Look who is back on top of the point standings. Was there ever any doubt?
Jimmie Johnson took over the top spot in the Chase point standings with his second win in three races last weekend at Fontana. It was his fifth win of the season and fourth-straight top-five finish since the start of the Chase. However, Johnson is not exactly taking that fourth straight title for granted.
"Just because we won the last three doesn't mean we're a shoo-in for a fourth," Johnson said.
The win puts Johnson 12 points clear of Mark Martin, who came in fourth at Fontana, and had led in the standings each of the first three Chase weeks. Martin will have a chance to make up ground at one of his better tracks on Saturday.
The Chase field and the rest of the Cup drivers head to Charlotte for the 2009 edition of the NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The race will be held under the lights on Saturday night, adding a bit more excitement to the event.
LMS is a superspeedway that features a 1 1/2-mile long quad oval track that seats a whopping 167,000 people. It's considered the home base of NASCAR as most of the teams are located within 50 miles of the track in the Charlotte area.
In the first go-round at Charlotte this year, David Reutimann ended up with the win after the race was called due to rain after a two-hour delay. While most of the cars pitted after the initial delay, Reutimann wisely stayed out and Mother Nature did the rest.
This weekend's race at Charlotte marks the midway point in the Chase. Expect an exciting final six races to close out the 2009 season.
Tier 1 Start -- Kasey Kahne
Kahne has a tremendous career record at LMS over the years, earning the season sweep back in 2006. Only once in his past seven starts at the track has he failed to finish in the top 10, coming in seventh back in late May. He's a three-time winner at LMS and needs to make it four to have even a prayer at getting back into contention as he currently sits 11th in the Chase standings. Johnson is another obvious choice for Tier 1, having won there five times.
Others to consider: Carl Edwards; Jimmie Johnson
Tier 1 Sit -- Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch has not been all that impressive during the Chase so far, currently sitting in sixth place at 121 points out. Busch has finished outside of the top 30 in five of his last seven starts at Charlotte, coming in 34th earlier this year.
Others to avoid: Juan Pablo Montoya; Jeff Gordon
Tier 2 Start -- Mark Martin
Losing the top spot in the Chase standings should be more than enough reason for Martin to come out and drive like a man on a mission Saturday. Martin has a career finishing average of 13.8 at LMS and will certainly be gunning for a top-10 result. His recent history at the track isn't overly impressive, but Martin needs at least a top-10 finish this weekend because you know that Johnson is going to come out and get a good result.
Others to consider: David Reutimann; Matt Kenseth
Tier 2 Sit -- Brian Vickers
Vickers lucked out and earned a fifth-place result at LMS earlier this season and has the poor weather to thank for that. In 11 career races at the track, Vickers has only three top-10 results and a career finishing average of 22.5. Vickers is dead last in the Chase point standings and will likely lose even more ground this weekend.
Others to avoid: Kyle Busch; Ryan Newman
Tier 3 Start -- Jamie McMurray
McMurray earned a win in his first-ever start at LMS back in 2002. He hasn't been able to revisit victory lane since, but has shown good form at the track over the years. McMurray finished fifth in this event back in 2008 and will hopefully show better form in this race than he has the past two weeks, having finished outside of the top 30 in both instances.
Others to consider: Joey Logano; Jeff Burton
Tier 3 Sit -- Kevin Harvick
This simply has not been one of Harvick's better tracks in his career. After finishing as the runner-up at Charlotte in his debut at the track back in 2001, Harvick has only twice finished in the top 10. He has an 11-race streak without a top-10 result at LMS and should not be considered despite some better results of late.
Others to avoid: Casey Mears; Marcos Ambrose
Tier 4 Start -- Bobby Labonte
Labonte clearly has the best track record of any Tier 4 driver this weekend. He has a finishing average of 9.1 at Charlotte and has not finished outside of the top 20 in the past 10 years. He is the one and only choice for Tier 4 this weekend.
Others to consider: David Stremme; Sam Hornish, Jr.
Tier 4 Sit -- A.J. Allmendinger
Allmendinger has managed to put together four top-10 finishes this season and sits a respectable 24th in the point standings. However, he has had more than his share of struggles at Charlotte over the years. He has finished 31st or worse in three of his fist five career starts, coming in 32nd earlier this season.
Others to avoid: Paul Menard; Elliott Sadler
Tier 5 Start -- Scott Speed
Speed has only one Cup start at LMS in his career, coming in 18th earlier this season. An 18th-place result out of any driver in Tier 5 would be an accomplishment, so why not take a flier on the rookie who has finished inside of the top 30 in each of his previous three starts coming into this weekend?
Others to consider: Regan Smith; Joe Nemechek
Tier 5 Sit -- David Gilliland
Gilliland has the worst finishing average of any active driver at Charlotte, never coming in better than 25th. His average is 30.8 for his career, making him a must-sit for Saturday's race.
Others to avoid: Michael Waltrip; Joe Nemechek
Ian's Starting Five
Tier 1 -- Kasey Kahne
Tier 2 -- Mark Martin
Tier 3 -- Jamie McMurray
Tier 4 -- Bobby Labonte
Tier 5 -- Scott Speed
Do you have a Fantasy Racing question or a comment for Ian? Send him your feedback by clicking here and be sure to include your name and hometown!
