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Jimmie Johnson is close to catching Jeff Gordon in the wins column at Martinsville.Before Johnson, Gordon was master of Martinsville
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Jimmie Johnson has been as close as you can get to unbeatable at Martinsville the past three seasons winning five of six races at the .526-mile short track in Southern Virginia. It's important to remember, though, before Johnson's hot streak, Jeff Gordon was the "King of the Paperclip."
Gordon's numbers speak for themselves at Martinsville -- seven wins, 21 top-fives and 27 top-10s in 33 starts. When the green flies for the Tums Fast Relief 500 (1 p.m. ET Sunday, ABC), Gordon will be looked upon as the one to keep Johnson from winning his third consecutive Cup race.
During Johnson's win streak at the track, it's been Gordon who has been right behind. In the past six races, Gordon's average finish is a stout 3.3. If it weren't for Johnson's dominance, Gordon would clearly be the man to beat.
With five races remaining and 135 points separating the teammates in the standings, Gordon won't catch Johnson after 500 laps at the short-track. But if the cards fall the right way, Gordon can finally make a dent in Johnson's lead heading to Talladega -- where anything can happen.
Inside the Data
Chase drivers at Martinsville
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmie Johnson | 15 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 1387 | 11.8 | 5.3 |
| Jeff Gordon | 33 | 7 | 21 | 27 | 7 | 2760 | 6.5 | 6.8 |
| Denny Hamlin | 8 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 531 | 12.8 | 8.0 |
| Tony Stewart | 21 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 1193 | 13.6 | 12.1 |
| Juan Montoya | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 23.4 | 12.6 |
| Mark Martin | 43 | 2 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 318 | 13.9 | 13.3 |
| Ryan Newman | 15 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 83 | 8.8 | 14.4 |
| Carl Edwards | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18.3 | 18.2 |
| Kasey Kahne | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 21.0 | 18.5 |
| Kurt Busch | 18 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 358 | 18.7 | 21.8 |
| Brian Vickers | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25.4 | 22.6 |
| Greg Biffle | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 21.0 | 23.1 |
DID YOU KNOW?
191The largest deficit in the modern era a driver has made up in the final five races to win the title is 191 points. Alan Kulwicki beat Bill Elliott by 10 points to win the 1992 Cup championship after trailing by 191 following the race at Martinsville. The most impressive part of Kulwicki's comeback -- he didn't win a race in those final five events. Kulwicki had an average finish of 6.2 in those five races with three top-fives.
GORDON'S POLE WATCH
16Since his first full-time season in 1993, Jeff Gordon has won at least one pole in a season -- a streak that has lasted 16 years. Through 31 races in 2009, Gordon has yet to win a pole, putting the longest active streak in the Cup Series in jeopardy. Martinsville is Gordon's best chance to keep the streak alive. He has seven poles at the track -- one short of the track record held by Darrell Waltrip -- including the pole in the 2008 spring race.
NECESSITOUS NUMBERS
3Three drivers average a finish inside the top 10 at Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson (5.3), Jeff Gordon (6.8) and Denny Hamlin (8.0).
4With an average finish of 17.6, Kevin Harvick has a mediocre average finish among the active drivers at Martinsville, but he has recently started turning that around. In the past four races, Harvick has an average finish of 10.0 at the track with all four finishes 12th or better.
6Six drivers who scored a race win last season are still searching for a victory this season: Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman.
7Jeff Gordon has seven consecutive finishes in the top-15, the longest current active streak in the series. Jimmie Johnson is right behind with six consecutive top-15s and five consecutive top-10s.
7In eight starts, Denny Hamlin has seven top-10 finishes at Martinsville including a win and five top-fives. He has just one blemish -- a crash in 2006 which led to a 37th-place finish. Other than that he's finished no worse than eighth.
9.4Average starting position of the five winners in the Chase races at Martinsville. Jimmie Johnson won from the pole last year but three of the five started from ninth or worse.
19If a Hendrick Motorsports driver visits Victory Lane on Sunday, it will give Hendrick Motorsports its 19th win at the track, tying it with Petty Motorsports for most all time.
35Thirty-five different drivers have finished in the top-10 at least once this year. Paul Menard and David Stremme are the only drivers to start all 31 races this season and not post a top-10 finish.
122Sunday's race will be the 122 Cup points event ran at Martinsville -- the most for any track on the schedule. The next closest is Richmond with 107.
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Sprint Cup Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 5,923 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Mark Martin | 5,833 | -90 |
| 3. | +2 | Jeff Gordon | 5,788 | -135 |
| 4. | -- | Tony Stewart | 5,768 | -155 |
| 5. | +1 | Kurt Busch | 5,746 | -177 |
| 6. | -3 | Juan Montoya | 5,728 | -195 |
| 7. | -- | Greg Biffle | 5,655 | -268 |
| 8. | +2 | Ryan Newman | 5,635 | -288 |
| 9. | +2 | Kasey Kahne | 5,592 | -331 |
| 10. | -2 | Carl Edwards | 5,582 | -341 |
| 11. | -2 | Denny Hamlin | 5,551 | -372 |
| 12. | -- | Brian Vickers | 5,438 | -485 |
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