NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Johnson, Martin Favorites At PIR
Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin will throw down in Phoenix this weekend...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted November 12, 2009   Avondale, AZ
Jimmie Johnson has been to victory lane in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races three times in a row at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)

The last two weeks, I’ve gone decidedly against the grain in the weekly 5 To Watch column, predicting someone outside the top 12 in points would win at Talladega and a previous non-winner might break through to find victory lane at Texas.

As it turns out, Jamie McMurray, who is not in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, won at Talladega, while Kurt Busch won just his second race of the year at Texas.

This week? Fuggedtaboutit. No dogs allowed. Underdogs, that is.

This week is all about the favorites, the heavy hitters, the dominant drivers stepping up to the plate at Phoenix International Raceway and turning in stellar performances in Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, the penultimate race on the NASCAR calendar.

With the Chase suddenly alive again thanks to Jimmie Johnson’s 38th-place finish last week at Texas, two key factors will be at play in the Sonoran Desert. The first is that Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the rest of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team will want to show the world that Texas was a fluke and that they’re ready to claim a record fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship.

The second is that Martin, his crew chief Alan Gustafson and the No. 5 Hendrick squad will want to have a repeat of the spring race at PIR, which Martin dominated and won, and they’ll want to cut into Johnson’s points lead, just as they did last week.

With that in mind, here’s this week’s 5 To Watch:

1.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, Hendrick Motorsports — Sorry haters, but the No. 48 isn’t going to finish 38th again this weekend. Prior to Martin winning at PIR in the spring, Johnson won three consecutive races here at the one-mile oval.

Johnson’s record at PIR is stellar: An average finish of 5.417, with three victories, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in just 12 starts. And remember, this team doesn’t play defense and points race. They attack and try to win every time out.

“We had a really fast car in the spring and had some different issues on pit road and some bad luck with the timing of the caution that kept us back in the pack, and still ended up with a reasonable finish but we passed a lot of cars, and in our opinion felt like we had the strongest car,” said Johnson. “So going back to Phoenix is exciting for us, and it's one of the tracks … that I feel we can get a victory at, and hopefully make some more cool things take place in the points. For me it's a great track.”

2. MARK MARTIN, Hendrick Motorsports — Let’s not sugarcoat this: Martin needs to win and lead the most laps at PIR on Sunday, just like he did here in the spring race. And he absolutely has the car and the talent to do it. Along with Johnson, he’s one of only two drivers with a single-digit finishing average at Phoenix, with a 9.040.

“I love coming here. I have liked this place a lot,” said Martin. “I’ve had a lot of great races here. I’ve had great battles with Ernie Irvan here and this is a great place. The fans are so supportive of these races. It’s a good place to race. So, I’m glad to be here. I still have got my hands full for the top-six positions (in the points) with all those guys. Two guys that knocked me out of championships (Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart) are breathing down my neck so the race is still on.”



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