Top 35 Owner Points Countdown: Four Down, One to Go

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 10, 2009) – The developing picture of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will become clearer at the conclusion of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22.

That’s when the use of last year’s final car owner points to determine the top 35 weekly guaranteed starting spots ends. Starting at Martinsville Speedway March 29, the current owner points determine the top 35 guarantees.

And so, during this off-week for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the “bubble” is big news looking ahead to Bristol.

The reason for that, is this: Some major NASCAR names are hovering way-too-close to the cut-off, starting with the out-of-retirement Mark Martin (No. 5 Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevrolet) whose Hendrick Motorsports team sits in 35th this week, merely nine points ahead of the 36th-place team owned by Chip Ganassi, the No. 8 Cub Cadet Chevrolet driven by Aric Almirola.

(A footnote: Martin drove the No. 8 last year for Dale Earnhardt Inc.)

Some other teams in potential bubble trouble:

The No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet owned by Tony Stewart and driven by Ryan Newman, 32nd in car owner points, a surprising development to say the least;

The No. 82 Red Bull Toyota owned by Dietrich Mateschitz and driven by former Formula One racer Scott Speed, a Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, is 37th.

And the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota owned by Joe Gibbs and driven by Joey Logano — arguably the favorite in the rookie of the year competition — is 33rd in the standings.

Now, consider the “Bristol factor.”

The half-mile high-banked oval is notorious for incidents that can quickly ruin one’s chances of winning. With the top 35 situation in play, Bristol quickly becomes even more worrisome.

Nothing like an off-week to let the nerves simmer.