Cross' Words: Charlotte (cont'd)

Say What?

"Yep, we're going to honeymoon at Martinsville. We'll eat some Martinsville [hot] dogs and maybe mix up a margarita or something on the bus."
-- Greg Biffle, who enters wedded bliss with Nicole Lunders on Wednesday

Figuratively Speaking

45 -- Jeff Burton's points lead over Matt Kenseth at the halfway point of the 2006 Chase.

Burton's engine grenaded at Martinsville and as a result he fell to fifth in points, 48 behind Kenseth.

11 -- Points lead for Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart -- tied ahead of Greg Biffle -- after Charlotte in 2005.

Smoke finished second at Martinsville and never relinquished the top spot en route to his second Cup title.

24 -- Kurt Busch's points lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. after five races during the inaugural Chase in 2004.

KB posted a fifth-place finish at Martinsville and expanded his lead to 96 points over second-place Jeff Gordon.

Up Next

Subway 500 | Martinsville | 1 p.m. ET Sunday | ABC
Race No. 32 of 36 | Get tickets | Book travel

• Defending race winner: Jimmie Johnson
• Most victories at the track: Jeff Gordon (7)
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (6.6 in 11 starts)
Active drivers only

Sound off

• This week's topic
Let's not jump to conclusions but if Jeff Gordon wins his fifth Cup championship, where does it rank?

He has four titles under the pre-Chase format, and the argument remains that he won those championships during a time when the field -- top to bottom -- was stronger than the 1950-80s.

If he wins the 2007 Chase, it could be argued that he did it against a concentrated field of the best drivers the sport has ever seen.

Would this year's title hold more cache, or do any of his previous four outweigh the Chase title?

Surf over and weigh in on the blog.

• Last week's topic
Five of the 12 drivers in the Chase are more than 250 points behind leader Jeff Gordon. Is it too early to eliminate these drivers? If not, which driver is most likely to make a charge during the final six races?

racefann
You have three guys contending and one on the fringe ... everyone else is on the outside looking in, and they know it ... no one has ever made up that large of a deficit, and no one is on that type of a roll this year ... Stewart is a long shot, but has the determination to make it ... and he's the only one within the points distance that can ... the rest are gone.

VasMikey
The next three races will determine I still think it is too early to make any real 'written in stone' predictions. The next three races will either seal it for the Hendrick duo or tighten things up for the top five in the Chase.

24jeff
I hope it will be the 24 with the championship, but that darn 48 keeps getting in the way. I think the top four is who it will come down to. I'll have to say from fifth on back have no chance, but will still make a run at it.

chrisnoe
I think this is going to come down to the 24 and 48 in a Hendrick showdown. Although Gordon has been the points leader most of the year, I don't think Johnson wants to be the bridesmaid at the end of the year.

242win7
With two more Car of Tomorrow races left in the year, it is down to the the No. 24, 48 and 07. Jimmie and Jeff have the COT figured out too well for anyone else to get close to them. Take into consideration the motor problems at RCR, and the 07 could very well be on the outside looking in after next Saturday. Should be a good battle between Jeff and Jimmie to the end though, with Jeff edging him by 30 points or so when it is over!

Read all the responses ... (Continued)