Jeff Gordon is 41 points behind in the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup. Credit: Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Cross words: Darlington

Venerable 'Lady in Black' awaits Cup hopefuls as points tighten

If Jeff Gordon is to keep his streak alive, sweeping the final two races may be paramount. The previous four times Gordon has won the NASCAR championship, he led the Cup circuit in victories. (He also topped the series in wins in 1999 and '96.)

CHECKER AUTO PARTS 500 •   Results •   Standings VIDEO Victory Lane Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates his sixth win of 2004 Desert heat Harvick and Kahne get together after the race is over Final laps Two late cautions set up a three-lap sprint to the finish Double trouble Kenseth blows an engine for second week in a row Sadler in the wall Elliott Sadler cuts a tire and hits the wall on Lap 154 Bang-up job Several cars spin and crash on lap 128 Rim riding Kenseth blows a tire, bringing out the second caution

Currently Gordon is one of three drivers with at least five victories -- the most drivers to win that many since 1999 -- and he can tie Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson with seven checkered flags this season. If history is any indication, Gordon's best chance for No. 6 is at Darlington, where he has six wins in 23 races. At Homestead, Gordon is 0-for-5 -- but he does have four top-10s at the track.

Gordon says aggressiveness will be key during the final 901.8 miles.

"On one hand, you've got a guy (points leader Kurt Busch) who's got to be careful," cautions Gordon. "I kind of like the position I'm in right now because the No. 97 has to be more cautious than I do. So it's not a bad position to be in.

"Anybody who has a shot at (winning the championship) is going to be on edge and feel more pressure. They're going to be driving aggressive or they're going to be thinking about it too much and make a mistake."

One of Gordon's top competitors for the title is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who says he understands the significance of the series' top stars battling it out down the stretch.

"I have a lot of respect for (Gordon)," says Earnhardt, who won Sunday's race at Phoenix. "We've known each other for a very long time. When he first started racing in the Cup Series against my dad, my dad introduced him to me on pit wall at North Wilksboro. We didn't guarantee ourselves, but we knew there was a possibility of us racing each other one day.

"I don't think there's anybody else I'd rather beat," adds Earnhardt. "I would love to come to every race track and have it come down to a five-lap shootout between me and Jeff. What you're asking for was easy to find 15 or 20 years ago in the sport. But with the diversity you have amongst the whole field now, it's anybody's race every week.

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"It's hard to manufacture a rivalry -- even if we wanted one -- that the fans could enjoy. We can't attract a rivalry when me and him aren't racing for the lead every week. With what you have now in the sport you have guys you don't like. But even with the way things are right now you're not going to do enough to spark a rivalry with them."

Tell that to the fans, Junior, if Gordon beats you by less than 25 points for the title. Oliver "Conspiracy Theory" Stone couldn't write a script to rival that.

Red: Mark Martin -- A strong track record entering Phoenix (13 top-10s in 16 races at PIR) failed to propel the Cup contender closer to the lead. In fact, Martin finished 15th and is now 102 points behind leader Kurt Busch.

Yellow: Jimmie Johnson -- He failed to win his fourth consecutive race, but Johnson remains in the thick of the Chase. Now 48 points behind Busch, Johnson is one of four drivers within 50 points of the lead.

Green: Kasey Kahne was steady throughout Sunday race, finishing fifth for the second consecutive week. It was Kahne's 12th top-five showing of the year and he now leads Brendan Gaughan by 95 points in the rookie of the year standings.

"Kasey's not big enough to get out of his car and fight this battle."

Credit: Autostock

-- Kevin Harvick, discussing his post-race confrontation with Kasey Kahne after a weekend of rubbin' during the Busch and Cup races culminates with a pit road fender bender and a one-one-one conversation.

• With his 15th career Cup victory, Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved into a tie with Ernie Irvan for 40th on NASCAR's all-time wins list.

• Sunday was the 21st victory for Chevrolet this season, followed by Ford (9) and Dodge (4). Chevrolet now leads Ford 555-553 in all-time victories since 1949.

• All of the drivers involved in the Chase for the Cup are 35 years of age or younger except Mark Martin, who is 45. Kurt Busch is the youngest (25).

• Only 48 points separate the top four drivers with two races remaining. This is the closest points race with two races remaining since four drivers were separated by 113 points with two races remaining in 1992.

• Never in the history of the previous points system, introduced in 1975, has a championship battle been so close, with seven drivers 150 points or less from first.

• Six of the 10 drivers in the Chase for the Cup posted top-10 finishes at Phoenix.

• Kurt Busch is the only driver to score a top-10 finish in seven of the eight races in the Chase.

• Third-place finisher Jeff Gordon scored his 23rd top-10 finish in 2004. It was his 10th top-10 finish in 12 races at Phoenix.

Elliott Sadler is now 322 points behind. Credit: Autostock

• Three of the Chase drivers finished 21st or worse at Phoenix: Jeremy Mayfield (21st), Matt Kenseth (36th) and Elliott Sadler (38th). All three trail by more than 156 points and cannot overtake Kurt Busch at Darlington.

• There was at least one first-time winner in each of the past 10 seasons (1994-2003). With no first-time race winner through the first 34 races in 2004, that streak stands in jeopardy.

• Eight drivers who won in 2003 have yet to post a victory in 2004: Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Ricky Craven, Bill Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Robby Gordon and Terry Labonte. Jarrett has the longest season winning streak in jeopardy, having won a race in each of the last 11 years (1993-2003).

• A rookie of the year candidate has won at least one race in each of the last five years (1999-2003). No rookie has won in 2004.

Darlington Raceway

• Jimmie Johnson, the only active driver with top-five finishes in his last two races at Darlington, has four top-10 finishes in his five races at the track.

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• Kurt Busch has three top-10 finishes in seven races at Darlington. His 17.86 average finish ranks seventh among the top-10 drivers there.

• Mark Martin has 22 top-10 finishes in 37 races at Darlington, the most top-10 finishes by a Chase driver at the South Carolina superspeedway.

• Jeff Gordon has finished 32nd or worse in his last three races at Darlington, including two DNFs.

• Terry Labonte won his first race at Darlington (Sept. 1, 1980) and won his last race there (Aug. 31, 2003).

• Ryan Newman has scored four consecutive Bud Poles (Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta and Phoenix). The last driver to score five consecutive poles was Cale Yarborough in 1980. Bobby Allison is the only other driver to post five consecutive poles (1972).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS Chase Drivers at Darlington No. Driver Avg. Finish 1. J. Johnson 9.20 2. R. Newman 9.40 3. T. Stewart 12.18 4. M. Martin 12.73 5. J. Gordon 13.52 6. E. Sadler 15.27 7. K. Busch 17.86 8. D. Earnhardt Jr. 18.10 9. J. Mayfield 18.40 10. M. Kenseth 21.60

• Darlington races have been won from the pole 19 times, more than any other starting position. Only five drivers have won at Darlington from a starting position further back than 15th.

• Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 races at Darlington and is tied with Junior Johnson for the most among all owners. Hendrick Motorsports has won three of the last four Darlington races, each with a different driver. Jeff Gordon won this race in 2002; Terry Labonte won the 2003 Mountain Dew Southern 500 and Jimmie Johnson won there in the spring this season.

• Kyle Petty has competed in 46 races at Darlington and has never scored a top-five finish.

• Rusty Wallace has not won at Darlington in his 41 races and is just one of three drivers (Kyle Petty and Dave Marcis) with more than 40 starts without a victory at the track.

From the "We couldn't make this up if we tried" department:

Individual race tickets for the April and June events at Texas Motor Speedway went on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday -- and fans were lining up more than 53 hours before ticket windows opened.

Glen Kadlacek from Riesel, Texas, was the first to arrive at 3:45 a.m. Thursday. James Schneider of Sherman, Texas, came about three hours later to claim the outside pole position.

Third in line was Suzy McGhee of Rowlett, Texas. "My husband told me I should have come out here on Wednesday night to be first in line," she said. "I should have listened to him."

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for NASCAR.COM. The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.