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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Chase Pressure Is On
Can Mark Martin keep his hot streak going this weekend?
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 25, 2009   Dover, DE
Mark Martin hopes to score a series high sixth win this weekend at Dover. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

When the Chase for the Sprint Cup was introduced for the 2004 season, NASCAR officials insisted it wasn’t a playoff system. In a playoff, after all, teams are eliminated round by round, while in the Chase every team theoretically could be in contention until the bitter end.

But in reality, it doesn’t work that way.

The Chase is a playoff, just an informal one. Most of the teams in the Chase remain mathematically alive deep into it. But, practically speaking, each race knocks at least one driver out of a realistic shot at winning the championship.

If you’re the guy on top of the points, each week you want to narrow the field of other drivers you have to race for the championship.

If you’re one of the guys in the back of the field, each week you want to narrow the point gap with the leaders.

This week, the Cup field is at Dover International Speedway, for the running of Sunday’s AAA 400, race No. 2 of 10 in the Chase. Mark Martin leads Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin by 35 points, with Juan Pablo Montoya fourth, 55 back. It’s a pretty good bet that at least two of the top three drivers now will be duking it out at the end of the season.

Obviously, everyone wants to win every race, but win, lose or draw, the leaders want to finish ahead of the guys in back and bury them now. Brian Vickers is eighth in points, 90 behind Martin. From there, the order is Greg Biffle (-92), Jeff Gordon (-102), Carl Edwards (-113) and Kasey Kahne (-161).

If Martin, Johnson or Hamlin wins at Dover on Sunday — or if all three finish in the top five — it will put tremendous pressure on the guys in the back just to stay in touch with the leaders.

Conversely, if the top three in points all have problems this week, it could virtually reset the Chase back to where it was before New Hampshire last weekend.

Martin, the New Hampshire winner, is cautious about reading too much into what’s happened so far. “You can't win one race or have a DNF and think that that one outcome is going to change everything,” said Martin. “Whether we did really good at (New Hampshire) or not so good, I was still going to leave that track knowing that was only 10 percent. I knew that a lot would be made of that race, but the reality is that you can't start getting a clear picture of the outcome of all of this until about four races to go. So winning was incredible, and I'm so glad that we got to experience that, but I don't think it's telling of what the next nine races will bring.”

Hamlin, too, said it’s important not to get too wrapped up in the early pressure.

“I’ve been in it three years and I haven’t won it any of those three years, so I know what not to do,” said Hamlin. “You can’t let one race get you down or bother you. You can go on a roll here in these last 10 races and really perform well. I kind of got impatient when I had a bad race early in the Chase the last couple years, and it has cost me towards the end of the year when I was trying to make up those points. I think you have to just maintain your confidence no matter what happens the first two or three races, and maintain your composure for the most part.”

Still, while Dover certainly won’t determine who will be this season’s champion, it likely will provide clarity on who won’t be the champion. And if the guys at the back of the Chase don’t pick it up on Sunday, they will be in deep trouble over the final eight races.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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