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CUP: Martin, Gordon Have Renewed Hope
Written by: Tom Jensen   
11/08/2009
Fort Worth, TX
 
Mark Martin trimmed 111 points from Jimmie Johnson’s point lead after his fourth top-five finish of the Chase Sunday at Texas. (Photo: LAT Photographic) » More Photos

Jimmie Johnson’s Lap 3 crash at Texas Motor Speedway breathed new life into what had been a moribund Chase for the Sprint Cup, opening the door just a little for his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon.

Martin went on to take advantage of Johnson’s 38th-place finish at TMS, coming home fourth in the Dickies 500 behind Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Gordon, who struggled with his handling over the second half of the race, finished 13th at Texas.

Still, given that Martin trimmed 111 points from Johnson’s lead, he had ample reason to be positive. “It’s not over yet,” Martin said firmly, smiling on pit road after the race.

Now, with just two races left in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Johnson unofficially leads Martin by 73 points and Gordon by 112. Race-winner Busch is fourth in points, but at 171 markers in back of Johnson is more than one full race behind.

“The race is still on,” said an enthusiastic Martin, who earned his fourth top-five finish of the Chase, but his first in the last four races. “And it’s a hard-fought battle. We’re giving it our all. We’re racing our guts out every week.”

One of the things that had Martin fired up is that next Sunday’s race is at Phoenix International Raceway, where he won and led the most laps in the spring, while Johnson finished fourth.

Still, Johnson does have a huge advantage: If he finishes fourth or better in the final two races of the season, he will clinch his fourth consecutive championship, regardless of what Martin or Gordon does.

In Texas this weekend, Martin struggled during practice on Saturday and early in Sunday’s race, before a series of adjustments by crew chief Alan Gustafson got the car to Martin’s liking. “We ran good,” Martin said. “About midway through the race, Alan and the guys hit on something. After that, I said don’t change anything.”

But if Martin was enthusiastic about picking up the pace,
Gordon was frustrated yet again at a track where he historically has struggled mightily. Yes, he won here in the spring, but more often than not, Texas has been one of his worst tracks, and this week was no exception.

“I’m just terrible at this place,” said Gordon “… I don’t have a real feel for this place. I don’t know what it is.”

Asked to assess his 13th-place finish, Gordon said, “I think more than anything it was a missed opportunity. … It was a missed opportunity. I’m bummed about that.”

As for Johnson, he’s been down this road before. Last year in this race, he came to Texas with a 183-point lead, finished 15th and left with a mere 106-point lead, as race-winner Carl Edwards gained on him sharply. So afterwards, Johnson was confident about his chances.

“We still have a nice points lead,” Johnson said after his disappointing race. “We’ll dust ourselves off and go to Phoenix.”

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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