THANK YOU, Denny Hamlin, for making the Chase interesting.
By winning Sunday at Martinsville, Hamlin trimmed Jimmie Johnson's Chase lead to six points. This is the closest the Chase has been with four races remaining since the 10-race format was introduced in 2004.
Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus know they have a serious challenger in the confident Hamlin and his Mike Ford-led team.
"I like being behind and chasing a guy," Hamlin said. "I do not like playing defense at all."
Johnson, the Chase Master, has played exceptional defense on his way to four consecutive titles. While he is still in charge of the Chase, let's see how he handles the next four races.
Now it's on to Talladega, where anything can happen. The treacherous restrictor-plate racing at 200 mph bunches up the field. One mistake can take out multiple cars.
In nine starts at Talladega, Hamlin has three top-five finishes, including a fourth place in this year's spring race. Johnson has only one win at Talladega in 2006.
"I feel we have a better Talladega package than those guys [Johnson/Knaus] have had," Hamlin said. "We've been very, very strong at superspeedways, especially Talladega."
Don't count out Kevin Harvick in the Chase: He is 62 behind Hamlin. After owner Richard Childress switched crews before the race, assigning Clint Bowyer's squad to Harvick, he finished third at Martinsville after qualifying a distant 36th.
Harvick won this year's spring race at Talladega. He also has two runner-up finishes at the Alabama track.
Tony Stewart knows Talladega as well as any current racer. Stewart, seventh in the Chase, has raced 23 times at the Alabama track since 1999 (one win, six second-place finishes).
"It's a very mentally taxing race," Stewart said yesterday on a conference call. "The hard part is staying focused for 500 miles when you know that you can't make a mistake. It's a 188-lap race, but those last 10 laps are what really matter."
MARTINSVILLE MADNESS
Kyle Busch was angry at Jimmie Johnson. Teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick were upset with each other. And Kurt Busch wrecked Jeff Gordon. Welcome to Martinsville Madness.
All the involved racers are Chasers. Kyle was angry that Johnson, racing in fourth place late in the race, was holding him up.
Burton and Harvick were trying to squeeze into the same space on the track. Referring to the bumping with Harvick, Burton informed crew chief Todd Berrier, "I'm a good teammate, but I will not put up with it."
