Hendrick teammates ones to Chase at Martinsville

So I was hanging out with a driver friend of mine the other day and the subject of the Chase came up. My question to him, "Is it over?" His response? "No way, dude. Way too much racing left and Talladega is two weeks away." That friend was Kyle Busch. So if you don't believe me when I tell you it's not over yet, will you believe Kyle Busch?

I realize you guys think it's boring to watch Jimmie Johnson win. It's hard not to have that "oh no, here we go again feeling." On some level, I agree with what most fans feel. But I also realize what Kyle was talking about -- anything can happen. Have problems hit the No. 48 team in past Chase races? No, which is exactly why I think there's an even better chance they will eventually. How long can the odds play in their favor? Eventually that will catch up with them. There are 1,962 miles left to race in 2009. My advice? Stay tuned.

TIER 1

Johnson

Martin

Jimmie Johnson (No Change)
Now having said all of the above, there's no doubt Johnson is the favorite to win the championship at this point. That doesn't mean it's a guarantee. In the grand plan, Johnson probably stole one Saturday night in Charlotte. The 48 team went into that race without much success lately at Lowe's Motor Speedway and were able to come out with max points and the W. All wins are important, but that was a huge one for Johnson. Why do you think he was so excited in his cool down lap? Jimmie normally doesn't act that way after a win.

This week at Martinsville they will come in as the favorite as well; sorry, race fans. It's pretty incredible when you look at the top Chasers, their record at Martinsville is pretty spectacular -- but Johnson's is just unbelievable. Johnson has 14 consecutive top-10 finishes at Martinsville; that just doesn't happen in this sport, especially in today's age of competitive racing. But the truly incredible part is that it just gets better. In his past six races at Martinsville, Johnson has five wins. And in his past seven races at Martinsville, he has led an unbelievable 1,216 laps.

Let me see ... yep, just checked my work and there are no typos. Sorry, 48 haters, if you are on your knees praying for this team to falter, it likely will not happen this weekend.

Mark Martin (No Change)
"It could have been a lot worse." That's what one member of Mark Martin's team told me this week after their restart run-in with Juan Montoya at Charlotte. To finish 17th was actually not that bad. Despite the one poor finish Martin sits just 90 points out of the Chase lead and while Martinsville has not been nearly as kind to Martin as it has to his teammate Johnson, he still has enjoyed his share of success there.

You will find this week that most of the teams are brining their New Hampshire car to race at Martinsville. There's enough time to turn it around before Phoenix in three weeks and all three tracks (New Hampshire, Martinsville and Phoenix) have enough of the same characteristics that it works out well. That would fit perfect for Martin, right? After all, he won the race at New Hampshire a few weeks back. Despite that, Alan Gustafson has decided to save his New Hampshire car for Phoenix and bring out a new car for this weekend. Martin was able to test this car last week only a few miles from his house at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.

For most teams, you might be worried if they brought out a brand new chassis this deep into the Chase (it is truly rare) but with the talent on this team, there's very little chance the new car experiment this weekend will backfire. Expect Martin to get back on the top 10 train this week. (Continued)