With 3 Races Left, Johnson Takes Lead To Texas Motor Speedway

Sports News - November 6th, 2009 - Written by Scott

With just three races left to go, the Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday for the Dixies 500. Jimmie Johnson extended his lead in the Chase by finishing in sixth place past week at Talladega. He now holds a commanding 184 point lead over second place driver Mark Martin. Johnson controls his own destiny in the Chase and needs to finish just 10th or better in the final three races to capture the 2009 crown. He can also win if he finishes poorly in the last three races and Martin does not win. He realizes that the odds are in his favor, but is preparing for this race as he has in the previous ones.

“[I’m] really just treating these races as if they were other races, any other race,” Johnson said on a national teleconference this week. “I know it sounds stupid and corny and almost predictable, but it's the truth. I mean, the way we have prepared to this point has led to the points lead that we have and the race wins that we've accumulated over the year, and we need to do more of the same."

Jeff Gordan is in third place and is 192 points behind. He and Martin were involved in a crash late in the race at Talladega that pushed them further back in the points standings. The top three places stayed the same after last weekend, but there were six changes in the top 12 positions.

The top three drivers in the Chase each have one win at Texas. Johnson has five top five finishes and nine top tens in his 12 starts at the track. Martin has five top five finishes and nine top ten finishes at Texas. Johnson realizes he can not get too comfortable with his lead because crazy things can happen.

“We're showing up to win races,” said the driver who has recorded six of his 46 Cup victories this season. “Finishing 10th isn't as easy as it sounds. … It is a tough field of cars out there, and we need to be on our game. So with that in mind, we're going to race as hard as we can these next two races and see what happens for Homestead and see where we're at. Then at that point, I think, we can look at more of a specific strategy. But with three to go, we need to race these next two as if we're behind in the points and get every point that we can.”

Johnson is the favorite on Sunday according to Bodog sportsbook with 4/1 odds to win the race. Martin is at 6/1 and Gordan at 7/1. All the other drivers have their NASCAR betting odds listed as well for you to wager on at Bodog sportsbook.

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