By the Numbers: M'ville

Gordon at right place to get back on track, keep streak

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
October 17, 2008
02:34 PM EDT

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The king of Martinsville? That title could be up for direct debate as this political season approaches its peak. And quite simply, there are two candidates: Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson has won three of the last four races at Martinsville, but Gordon has seven victories in more than twice the number of starts. But perhaps the most crucial statistic among the two: they are the only drivers to win the fall race at Martinsville during the Chase era (see below).

Entering Sunday's TUMS QuikPak 500 (1 p.m. ET, ABC), Johnson and Gordon couldn't be in more different camps. Johnson is the points leader by 69 over Jeff Burton, and he's chasing a third consecutive Cup Series championship. Gordon, however, is simply chasing his first victory of the season, risking an end to his streak of seasons with at least two victories dating back to his rookie campaign of 1993.

After last week's eighth-place finish, Gordon, 245 points out in eighth place, declared his campaign for a fifth championship officially over. But as for Martinsville, right now it's too close to call.

Chase Drivers at Martinsville

1. Jimmie JohnsonOnly once (his track debut in 2002) has Johnson failed to score a top-10 finish at Martinsville in his 13 starts. His four victories have come in the last eight races there, including three of the last four. He was fourth in the spring.

2. Jeff BurtonBurton once finished in the top 10 in 11 of 13 Martinsville races between 1997 and 2003. He hasn't finished worse than 12th in the last three races there and was third in the spring.

3. Greg BiffleThe key number for Biffle: One. He's had just one top-10 finish in 11 Martinsville starts, a seventh-place showing in this race last year. He finished 20th in the spring.

4. Carl EdwardsThe spring finish of ninth was Edwards' only top-10 in eight starts at Martinsville. He has never led at the half-mile track.

5. Clint BowyerBowyer has never led a lap at Martinsville, but he has managed to turn things around after a dismal rookie showing (22nd and 23rd). Since then he was 11th, ninth and 10th.

6. Kevin HarvickHarvick hasn't led at Martinsville in the last seven races, and in that span he has three top-10s. He was 12th in the spring race.

7. Tony StewartStewart has two victories at Martinsville and has led 1,193 laps in his 19 starts there, although he's been up front for just 11 laps in the last four races (all in the spring 2006 event). Five of the last six races there have resulted in top-10 finishes.

8. Jeff GordonThe statistics speak volumes for Gordon and his seven victories at Martinsville. Four of those have come in the last 11 races. Only once in the last seven races has he finished worse than third, and that time it was fifth (fall 2006).

9. Kyle BuschIt's a pattern for Busch at Martinsville: bad race (39th) followed by two good ones (ninth, fifth) & bad race (18th) followed by two good ones (fourth, fourth) & bad race (38th) followed by &

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.Junior has led 758 laps at Martinsville and routinely has a top-five car. The problem is finishing there. In the last four races, he has two top-10s (fifth and sixth) and two finishes of 20th or worse (22nd and 23rd).

11. Matt KensethKenseth was fifth in this race a year ago, but followed it up with a 30th-place finish in the spring. He has led only one lap in the last five Martinsville races.

12. Denny HamlinHamlin comes to Martinsville as winner of the spring race. Aside from a crash in the 2006 spring race, he has finished in the top 10 in the rest of his starts at Martinsville.

Five Chase Facts

3Martinsville Chase races that have been won by a Chase driver, all of which were won by Jimmie Johnson. Jeff Gordon won the 2005 race but finished 11th in points, the first position outside of the Chase in which only the top 10 were included.

6Consecutive top-10 finishes for Jeff Burton heading into this weekend's race. Prior to that, he went 11 consecutive weeks with just one top-10 finish.

7Position Jimmie Johnson was in the points with five races to go in 2006, 146 points out of the lead (Jeff Burton). Johnson won the title by 56 points. Two drivers (Burton -69, Greg Biffle -86) are within 146 points this year with five races remaining.

8Victories in the last 11 Martinsville races by either Jeff Gordon (four) or Jimmie Johnson (four).

15.5Percent of laps Jimmie Johnson has led during the 13 races he has competed in at Martinsville, or 1,006 of the 6,506 laps.

Non-Chase Nugget

12.3Average finish for Juan Montoya in three Martinsville starts, the best average finish for drivers not in the Chase. In three races, he has finished 16th, eighth and 13th.

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Martinsville Speedway

Chase Driver Statistics

Pos.	Driver	Starts	Wins	Avg. Finish

1.	Jimmie Johnson	13	4	6.0
2.	Jeff Burton	28	1	14.5
3.	Greg Biffle	11	0	23.6
4.	Carl Edwards	8	0	19.1
5.	Clint Bowyer	5	0	15.0
6.	Kevin Harvick	14	0	18.8
7.	Tony Stewart	19	2	11.9
8.	Jeff Gordon	31	7	7.0
9.	Kyle Busch	7	0	16.7
10.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	17	0	14.3
11.	Matt Kenseth	17	0	16.5
12.	Denny Hamlin	6	1	9.5

Sprint Cup Series

Unofficial Standings

Pos.	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind

1.	--	Jimmie Johnson	5878	Leader
2.	+2	Jeff Burton	5809	-69
3.	--	Greg Biffle	5792	-86
4.	-2	Carl Edwards	5710	-168
5.	--	Clint Bowyer	5693	-185
6.	--	Kevin Harvick	5671	-207
7.	--	Tony Stewart	5650	-228
8.	--	Jeff Gordon	5633	-245
9.	+2	Kyle Busch	5552	-326
10.	--	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	5524	-354
11.	-2	Matt Kenseth	5518	-360
12.	--	Denny Hamlin	5498	-380