Jimmie Johnson led 271 laps Sunday en route to winning the
AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. His fourth win of the season propelled him up into second place in the Chase standings only 10 points behind race runner-up Mark Martin. At the age of 50 years old, Mark Martin not only leads the points, but is also the sentimental favorite to win the championship. Matt Kenseth rebounded for a 3rd place finish in a season that saw him win the first 2 races of the season only to drop off the radar and miss the Chase. Surprising Juan Pablo Montoya finished 4th and not sits in third in the Chase standings, 65 points out of the lead. Kurt Busch took the 5th spot Sunday and sits 10 points behind Montoya in the standings, holding down the 4th spot. If I was Jimmie Johnson, I would clear out a spot in the trophy case for my 4th straight championship trophy.....
In Victory Lane, non-Chaser Hall of Fame Racing (Nate B) stole the show with a big win. Ginn Racing (Mark W) took 2nd place and jumped up into the 3rd spot in the standings behind Penske (Andy B) and BAM (Daniel S). Joe Gibbs Racing (Ray P) finished in third spot and sits 8th in the standings. Rudd Performance (Todd B) and points leader Penske (Andy B) rounded out the top 5 finishers. With only 3 races left (Kansas, California and Lowes), the top 5 in points are separated by 50 points and the top 10 by less than 100 points. It seems way too early for anyone to claim an inside track to the championship, but those in the top 5 right now have a decent cushion that could prove to be the difference down the final stretch.