Time is slipping away for Jimmie Johnson, so he needs to make the present count.
If Johnson wants to erase the 53-point deficit he faces in trailing Jeff Gordon in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series standings, he’ll need to do the same thing this Sunday at Atlanta as he did at Martinsville – excel at a track where he’s had past success.
Johnson won at Atlanta in March, and looks to go for his third sweep of the season (Richmond and Martinsville are others). In the five Atlanta races since 2005, Johnson has notched a win, three top fives and four top 10s. He also has some of the top Loop Data statistics over that span. Johnson has a series-best Driver Rating of 118.3 and a series-best Average Running Position of 5.4. He trails only Greg Biffle (No. 16 Lumber Liquidators Ford) in Fastest Laps Run with 150 and is third in Laps in the Top 15 with 1,505 (92.6%).
Problem is, the man he’s chasing – Jeff Gordon – is also solid at Atlanta.
The stats present nearly the same scenario as last week at Martinsville, with Johnson owning slightly better finishes and stats.
Gordon has a Driver Rating of 94.7 (eighth-best), an Average Running Position of 13.6 (10th-best), 69 Fastest Laps Run (seventh-most) and 1,161 Laps in the Top 15 (seventh-most).
Tony Stewart trails Gordon by 249 points, but could make a major gain this weekend at Atlanta. Stewart has finished in the top 10 at Atlanta in 11 of the last 12 races there. He won this race last season and finished second in March.
Stewart has a Driver Rating of 111.2 (second-best), an Average Running Position of 7.1 (second-best), 117 Fastest Laps Run (fifth-most) and 1,510 Laps in the Top 15 (second-most).
Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet) is in third place in the Chase standings and sits 115 points behind Gordon. Last season, Bowyer struggled at Atlanta, but picked up an impressive sixth-place finish in March. In that race, he earned a Driver Rating of 107.4 and an Average Running Position of 7.7. He’ll need a similar performance – if not better – this Sunday if he wants to stay in the championship hunt.
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