DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings started with drivers bunched closely together points-wise. Three races into the Chase, little has changed.
Going into Sunday’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway, the man everyone is trying to catch continues to be Mark Martin (No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet), as he is 18 points ahead of second-place, Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet), the three-time defending series champion. Martin has posted a series-leading and career-high seven poles plus five victories.
But don’t be fooled, the rest of the top 12 are not letting Martin just walk away with the title.
A total of 190 points separate first place to 11th in the Chase standings, and only 99 points separate first to sixth – the closest points margin after the first three races of the Chase since the format’s inception in 2004.
And to boot, three different Chase contenders have won the first three races of the Chase – (Martin, New Hampshire; Johnson, Dover; and Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet), Kansas).
“It just shows that you're going to have to be on for 10 weeks to win this thing, and if you have a bad day, there's going to be guys that are going to capitalize on it,” said Stewart.
This weekend, Auto Club Speedway welcomes its inaugural Chase race, and returning race winner Johnson could benefit. Johnson is tied with Gordon and Matt Kenseth (No. 17 R&L Carriers Ford) for a series-high three wins at ACS.
