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Jimmie Johnson won the 2006 title despite a 39th-place finish to open the Chase.A strong run at NHMS nice, but not needed, for title
Four of five Chase champs have finished in the top six
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The Chase is finally upon us and up first is 300 miles at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Sylvania 300 (1 p.m. ET, ABC). Momentum is vital for the 12 drivers in the Chase and history has shown that a good start at New Hampshire will lead to good things.
That's not to say you have to win at New Hampshire to win the Chase, although it did help Kurt Busch in the inaugural Chase when his only win came at the Magic Mile and he went on to win the championship. In all, four of the five New Hampshire Chase races have seen the eventual champion finish in the top six in this first race, with three of them finishing first or second.
The only exception was Jimmie Johnson in 2006, when he finished 39th but rallied to win the title after a string of five consecutive top-two finishes.
Another interesting fact about the New Hampshire Chase race: in the Chase era, this race has been won by a driver competing for the title. So expect Victory Lane to be visited by a Chaser and if a Chase driver has a bad finish, he can lean on Johnson for support.
Inside the Data
Chase drivers at New Hampshire
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | 7 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 52 | 9.6 | 8.3 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 15 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 274 | 8.5 | 9.9 |
| Mark Martin | 25 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 397 | 14.8 | 11.1 |
| Jeff Gordon | 29 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 3 | 1205 | 10.0 | 11.3 |
| Tony Stewart | 21 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 976 | 11.9 | 12.2 |
| Carl Edwards | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 15.8 | 13.5 |
| Ryan Newman | 15 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 537 | 7.6 | 14.2 |
| Kurt Busch | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 326 | 14.6 | 14.8 |
| Kasey Kahne | 11 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 16.2 | 16.0 |
| Greg Biffle | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 85 | 14.9 | 18.1 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20.4 | 20.6 |
| Brian Vickers | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 20.9 | 23.1 |
DID YOU KNOW?
4Four drivers have competed in every Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek.
NECESSITOUS NUMBERS
1Juan Montoya is the only driver who hasn't won a Cup race on one of the final 10 race tracks. Four drivers have 10 or more wins on the Chase tracks: Jeff Gordon (32), Jimmie Johnson (26), Mark Martin (17) and Tony Stewart (13).
2Two drivers have pulled off the season sweep at New Hampshire: Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kurt Busch (2004). Joey Logano will look to add his name to the list Sunday.
2Two drivers average a finish inside the top-10 at New Hampshire: Denny Hamlin (8.3) and Jimmie Johnson (9.9).
4Number of poles for Ryan Newman at New Hampshire, the all-time leader at the track.
6.2Average starting position of the winners in the Chase race at New Hampshire. Two of the five races have been won from the pole with the other three from the seventh, ninth and 13th position.
9The past nine races at New Hampshire have produced nine different winners.
14Jimmie Johnson has won 14 of the 50 Chase races run. The next closest is Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle with six.
100Congratulations to Juan Montoya who will make his 100th Cup Series start Sunday at New Hampshire. He has one win, one pole, seven top-fives and 21 top-10s in 99 career starts.
510Number of points Kurt Busch has scored in the past three New Hampshire races, tops among all drivers. In those three races, Busch has a win, a third- and a sixth-place finish. Jimmie Johnson has the second-most points (466) and Tony Stewart is third (441).
750Congratulations to Michael Waltrip who will be making his 750th Cup Series start Sunday at New Hampshire. Waltrip ranks eighth all time in Cup Series starts, trailing seventh-place Bill Elliott by 54.
Also
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Sprint Cup Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | +9 | Mark Martin | 5,040 | -- |
| 2. | -1 | Tony Stewart | 5,030 | -10 |
| 3. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 5,030 | -10 |
| 4. | -- | Denny Hamlin | 5,020 | -20 |
| 5. | +1 | Kasey Kahne | 5,020 | -20 |
| 6. | -4 | Jeff Gordon | 5,010 | -30 |
| 7. | -- | Kurt Busch | 5,010 | -30 |
| 8. | +5 | Brian Vickers | 5,010 | -30 |
| 9. | -4 | Carl Edwards | 5,000 | -40 |
| 10. | -1 | Ryan Newman | 5,000 | -40 |
| 11. | -3 | Juan Montoya | 5,000 | -40 |
| 12. | -1 | Greg Biffle | 5,000 | -40 |
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