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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Kansas Race Tightens Chase
The NASCAR Sprint Cup points race got a little bit more interesting in Kansas...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 04, 2009   Kansas City, KS
Mark Martin is still the leader in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points after the Price Chopper 400 Presented By Kraft Foods at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

In the first two races of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson threatened to run away with the 2009 Sprint Cup championship.

But Tony Stewart's victory in Sunday’s Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway, combined with nine Chasers finishing in the top 10 on the day, jumbled the points race a bit.

This time out, Martin finished seventh and Johnson ninth, which means Martin’s lead is now 18 points over Johnson, 51 over fourth-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya and 67 up on race-winner Stewart.

Then it’s Kurt Busch (-91), Denny Hamlin (-99), Jeff Gordon (-103) and Greg Biffle (-114).

But the drivers in positions 9-12 are all now more than one full race behind Martin, as the maximum amount of points that can be made up in one race are 161. The bottom four now include Ryan Newman (-164), Carl Edwards (-165), Kasey Kahne (-190) and Brian Vickers (-250).

For his part, points leader Martin said he and his team missed the setup a little bit, as the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet finished outside the top five for the first time since the second Michigan race back in August.

But because Johnson finished behind him, Martin actually picked up 8 points, and now has led the Chase for all three races now.

“We were off a little on speed,” said Martin, who nevertheless seemed satisfied with his result.

“You know, it’s really great when you have a race team that can fight and scratch and battle and come up with a seventh-place finish when you miss it a little bit,” said Martin. “And we did. We tried to throw some magic at it today, and it was still just a little bit off some of the guys. But it was a great fought battle, and I’m really proud of the guys and the result.”

Martin said he left nothing on the table. “We finished as high as we could,” he said. “We raced our guts out. And that’s what you’ve got to do all year long.”

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

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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