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Written by Dave
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Saturday, 10 October 2009 11:35 |
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"Chase" week four takes us to Fontana, California and the Auto Club Speedway, which is a two mile oval that rewards aggression.
A quick look at the standings going into Sunday:
1. Mark Martin-Leader
2. Jimmie Johnson -18 points
3. Juan Montoya -51 points
4. Tony Stewart -67 points
5. Kurt Busch -91 points
6. Denny Hamlin -99 points
Jimmie Johnson is the two time defending champ at Fontana and will start off in the second row this week after qualifying third. Johnson was dominant last year and beat Greg Biffle to the line by over two seconds. Denny Hamlin finished third followed by Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.
Last years race included eight cautions for 34 laps and there were 20 lead changes among nine drivers. Johnson's win last year was the first time the pole sitter had won this race and he led 228 of the 250 laps.
This is the spot Johnson's team has planned for their big push to the lead for the Cup. This should be a huge advantage for the 48 team as Fontana was not part of the "Chase" races last year and Martin did not enter this fall race. No reason to believe Johnson won't be up front again this time around. Lets take a look at a few more of our favorites for Sunday.
Denny Hamlin- Hamlin starts from the pole and finished 3rd here last year as well as 6th in 2007. Hamlin's team needs to make a move here and he is aggressive enough to do it.
Carl Edwards- The boot is off the foot and Carl is in dire need of a top finish. In the five years of this race, Edwards has finished no worse than 6th. Look for the 99 to be up front all day and Carl will start in 11th place.
Kasey Kahne- Kasey won the 2006 version of this race and has finished in the top 10 all five years. Kahne starts back in 25th, but should have no trouble moving to the front. Nothing really to lose here as only wins can get him back in this thing.
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