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The Chase champions all had the points lead entering Phoenix and all five left in the top spot en route to the title.History shows points leader doesn't slip at PIR
In Chase era, leader has always finished in top 10
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If Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon are hoping for a slip from the points leader in the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC), history shows they better not get too excited.
Not only is Jimmie Johnson the top active driver at Phoenix with three wins, seven top-fives, 10 top-10s and a worst finish of 15th in 12 Cup Series starts, but in the Chase era, the points leader at Phoenix finished in the top 10 every race.
Kurt Busch finished 10th in 2004 to keep his points lead heading to Darlington. In 2005, Tony Stewart came home fourth and extended his points lead en route to his second Cup championship.
And then there's Johnson.
In 2006, he finished second and then won the Chase races in 2007 and 2008 en route to his three championships.
Inside the Data
Chase drivers at Phoenix International Raceway
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmie Johnson | 12 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 506 | 11.2 | 5.4 |
| Mark Martin | 25 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 1 | 833 | 11.4 | 9.0 |
| Tony Stewart | 15 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 312 | 14.4 | 10.1 |
| Denny Hamlin | 8 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 93 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| Jeff Gordon | 21 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 247 | 8.7 | 10.9 |
| Kurt Busch | 13 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 571 | 14.8 | 12.5 |
| Carl Edwards | 10 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 87 | 11.8 | 13.0 |
| Greg Biffle | 11 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 349 | 13.6 | 14.9 |
| Matt Kenseth | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 154 | 20.8 | 19.1 |
| Brian Vickers | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 12.8 | 19.3 |
| Kasey Kahne | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 19.5 |
| Juan Montoya | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 21.4 |
DID YOU KNOW?
2Mark Martin has out-pointed Jimmie Johnson twice in 11 races at Phoenix. In 2002, Martin had a 42-point advantage and in this year's spring race, Martin led the most laps and won while Johnson finished fourth to give Martin a 30-point edge. The biggest point gain Johnson has made on Martin at PIR came in this race last year when Johnson led the most laps and won and Martin finished 14th.
GORDON'S POLE WATCH
17Congratulations to Jeff Gordon, who extended his pole streak to 17 consecutive Cup seasons with the fastest lap in qualifying at Texas. Gordon ranks third all time for consecutive years with a pole. David Pearson tops the list with poles 20 consecutive years and Richard Petty is second with 18.
NECESSITOUS NUMBERS
1Only one time in NASCAR history has a champion made up more than 73 points to win the title with two races remaining. Alan Kulwicki trailed Bill Elliott by 85 points with two to go and went on to win the title.
2Two drivers entered in Sunday's race average a finish inside the top-10 at Phoenix: Jimmie Johnson (5.4) and Mark Martin (9.0).
4Assuming Jimmie Johnson starts the final two races, four drivers are mathematically eliminated from the championship. The most any driver can make up is 322 points in the final two races and Ryan Newman (-324), Kasey Kahne (-399), Carl Edwards (-440) and Brian Vickers (-520) all fall below that.
4Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch have four consecutive top-15 finishes, tops among all drivers. Burton is coming off a ninth at Texas and Busch finished 11th.
4.6Average finish for Kevin Harvick in the past three fall races at Phoenix. He has three top-sevens including a victory. That is in contrast to a 19.6 average finish in the past three spring races with a 10th, 19th and a 30th.
7.6Average starting position of the winners in the five Chase races at Phoenix. Three of the five came from top-10 starting positions including two from the front row. Including spring races, three of the past six have been won from the pole.
10Chevrolet has dominated at Phoenix recently winning 10 of the past 11 races. The one slipup came in 2005 when Kurt Busch won in a Roush Ford. Dodge and Toyota are still searching for their first victory at the track.
150Congratulations to Denny Hamlin who will be making his 150th Cup Series start Sunday at Phoenix. In 149 starts, Hamiln has seven wins, 45 top-fives, 77 top-10s and has made the Chase in all four of his full-time seasons.
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Sprint Cup Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 6,297 | Leader |
| 2. | -- | Mark Martin | 6,224 | -73 |
| 3. | -- | Jeff Gordon | 6,185 | -112 |
| 4. | +2 | Kurt Busch | 6,126 | -171 |
| 5. | -- | Tony Stewart | 6,119 | -178 |
| 6. | -2 | Juan Montoya | 6,061 | -236 |
| 7. | -- | Greg Biffle | 6,050 | -247 |
| 8. | +3 | Denny Hamlin | 5,975 | -322 |
| 9. | -1 | Ryan Newman | 5,973 | -324 |
| 10. | -1 | Kasey Kahne | 5,898 | -399 |
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