To all the nay sayers who argued that the Chase is nothing more than a sham, and a waste of time, the joke's on you. Never in anyone's wildest dreams would you have such a close Chase between the top two. To top it off, those top two are teammates. Jeff Gordon holds a nine point lead over teammate Jimmie Johnson with just three races to go in the Chase. The nine point difference is the closest in the history of the Chase, with three races to go. This week, the Chase takes the points leaders to Texas Motor Speedway, a track where neither driver has a victory. Things are heating up in, and no one is sure about who is going to get this Championship.
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have done decently at Texas, but neither have a win. Gordon has five top 5's and six top 10's at the track, while Johson has three top 5's and six top 10's. Statistically, Johnson has the advantage at Texas, but both drivers had lackluster performances overall. In the spring race, Gordon manged to get a fourth place finish, despite hitting the wall a few time. Johnson had a disappointing 38th place finish, as he was caught up in a wreck early on. Texas Motor Speedway may be the site of the first victory for either driver, but if statistics hold true, both will have poor performances at the track. Enter Clint Bowyer.
Clint Bowyer enters the eighth race in the Chase, 111 points behind Jeff Gordon. No one should count out Bowyer from this Championship. A solid sixth place finish at Atlanta kept him close in the standings, with the ability to pounce at any time. Again if statistics hold true, and both Gordon and Johnson have poor showings, Bowyer will be back in the thick of things before too long. His only victory comes at a mile track (New Hampshire) but Bowyer has been doing better and better at mile and a half ovals. Bowyer's consistancy will give him the oppertunity to make his last stand in search of a championship at Homestead.
Like Bowyer, you cannot count out Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, or Carl Edwards at Texas either. Jeff Burton won the spring race and is poised to sweep this season's races there. Burtonis the only repeat winner at Texas Motor Speedway and always has a strong showing as he has three top 5's and five top 10's. Stewart is in a slump, but can easily take the checkered flag at Texas for a second time. Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards both had strong showings at Atlanta. Though all three drivers are not likely to make a run for the championship with three races to go, they still are racing for pride, and a victory will give them the gratification they need.
