EVERYONE CHASING GORDON.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK

MOTOR SPORTS

The Chase for the Nextel Cup reached the halfway point Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The 12-driver field has been virtually whittled down to four with any chance of winning the championship.

Jeff Gordon deservedly leads the way and has a 68-point cushion over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson.

The surprise of the Chase, Clint Bowyer, is 78points out of first, followed by Tony Stewart, a distant 198 points back -- which might be a little too far out.

The Chase has created some tight finishes for the Nextel Cup championship. Johnson has been in the middle of almost every one.

He was 227 points out of first after five races in the first Chase in 2004. He rallied to close the gap but still fell eight points short of Kurt Busch.

He was 146 points out of first after five races during the Chase last year but erased that deficit to win his first Cup championship.

The realistic deficit a driver can make up in five races probably lies somewhere between 146 and 227 points. That means Stewart has a chance -- a longshot, but not insurmountable.

Johnson finds himself in a familiar position, trailing in the standings with five races to go. This is actually one of the best positions he's been in since the Chase format started.

Bowyer is racing like the Colorado Rockies are playing baseball. Maybe not exactly like the Rockies -- Bowyer isn't winning every race he enters -- but he is unexpectedly in the middle of championship hunt.

"You know, only our second year together, we're running up front and doing what we're paid to do," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "You know, we won a race, we're running for a championship; it's been an awesome year so far. We have fiveraces to go and we have to keep this momentum strong and keep everybody with a pep in their step and energy and stay energized."

Gordon has been on a bit of a roll lately. He's won the past two Cup races and is slowly padding his lead in the standings.

"We know we've got to approach next week or going track to track to track; we are going to Martinsville with the same attitude, same game plan to come out of there with a strong consistent finish," Gordon said after winning the race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "We are not going there saying, 'This is our place to get another win.' We just want to go there and keep doing what we've been doing and stay consistent."

That may be enough to win his fifth Cup championship and first since 2001. The other drivers know Gordon and his team have to make a mistake to tighten up the standings before the season ends.

"We've got to stay full-court pressed and hopefully have a little bit of luck on (our) run and a little misfortune on their end," Bowyer said. "You don't wish that upon anybody, but right now that's what it's going to take to win a championship."

Irwindale Showdown gets a new format

The rules have changed a little for this year's version of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway.

For starters, there is only one race Saturday night. The NASCAR Grand National Division drivers from the West Series and the Busch East Series will compete against each other. In the past, the Showdown consisted of two races, one for the now-defunct Elite divisions and the other for the Grand National Division.

Qualifying for the All-Star Showdown was a little different this year, too. In previous years, the top-15 drivers in the Grand National Division standings earned bids to the Showdown.

Now, winning drivers and Grand National Division champions earned spots in the Showdown. There are 12drivers who have starting spots in the Showdown because they won at least oneGrand National Division race.

In addition, West Series champion Mike David and Busch East Series champion Joey Logano earned automatic spots in the Showdown.

"Everyone who's been there says it's awesome; that you can run well anywhere on the race track," said Logano, a 17-year-old developmental driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. "We're looking forward to going there."

Logano won five races in the Busch East Series, including one at Elko Speedway in Minnesota, one of two races that included drivers from the West Series and Busch East Series.

"I didn't have any idea when I was watching the race on TV last year that I'd be driving in it this year," Logano said. "I watched it because it was a race on TV and it looked exciting."

David will be making his fourth Showdown start. His best finish came last year, when he was third behind Matt Kobyluck and Sean Caisse, both Busch East Series drivers.

"The first couple years, we didn't have any luck at all," David said. "We normally do well at Irwindale. It will be a fun time."

In his first two Showdowns, David was 15th in 2004 and 14th in 2005.

David won only one West Series race this year. He was fifth in the only West Series race at Irwindale Speedway on July 4.

"It's the same routine," David said. "You don't have to be as conservative because you're not running for points. Other than that, it's business as usual."

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon, right, and Jimmie Johnson are 1-2 in the Nextel Cup standings with five races remaining. Johnson is the defending Cup champ.

Tom Strattman/Associated Press

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(1) NEXTEL CUP STANDINGS

(2) THIS WEEK

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