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October 20, 2006
NASCAR: Subway 500
Chase for Cup continues in Martinsville
After his third-place finish last week in Charlotte, Jeff Burton only added to his Chase lead. With no other driver closer than 45 points, Burton’s top five finish at the Bank of America 500 was his fourth in the five Cup races thus far. The winner of the race, Kasey Kahne, is still near the bottom in eighth place. However, last weekend’s victory was his Nextel Cup-leading sixth of the season. He has finished second and first respectively in the last two races and if his red-hot car can continue to turn out top three finishes, he’ll be near the top come the final race or two.
This Sunday the race for the Cup is slated for Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. The Subway 500 could be the most important of any of the remaining races because of the amount of points needed by everyone else to close the gap behind Burton. And who knows, if Burton were to come away with the checkered flag on this track, this Chase could be all but over before November.
Ahead by a considerable margin, it’s quite conceivable that Burton might not have to win a race in the final five events to come away with the Cup. He has only managed one victory this year, but his consistency in the top 10 has been the main reason why he is on top of the NASCAR heap. Of the 36 races that are in the books, Burton has finished in the top 10 a whopping 27 times. His lone win coupled with his seven top five finishes and 19 results in the top 10 make up a phenomenal season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. closed his deficit behind the top three and now sits in fifth, after finishing in fourth place last weekend. His 165 points earned in Charlotte now has him 106 behind leader Burton. However, Earnhardt is just behind fourth-place Mark Martin and a mere 17 points behind third-place Kevin Harvick, so his No. 8 car is in line to make a run at the title. And Harvick and Martin didn’t help their cases last week, finishing 18th and 30th respectively.
Last year Jeff Gordon took the Subway 500, but the No. 24 car has struggled as of late. Currently in last place in the Chase, last week’s finish replicated his car number and that now makes three straight Cup races outside the top 20. Gordon started the Chase with two straight third-place finishes in the Sylvania 300 and Dover 400, but his recent descent in the standings has him all but done in 2006.
25022 - Copyright 2006, BetJamaica.com, The Player's Paradise
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