Jimmie Johnson continues to out-do himself.
Two years ago, in 2007, Johnson had a Chase for the ages, winning four consecutive races during one remarkable stretch. In that Chase, he averaged a Driver Rating of 114.1.
But one year later, he eclipsed that mark. In 2008, he won three races and went into the final race with a robust 141-point lead. That Chase, he bested 2007, posting a Driver Rating of 116.2.
Now this year, he’s even stronger. Johnson’s Driver Rating over the first nine Chase races is 117.2. If that stays true this weekend at Homestead, it will be the highest Chase Driver Rating since the inception of Loop Data in 2005.
Statistically, this has been a landmark Chase. Here are a few key Loop Data categories, and how 2009 compares to past seasons:
Average Running Position: In a testament to how stout this year’s Chase field was, the top two Average Running Position figures since 2005 are from the 2009 Chase – and neither are Johnson’s. They belong to Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Over the first nine races, Martin has an Average Running Position of 7.9 and Gordon has an 8.1. The top season-ending Average Running Position belongs to Tony Stewart, which had an 8.5 in 2005. With solid Homestead races, both Martin and Gordon can eclipse that mark.
Fastest Laps Run: Like Driver Rating, Johnson’s name is peppered all over this category. Also like the Driver Rating, he has crushed previous benchmarks in 2009. In the first nine Chase races, Johnson has 547 Fastest Laps Run. That’s the highest number in the past five Chases, by a wide margin. The previous high for Fastest Laps Run in a Chase was also by Johnson, last season. In 2008, he had 379. In other words, Johnson has turned the fastest laps 168 more times in nine races than he did in 10 races last season.
Laps in the top 15: This is the rare category where Johnson doesn’t already hold the lead. In fact, if the season ended today, his Chase Laps in the Top 15 (2,356) number would rank 21st. A lot of that has to do with his Texas race, where he ran just two laps among the top 15. The 2009 leader in the category is Mark Martin, with 2,563. With a strong Homestead race, he can take the overall lead now held by Johnson’s 2006 mark of 2,773. If Martin runs 210 of Sunday’s 267 laps among the top 15, he’ll tie Johnson Auto Racing Daily
CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR 0 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet Kellogg's / Carquest 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Mapei / Menards 7 Casey Mears Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 8 Terry Labonte Toyota Carter / Simo Racing 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 9 David Stremme Chevrolet Miccosukee Resort & Gaming 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Dewalt 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy 20 Joey Logano* Toyota Home Depot 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Taco Bell 36 Michael McDowell Toyota Wave Energy Drink 37 Travis Kvapil Chevrolet Long John Silver's 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Haas Automation 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge Siemens 44 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Ford. Drive one. 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 82 Scott Speed* Toyota Red Bull 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / Amp Energy 96 Erik Darnell Ford Hall of Fame Racing 98 Paul Menard Ford Johns Manville / Menards 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 113 Max Papis* Toyota GEICO 170 TBA Chevrolet TRG Motorsports 171 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports 202 David Gilliland Toyota Farm Bureau Insurance
| 
|