Johnson talk a familiar storyline at Chase time (cont'd)

Who can knock him off?

Aside from Martin, it is beginning to look like there are only a handful of guys who truly stand ready to challenge Johnson's supremacy during these final eight races of the 2009 season.

But the fact that they are there at least is a compelling aspect that must be appreciated. No one is going to simply hand Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet team another title, and that alone makes the looming battles well worth watching even in a crowded sports environment that last Sunday included a Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson duel in golf, and lots of entertaining regular-season action in the National Football League.

Sitting third in the standings after another strong fourth-place finish at Dover is Juan Montoya. But it's getting old saying he's going to reach Victory Lane on an oval sooner rather than later when, in fact, it's growing quite late. He's right there, but needs to step it up one more notch -- the last, most difficult notch -- to truly be regarded as a challenger.

And yes, Montoya will have to win a race to win the title. Consistency is wonderful, but Johnson and others are too good to allow a driver who doesn't get to Victory Lane at least once in these final races to overcome them.

Kurt Busch is fourth in the standings and has been right around there -- or even a little better -- virtually the entire season. Yet no one has really noticed him. Why? See the aforementioned comment about needing to win races. He won at Atlanta in Johnson-like dominating fashion in the spring, but will need to find that magic again at least once in the final eight to win what would be his second championship.

After Montoya, who is a mere 65 points off the pace being set by Martin and currently 55 behind Johnson, and Busch (75 behind Martin, 65 behind Johnson and 10 behind Montoya), there is a bit of a drop-off.

What about Tony?

Sitting in fifth, however, is a driver to watch. It's Tony Stewart, who was the points leader at the end of the 26-race "regular season" and sits 106 points behind Martin. Don't count him out, and what a compelling story he already has been in his first season as owner/driver for his Stewart-Hass Racing No. 14 Chevrolet.

No offense, Jimmie, but strong arguments could be made that having Stewart win his third title would do more for drawing interest to the sport than -- ho-hum -- Johnson winning yet another one.

The same could be said for Montoya winning. Simply having him contend is fulfillment of a NASCAR dream from the day Montoya decided to join the stock-car ranks -- supposedly, hopefully, bringing a flock of Hispanic fans into the fold with him. If that hasn't exactly happened yet, maybe Montoya winning a championship -- or at least contending for one down to the end -- will do it.

Then there is Martin. He remains the best story of all at age 50 and, after all, he's still in the lead with eight to go even if Johnson all along loomed as the odds-on favorite.

Of the rest, while none have been mathematically eliminated as yet, the only ones who seem to have shown enough life to have even a remote chance of surging to the top by the end of the Chase are Denny Hamlin, who is in sixth and 108 points behind, and Jeff Gordon, who is in eighth and 122 off the pace.

But out there in front of them, and right on Martin's tail, lurks Johnson. What the driver of the famed No. 48 reminded them all of Sunday was that he won't make many mistakes from here on in, and neither will his team.

They'll all have to be better than that over the final eight-race stretch, and that's going to be a tall order. Let's hope that if Johnson eventually gets out front and can't be caught, enough of America will remain interested and watching.

The opinions expressed are those solely of the writer.

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.

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