Expect 'wild' a week early with double trouble at Martinsville

Many have pointed to next week's visit to Talladega Superspeedway as the "wild card" race of the Chase.

But things could get pretty wild this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

While the restrictor plate mayhem that accompanies a trip to Talladega will no doubt juggle things in the point standings, Sunday's stop at tiny Martinsville has the ingredients to shake up the Chase as well.

The tight bullring already keeps the 43-car field in close quarters for all 500 laps, which leads to the usual short-track beating and banging fans love.

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Now throw in the debut of the double-file restart rule at the track, and Sunday's race could get downright ugly.

"I think that double-file restarts are going to make it more intense and more exciting; a lot of the same stuff we've been seeing," said Jimmie Johnson, who brings a 90-point Chase lead over Mark Martin into the weekend.

"I think at the start of a race, you might see some guys forcing their way to the bottom and maybe taking some unneeded risks to get down to the bottom lane. But I think at the end of the race you'll see guys stuck door-to-door for a long, long time and not able to clear the other guy and take that position. I think it's going to be a great race."

Johnson usually has a great race at Martinsville, where he has six career wins, including five of the past six events held at the .526-mile track. Since making his debut there in 2002, Johnson has finished outside the top 10 only once in his Martinsville career.

And the three-time Cup champion says he has Tony Stewart to thank for his success.

"When Tony Stewart was lapping me in the fall race, I was able to fall in behind him and follow him for a long portion of that run," Johnson said of his first experience at Martinsville. "Being behind him in race conditions, I just focused on his line and throttle application, what was going on."

"It flipped a switch for me. It really helped me find a rhythm of the track. I was able to build on top of that from there going forward."

Going forward is exactly what Jeff Gordon is trying to do in the standings. But that's a difficult task when trying to run down a teammate like Johnson.

Gordon, who finds himself trailing Johnson by 135 points and sitting third, is no slouch at Martinsville himself. He has won there seven times but also understands he'll most likely have to beat his teammate Sunday for No. 8.

"Our job is the same as always: Go there, make the car go through the corners as fast as we can, make sure we're not burning up the brakes, and get the car up off the corner and down the straightaways the best we possibly can against the competition," Gordon said.

That competition promises to be even stiffer thanks again to the side-by-side challenge of the double-file rule's impact.

"We've already seen just how perilous it can get out there on the other tracks with the double-file restarts, and this will no doubt be the most treacherous situation yet," said Kurt Busch, who sits fifth in the standings. "As bad as it has been in the past, with the lapped cars in one lane and the lead lappers in the other, this will be the insane end of impossible."

Best Chase drivers at Martinsville
Driver	Starts	Avg. Finish
1. Jimmie Johnson	15	5.3	Johnson
2. Jeff Gordon	33	6.8
3. Denny Hamlin	8	8.0
4. Tony Stewart	21	12.1
5. Juan Pablo Montoya	5	12.6
Martinsville Chase stats

Who's hot?

Jimmie Johnson: Six-time winner, Johnson has won five of the past six races here. He has a 5.3 average finish to lead all drivers; Johnson has led 1,387 laps in 15 starts.

Jeff Gordon: Leads active drivers in wins (7), top fives (21), top 10s (27), laps led (2,760) and poles (7) at Martinsville. Gordon has finished ninth or better in the past 13 starts and has finished fourth in the past two.

Denny Hamlin: Winner of the 2008 spring race, Hamlin has finished sixth or better in his past six starts. He'll race the same car that won at Pocono in August.

Who's not

Kyle Busch: Has yet to post a top-20 finish in three starts at Martinsville with Joe Gibbs Racing. His four top 10s came with Hendrick Motorsports. Busch led 106 laps in this event in 2007 and will return in the same car that finished fifth at New Hampshire last month.

Kasey Kahne: Has an 18.5 average finish in 11 starts. Kahne's last of two top 10s came in this event in 2006. He finished second in the spring of 2005.

Carl Edwards: His only top 10s came in both races in 2008. His third-place finish in this event last year was his best in 10 starts. Edwards has yet to lead a lap.

Make a note

• Chevrolet drivers have won 11 of the past 13 Martinsville races.

• Two-time Martinsville winner Mark Martin finished seventh in the spring.

• Ryan Newman's finishing average in the five short track races this season is 6.6, including a sixth-place result at Martinsville.

• Juan Pablo Montoya is coming off his best Martinsville finish (12th).

• Kevin Harvick and A.J. Allmendinger have posted average finishes of 9.0 and 12.0 in their past two starts at Martinsville.