10.5 | 12.4 |
| Tony Stewart | 21 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 595 | 14.5 | 13.3 |
| Denny Hamlin | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 15.9 | 15.6 |
| Mark Martin | 49 | 4 | 17 | 22 | 2 | 1168 | 10.9 | 15.9 |
| Jeff Gordon | 33 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 7 | 579 | 9.8 | 16.1 |
| Greg Biffle | 13 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 19.8 | 18.4 |
| Ryan Newman | 17 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 256 | 6.5 | 20.7 |
| Kurt Busch | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 238 | 22.3 | 21.6 |
| Brian Vickers | 11 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 332 | 16.1 | 22.5 |
| Juan Montoya | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26.2 | 27.4 |
DID YOU KNOW?
0Jimmie Johnson is synonymous with winning at Lowe's Motor Speedway but he is winless in his last seven starts at the track. His average finish in the last seven races at LMS is 12.2 with just two top-fives.
GORDON'S POLE WATCH
16Since his first full-time season in 1993, Jeff Gordon has won at least one pole in a season -- a streak that has lasted 16 years. Through 30 races in 2009, Gordon has yet to win a pole, putting the longest active streak in the Cup Series in jeopardy. At Charlotte, Gordon has started in the top five 18 times, including seven from the pole. His last pole at LMS was in 2000 but he did start third in this year's spring race.
NECESSITOUS NUMBERS
1Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to average a finish inside the top 10 at Lowe's with an average finish of 9.1.
3Three drivers currently average at least a fourth-place finish after four Chase races, something that a single driver has yet to do in Chase history. Juan Montoya and Mark Martin have an average finish of 3.5 and Jimmie Johnson has an average finish of 3.8.
4Juan Montoya has finished in the top five in all four Chase races, the only driver to achieve that mark in the history of the Chase.
4.4Average starting position of the race winner in the five Chase races at LMS. Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to win a Chase race at LMS outside the top five, when he started ninth in 2004.
6If Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon win Saturday's race, that driver will have six wins at LMS, tying Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for all time victories at the track.
50Saturday's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway will be Mark Martin's 50th points Cup race at the track. In 49 starts he has four wins, 17 top-fives and 22 top-10s.
75Congratulations to A.J. Allmendinger who will make his 75th Cup Series start Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
506Number of points Kasey Kahne has scored in the last three races at Lowe's, tops among all drivers. In those three races, Kahne has a win, a second and a seventh. Kyle Busch has the second-most points with 495 and Jeff Burton is third with 433.
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Sprint Cup Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | +1 | Jimmie Johnson | 5,728 | -- |
| 2. | -1 | Mark Martin | 5,716 | -12 |
| 3. | -- | Juan Montoya | 5,670 | -58 |
| 4. | -- | Tony Stewart | 5,644 | -84 |
| 5. | +2 | Jeff Gordon | 5,623 | -105 |
| 6. | -1 | Kurt Busch | 5,607 | -121 |
| 7. | +1 | Greg Biffle | 5,540 | -188 |
| 8. | +2 | Carl Edwards | 5,536 | -192 |
| 9. | -3 | Denny Hamlin | 5,509 | -219 |
| 10. | -1 | Ryan Newman | 5,505 | -223 |
| 11. | -- | Kasey Kahne | 5,422 | -306 |
| 12. | -- | Brian Vickers | 5,377 | -351 |
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