Johnson leaves opening for competition in Chase

MARTINSVILLE, Va. --- Since Jimmie Johnson hasn't given anyone else much hope during the Chase for the Championship, his rivals are trying to make the most of his 15th-place starting spot for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Although Johnson has the biggest points lead in playoff history with five races to go, many believe today's race (1:30 p.m., ABC-Ch. 6) be their best chance, their only chance, to make up ground on the three-time defending series champion.

"I'm going to race him for it; I am not giving up, not one bit," said Mark Martin, who trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammate by 90 points. "I'm going to race him for it. I know that it sounds all cool, and with drama but what I need to do is race him for it. And I am racing with everything I got and if I could find a way to be better, I would. And I will continue to look and search for anyway I can, going forward, to find a way to be better yet, but all I can do is put it out there. That's all I can do."

Rain cut short Friday's practice session and washed out all of Saturday's practice. If Johnson is going to make his No. 48 Chevrolet better for 500 miles on the paperclip-shaped short track, he will have to do it from old notes, not practice laps.

"I know how good the car is. There are going to be tests throughout the championship and how we react and how we handle situations and this is one of them," Johnson said. "I really think the way the car is going to be and how well I work traffic here, it shouldn't bee too big of a problem."

Ryan Newman, who's eighth in the Chase standings, will start on the pole. Jeff Gordon, who's third in the rankings, will start second.

If they have any chance to challenge Johnson down the stretch, their rallies probably need to start today. Since Martinsville is the smallest, slowest track on the circuit, there usually is a lot of bumping and banging.

The bigger tracks have a greater emphasis on aerodynamics and engineering. Short-track racing is more about the driver and his nerve.

"I've always said, at the short tracks the driver has a little more of an impact on the end result than some of the bigger racetracks."

Nine of the top-12 starters are drivers who aren't part of the Chase. Some are racing to make good impressions for future work. Others are trying to salvage a tough season. With so many agendas, nobody is going to give Johnson an easy path to the front.

Johnson has won five of the past six races at Martinsville. One of those wins came from a 20th-place starting spot.

But with so little else going wrong for Johnson's team, the rest of the drivers in the Chase hope to make the most of his slow start today.

"We just have to figure out how we can out-perform them and this is a part of the year when they are strong," Tony Stewart said. "I don't know if we can do that."

Or if he, or anyone else, will get another chance.

Reach Don Coble at don.coble@morris.com.