We are halfway through the Chase to the Cup and Jimmie Johnson leads going into Martinsville, Virgina for the Tums Fast Relief 500. The Martinsville Speedway is a .526 "paper-clip" shaped oval that brings tons of action.  Jimmie Johnson is the defending champion after crossing the line just less than a second ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. last year. Carl Edwards finished third in that race followed by Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin.

Johnson started from the pole as qualifying was rained out and the race included 12 cautions for 76 laps and 14 lead changes shared by 7 drivers.  Johnson has won the race the past three years and four out of the last five. Sneaking in for the win in 2005 was teammate Jeff Gordon who has won this race four times himself.

Here is how the leaderboard shakes up in the Chase going into this Sundays race.

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Mark Martin -90 points

3. Jeff Gordon -135 points

4. Tony Stewart -155

5. Kurt Busch -177

6. Juan Montoya -195

The bottom six drivers are basically out of the running with five races to go.

It has to be deflating for these drivers who are needing a break to catch Jimmie Johnson. Every time they look up he is the defensing champ or starting on the poll. Johnson is definitely the best driver out there, driving the best equipment with the best crew chief. That being said, Martinsville and upcoming Talladega are two tracks that can ruin your day in a heart beat. I'm sure no-one is wishing Johnson will crash on lap one, but I don't think any of them would be sad about it either.

Lets take a look at a couple drivers who may be able to stay with the #48 team this week.

Jeff Gordon- As we mentioned, he has won this race four times, but he also has finishes of 3rd,4th,5th and 9th twice in the past eight years. Like the others trailing Johnson, he needs wins now.

Denny Hamlin- Hamlin has not finished worse than 8th here the past four years of this race. His hope for a title are pretty much gone, but he made some bold statements going into the Chase that he would like to back up with a win.

Ryan Newman- Ryan won't be one of the favorites this week by many people, but he hangs around at Martinsville in the top 10. He has five top 10 finished in the last seven versions of this race.

Race number seven in the Chase is November 1st at Talladega Superspeedway.

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