Martinsville a crucial stop for Bowyer and Stewart

Five down, five to go. Time and opportunity shrink by the day.

Urgency is palpable, especially for third-place Clint Bowyer and fourth-place Tony Stewart.

A quick reset: Four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon leads the Chase standings with Hendrick Motorsports teammate -- and reigning series champion -- Jimmie Johnson second, 68 points behind.

Follow with Bowyer, 78 points out, and Stewart, 198 out, and the call to action is apparent, beginning with Sunday's Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway (1 p.m. ET, ABC).

"Martinsville is the type of place where if something can happen, then it will happen to somebody, somehow," said Greg Zipadelli, crew chief for Stewart and the No. 20 team.

Martinsville's .526-mile surface confounds even the smoothest drivers with its tight turns, an unforgiving flatness and historic quirks (those interior concrete curbs).

"Running well at Martinsville is all about the attitude you have when you walk in the gate Friday morning. That will dictate whether you have a good weekend or a bad weekend. I really think it boils down to that," Zipadelli added.

"As soon as you get frustrated, you get behind. Martinsville is one of those places where you can't ask your driver to drive harder, because that's what'll get you in trouble. Track position has always been a big deal, so qualifying well is important, not only in terms of where you'll start on the racetrack, but for pit selection as well."

Bowyer may have the most daunting catch-up task despite his 10-point cushion over Stewart. The first-year Chase participant and second-year driver has an average finish of 18.7 in three career series starts at Martinsville. He finished 11th in April.

"Tension is going to be high when we get to Martinsville with the Chase as close as it is. Anything can happen so we're going to have to be careful," Bowyer said. "We finished 11th at Martinsville in the spring and we need to get more out of it this time. We knew we'd have to pick up our program and finish better at all these racetracks and I think we can go there this weekend and do better than we've done in the past."

Stewart also could be poised for a major gain. He excels at Martinsville, where he's won twice along with six top-fives, 10 top-10s and three poles.

"Patience seems to be the biggest variable that can hold you up at a place like Martinsville," Stewart said. "Needless to say, after going there a couple of times, I've learned how to be patient -- out of necessity, basically."

But a good day's racing is no guarantee of a good day in the points. The leaders will need bad days in order for Bowyer and Stewart and make up ground.

"If they finish first or second, we need to finish third or fourth," Gordon said.

Gordon's statistics bode well -- and likely awe -- at Martinsville, where he leads all active drivers with seven wins. He also has five poles, 17 top-fives and 23 top-10s there.

More facts in Gordon's favor: He's won two in a row, at Talladega Superspeedway two weeks ago and this past Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He and Jimmie Johnson each have a series-high six victories this season.

"We've had a great start to the Chase, but we can't let up," Gordon said. "Jimmie put together a great string of races last year to win the championship, and other Chase drivers have the ability to do that, as well.

Gordon also leads the series with six poles, 19 top-fives and 25 top-10s in '07.

And Johnson's not far behind. He owns three victories, has one pole, seven top-fives and 10 top-10s at Martinsville.

He's also eyeing the '07 series sweep, having won the April event there as he and Gordon battled door-to-door to the finish, with Johnson prevailing by 0.065 seconds -- the season's fourth closest finish to date.

"Jimmie and I had a great battle over the closing laps during the spring race here and I expect the 48 team to be strong again," Gordon said. "We just couldn't get the DuPont Chevrolet to turn the middle of the corners last time here, so we'll focus on making that better this weekend."

Given the two drivers' similar statistics at the half-mile track, it's not unrealistic to expect a repeat. And there is this: Gordon and Johnson have finished one-two on three other occasions this season.

"There's no doubt he wants to beat me, we saw that at Talladega," Johnson said of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. "He made a move and got it done."

Flexibility important for COT

The Car of Tomorrow returns to Martinsville, where it ran in only its second event in April. Sunday will mark the 15th of 16 races it will run this season before going full time in 2008.

Teams already have realized one of the new car's goals -- flexibility. The ability to use the same car at multiple (and different) tracks is a key component.

Five teams have used the same chassis in seven of the previous 14 events. And most recently at Talladega -- also the car's restrictor-plate debut -- five teams used a car that had raced at one or more of the new car's previous events.

Using the same car at different tracks, rather than building track-specific cars, is a major cost-containment plus of NASCAR's new car. Here's a quick look, to date, at this season's savings-come-to-life:

• Five teams have used the same chassis in seven of the previous COT events.

• Four teams have used the same chassis in eight of the previous COT events.

• Two teams have used the same chassis in nine of the previous COT events.

• One team has used the same chassis in 10 of the previous COT events.

Hendrick Motorsports has won seven of the 14 previous COT races. The Nov. 11 event at Phoenix International Raceway is this season's final COT event.

Petty to make historic start

Veteran driver Kyle Petty will take sole possession of fifth place on the all-time series start list Sunday when he takes the green flag at Martinsville Speedway.

Petty is currently tied with three-time series champion Darrell Waltrip with 809 career starts.

"Yeah, 809 starts, that's something I've not given much thought to. It just means I've been doing this for a long time," Petty said. "When I started racing in '79, if you would have told me that I would have more starts than Darrell Waltrip or some of these other guys I would have said 'no way.'

"As the years go by you really can't picture yourself doing anything else. So then they start to add up. It's not something I was conscience of. I just wanted to race. So, I don't think too much of it. I just think of the next race or what's happening now."

Petty also will make his 54th career start at Martinsville.

"I've been racing there, man, since the early 80's. I've had some good runs there. It's a great place for our family," Petty added. "My grandfather [Lee] winning, my father [Richard] winning and just all the blessings we've had at this track. Before I started driving I would be there watching and helping The King win his 15 races.

"It's great to reach another milestone in my career here. Maybe it means more here than another place that isn't as close to home. It's neat how things work out like that."

France to be honored

NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France will be inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame on Oct. 22 at Cipriani on 42nd Street in New York, during the 17th annual induction ceremonies. France is one of 12 inductees this year; the others include ABC World News Tonight anchor Charles Gibson and Univision CEO Joe Uva.

Established in 1991 by Broadcasting & Cable Magazine, the Hall of Fame membership includes, among others, Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow and Ronald Reagan.