Johnson back in the Chase with win
Jimmie Johnson revived his Chase for the Cup chances with a strong win at Martinsville today
The Chevy driver, who started the season strong and then went into the Chase with only faint hope of contention, has shot up the points standing after winning the Subway 500 around the half-mile oval.
He now stands third in the standings, just 41 points adrift, with every reason to be confident ahead of the final four rounds of the year.
"I'm just happy to finish where we should have," said Johnson. "We've been running up front the last three or four races and haven't been able to close the deal. Today we did."
The race also saw a change of points leader - the first time it happens beyond the halfway-point in the chase.
Former leader Jeff Burton suffered a blow with an engine failure midway through the race, dropping down the standings to fifth.
"By no means do I think we are out of this thing," Burton said. "We won't lay down. We'll go to Atlanta feeling like we have as good a shot as anybody."
Burton is now 48 points behind new leader Matt Kenseth, who finished the race in 11th.
"It's great to be the leader, but we've got to start running good," Kenseth said. "It's still pretty wide open. It's going to be pretty exciting, I think, coming down to the last race.
"I'm glad we are in the lead and if we can get going back on these last four tracks like we were earlier in the year, I think we've got a shot at it."
The race was also kind to rookie Denny Hamlin, who finished second and moved up two places in the standings to second position, just 47 points adrift of Kenseth.
And with four rounds remaining, eight drivers are covered by just 99 points, making the 2006 Chase completely wide open.
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 500 Chase 2. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 500 Chase 3. Bobby Labonte Dodge 500 4. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 500 5. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 500 Chase 6. Casey Mears Dodge 500 7. Kasey Kahne Dodge 500 Chase 8. Jeff Green Chevrolet 500 9. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 500 Chase 10. Kyle Petty Dodge 500 11. Matt Kenseth Ford 500 Chase 12. Carl Edwards Ford 500 13. Ryan Newman Dodge 500 14. Tony Raines Chevrolet 500 15. David Stremme Dodge 500 16. Dale Jarrett Ford 500 17. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 500 18. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 500 Chase 19. Jamie McMurray Ford 500 20. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 500 21. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 500 22. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 500 Chase 23. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 500 24. Mark Martin Ford 500 Chase 25. David Ragan Ford 500 26. Ward Burton Chevrolet 500 27. Kurt Busch Dodge 496 28. David Gilliland Ford 496 29. Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 496 30. Scott Riggs Dodge 495 31. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 494 32. Greg Biffle Ford 486 33. Dave Blaney Dodge 485 34. Michael Waltrip Dodge 472 35. Reed Sorenson Dodge 460 36. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 453 37. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 416 38. Elliott Sadler Dodge 412 39. Mike Skinner Chevrolet 341 40. Travis Kvapil Chevrolet 332 41. Ken Schrader Ford 331 42. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 217 Chase 43. Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 209 CHASE FOR THE CUP - POINTS STANDING: Pos Driver Change Points 1. Matt Kenseth +1 5848 2. Kevin Harvick +1 5812 - 36 3. Jimmie Johnson +4 5807 - 41 4. Denny Hamlin +2 5801 - 47 5. Jeff Burton -4 5800 - 48 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -1 5754 - 94 7. Mark Martin -3 5752 - 96 8. Kasey Kahne 5749 - 99 9. Jeff Gordon +1 5707 -141 10. Kyle Busch -1 5677 -171
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