Point of contention

Winston Cup field is bunched with six races remaining

Looking to dope the stretch run for the Winston Cup season? Good luck. Things can turn on a twist of fate ... or Sterling Marlin's neck.

NASCAR returns to Lowe's Motor Speedway this week (chart below) with the top five drivers separated by only 172 points. Tony Stewart sits in the driver's seat with Mark Martin and rookie Jimmie Johnson within double digits of the lead. Teammates Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace round out the top five.

With six races remaining attention has turned from Stewart's off-track behavior to his remarkable run to the top of the heap; remember, he crashed after completing only two laps of the season-opening Daytona 500 and finished 43rd.

"Being the favorite doesn't mean a darn thing to me, to be honest, as far as winning the points," Stewart said after a second-place finish at Talladega. "I've led points championships before. The day I want to be leading is the Sunday at Homestead."

For now, he's the leader -- the fourth different points leader in the last five weeks -- but any of the top five drivers could leave Charlotte with the bull's eye on his back.

Martin, wrapping up his 16th full season, may be the fan favorite to win his first Cup championship. Coming off his first finish outside the top 10 in points since 1988, Martin has been tenacious this year. He has been outside the top five in points for only one race since posting a fourth-place finish at Richmond on May 5.

Johnson has been a top-five fixture since Memorial Day weekend, while Newman continues to lurk in the shadows. Johnson's three wins have tied the rookie record, but Newman holds a 28-point lead in the rookie of the year standings. The difference: Newman's series-leading 14 top-five finishes compared to Johnson's six.

"It seems like in this points battle you're only safe to lead the last race," Johnson said. "Whoever comes out of here with the points lead now will probably go into this week and have something crazy happen to them."

Wallace has been in the top 10 since Week 2, but has spent more time out of the top five (17 weeks) than in (13). He's also failed to win a race, has only five top-5s and 14 top-10s, the fewest in all categories among the front-runners. Still, Wallace is the only driver in the top five who knows the feeling of hoisting the Cup trophy; he won the 1989 title.

Wallace also awaits a place in history. If he wins the championship, Wallace would hold the record for the longest stretch between titles, 13 years. Terry Labonte went 12 years between 1984 and '96. And should Wallace win a race before season's end, he will tie Richard Petty for the most consecutive seasons (17) with at least one victory. One thing in Wallace's favor is 16 career wins at the final six tracks: Charlotte (2), Martinsville (6), Atlanta (2), Rockingham (5), Phoenix (1) and Homestead.

Another angle is the drivers' average finish this season, but don't expect to get an upper hand playing these numbers: Johnson -- 13.0; Martin -- 13.1; Stewart -- 13.1; Wallace -- 13.3; Newman -- 14.7.

Stewart may prove to be the chic pick; he entered the top five in points after Watkins Glen and has steamrolled to the front of the pack. But keep an eye on Newman. During the past six races, Newman has racked up 1,008 points -- 151 more than Stewart -- and has Wallace in his garage to lean on for experience.

Also remember that Alan Kulwicki won the 1992 title despite being 278 points back with six to go, so let's throw Matt Kenseth (201 points behind), Jeff Gordon (-201), Bill Elliott (-229) and Ricky Rudd (-246) into the mix, too.

"I think all you can ask for is to have a chance at the end of the year," said Joe Gibbs, Stewart's car owner. "A lot of great cars still have a chance and we've got to earn it every week."

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for CNNSI.com.

 

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