Johnson’s fourth win at the 2-mile oval gives him a 12-point lead over Mark Martin heading into Saturday night’s race at Charlotte. The victory was his fifth of the season, 45th of his career and 16th during the Chase.
The native Californian did his best to savor it. He enjoyed an uncharacteristically drawn-out postrace celebration at a track he loves, one that took so long he needed to be reminded to go to Victory Lane.
Juan Pablo Montoya was third, his fourth straight top-five finish since the Chase began. Yet he’s failed to make up any ground on the Chase leader. He started the playoffs 40 points behind Martin, now finds himself trailing Johnson by 58. Auto Racing Daily
Below is a look at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series top 12 going into the fifth race of the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – the NASCAR Banking 500 Only from Bank of America at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Oct. 17.
1 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 113.4
2009 Rundown
• Five wins, 12 top fives, 19 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 11.5
• Led 25 races for 1,716 laps
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Outlook:
• Five wins, eight top fives, 12 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 9.1 in 16 races
• Average Running Position of 7.0, second-best
• Series-best Driver Rating of 116.6
• Series-high 292 Fastest Laps Run
• Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 176.165 mph
• Series-high 2,862 Laps in the Top 15 (90.3%)
• Series-high 456 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green)
2 - Mark Martin (No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 100.6
2009 Rundown
• Five wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s; seven poles
• Average finish of 14.0
• Led 20 races for 791 laps
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Outlook:
• Four wins, 17 top fives, 22 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 15.9 in 49 races
• Average Running Position of 12.1, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 91.7, fifth-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 175.189 mph, sixth-fastest
3 - Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 94.0
2009 Rundown
• Six top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 12.4
• Led 9 races for 348 laps
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Outlook:
• One top 10
• Average finish of 27.4 in five races
• Average Running Position of 25.8, 37th-best
• Driver Rating of 58.0, 35th-best
4 - Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 102.0
2009 Rundown
• Four wins, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s
• Average finish of 8.9
• Led 17 races for 370 laps
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Outlook:
• One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
• Average finish of 13.3 in 21 races
• Average Running Position of 16.6, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 84.1, 12th-best
• 141 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• 528 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 175.193 mph, fifth-fastest
• 1,698 Laps in the Top 15 (53.6%), ninth-most
5 - Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 101.6
2009 Rundown
• One win, 14 top fives, 21 top 10s
• Average finish of 10.3
• Led 15 races for 704 laps
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Outlook:
• Five wins, 15 top fives, 18 top 10s; seven poles
• Average finish of 16.1 in 33 races
• Average Running Position of 18.5, 16th-best
• Driver Rating of 85.6, 10th-best
• 130 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 175.048 mph, eighth-fastest
6 - Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 100.9
2009 Rundown
• One win, eight top fives, 17 top 10s
• Average finish of 13.1
• Led 17 races for 528 laps
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Outlook:
• Three top fives, three top 10s
• Average finish of 21.6 in 18 races
• Average Running Position of 19.1, 17th-best
• Driver Rating of 79.8, 15th-best
• 83 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
• 1,546 Laps in the Top 15 (48.8%), 13th-most
7 - Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M/Sherwin Williams Ford)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 90.4
2009 Rundown
• Nine top fives, 14 top 10s
• Average finish of 14.1
• Led 12 races for 545 laps
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Outlook:
• Two top fives, five top 10s
• Average finish of 18.4 in 13 races
• Average Running Position of 16.5, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 88.8, eighth-best
• 111 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• 1,960 Laps in the Top 15 (61.9%), fifth-most
• 277 Quality Passes, seventh-most
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