The Sprint Cup Series enters the second half of the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup this week, making its second visit of the year to the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
Virginia is the home of many current and former Sprint Cup drivers, and currently boasts two drivers in the Chase, the second most of any state. Those drivers, Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin, currently sit second and 12th in points, respectively.
Interestingly enough, until his win last week at Charlotte, nobody in the Sprint Cup garage considered Burton a title threat.
Ever since the Chase started, it’s been considered a three-horse race, and Burton only found his way into that triumvirate by his stellar drive last weekend.
Originally, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch composed the top three contenders. After Loudon, Busch was replaced by Greg Biffle as the third horse in most pundits’ eyes.
Now, after Edwards’ second consecutive bad race, Burton finds himself in the top three, 69 points behind Johnson.
The question is, why did it take so long for pundits to recognize Burton as a legitimate title threat? His worst finish in the Chase so far is ninth, the same as Johnson’s.
Each driver has one win in the Chase. Neither driver has sunk below their original seed in the standings since the Chase started (Johnson’s been above third since Loudon, Burton started in seventh and hasn’t been there since Loudon either).
Of course, this week, everybody’s all over Burton’s chances to win his first career title. NASCAR.com’s headlines today say that Burton and Johnson have the same momentum going into the second half of the Chase.
For the record, please note that Burton started the Chase 11th in NASCAR.com‘s power rankings, and didn’t rank higher than sixth until the Charlotte edition.
It’s as if he hasn't been under the radar the entire Chase, although, if you check out the archives, it’s pretty obvious he has been.
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