It was Martinsville that ruined Burton's '06 title run

At the halfway point of the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup, two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson has a seemingly insurmountable 69-point lead over second place Jeff Burton.

But as Burton will never forget, there's a reason why Chase challengers quake at the evil things that can sometimes happen on what appears at first glance to be an innocuous little paperclip-shaped .526 flat oval called Martinsville Speedway.

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Most drivers will tell you that there are two races in the 10-race Chase that will have the biggest bearing on the final standings: Talladega and Martinsville. And those two tracks couldn't be any more different.

A primal fear of Talladega seems to make some sense, since restrictor-plate racing at 190 mph creates massive drafts and the ensuing multi-car crashes. But what is it about Martinsville, which produces the slowest lap speeds on the circuit, that makes those same drivers cringe?

With 43 cars fighting over one racing groove, it's like a shopping center parking lot during Christmas. And one mistake, especially if it's by someone else, can ruin a good car and make for a long, exasperating day.

Consider the 2006 Subway 500, where fortunes changed dramatically for two drivers -- just as they might for those same two this weekend.

Coming off a third-place run at Charlotte, Burton had a 49-point lead on second place Matt Kenseth and 89 ahead of Kevin Harvick in third. Johnson was a distant seventh, 146 points behind.

With a win at Dover and four solid top-10 finishes, Burton appeared to have the inside track at earning his first Cup championship. However, Martinsville would prove to lead to Burton's eventual undoing.

Things went wrong right away. Starting 28th, Burton ran into the back of Joe Nemechek's Chevrolet while trying to avoid an accident on Lap 4. It damaged the hood pins on the No. 31 Chevy sufficiently enough for it to flap at speed, and Burton pitted under caution 60 laps later to have the team tape the hood in place (watch video).

At the tail end of the field on the ensuing restart, Burton couldn't work his way back through traffic in time to keep from being lapped by leader Jeff Gordon. For the next 100 laps, Burton tried in vain to get back on the lead lap, but things went from bad to worse following a restart on Lap 210. (Continued)