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Johnson moves one step closer to Cup Series history (cont'd)
In case you missed it ...
Casey Mears wasn't the only non-Chaser to crack the top 10 on Sunday. Martin Truex Jr. finished 10th, his second top-10 in the past six races and 11th top-20 in the past 15 races.
Brian Vickers' solid season continued with an 11th-place run at Martinsville. He's finished 11th or 12th five times this year. He's finished 13th-15th three other times. The team is thisclose to having at least 15 top-10 runs. Instead, it has six.
David Ragan continues to chug along, picking off top-15 finishes and making hay among the non-Chase drivers. He has three top-10 finishes in the six playoff races and has 763 points -- more than five title contenders.
| Rank | Driver | Races | W | T5 | T10 | Avg. Finish | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4.0 | 1,033 |
| 2 | Jeff Burton | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7.0 | 911 |
| 3 | Greg Biffle | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8.0 | 924 |
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9.7 | 821 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10.3 | 817 |
| 6 | Carl Edwards | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12.2 | 825 |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12.5 | 798 |
| 8 | David Ragan | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13.3 | 763 |
| 9 | Tony Stewart | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16.2 | 735 |
| 10 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18.0 | 684 |
Moving on to Atlanta
| What | Pep Boys Auto 500 |
| When | 2:20 p.m. ET Sunday |
| TV | ABC, 1 p.m. ET |
| Radio | PRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 1:15 ET |
Yep, Jimmie Johnson is the favorite again this week: three wins, eight top-five finishes and nine top-10s in 14 starts with a series-best 9.6 average finish among active drivers.
But if there's a dark horse candidate for Victory Lane, it's gotta be Bobby Labonte, who leads the field with six victories in 31 starts with 12 top-fives and 13 top-10s.
On the other end of the spectrum, don't get caught off guard at first glance for Kasey Kahne: one win, four top-five finishes and five top-10s. His stats in the fall race are uglier than a bowling shoe: one top-five, two top-10s and an average finish of 21.7.
AMS is the epitome of what has plagued Matt Kenseth during his career. Kenseth is one of the top drivers at Atlanta, but you'd never know it because he doesn't run out front (which means he never gets on TV).
| Rank | Driver | Races | W | T5 | T10 | Avg. Finish | Laps Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 10 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 4.9 | 344 |
| 2 | Tony Stewart | 10 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 8.4 | 554 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 11.6 | 387 |
| 4 | Jeff Gordon | 10 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12.0 | 169 |
| 5 | Matt Kenseth | 10 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 12.6 | 12 |
