The closest points battle in the history of the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup heads to Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) this weekend.

Currently only 185 points separate the points leader - Jeff Burton - from Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch who are tied for ninth. The 185-point margin is the smallest between the top 10 drivers since the Chase format was implemented in 2004. In that first year of the Chase the top 10 drivers were separated by 257 points following four races. In 2005, the margin following four races was 224.

With the top 10 drivers so tightly bunched this is an excellent weekend for Mark Martin - a four-time championship runner-up - to try and make a run at the points lead. Martin sits in third only 10 points behind leader Burton.

Chase-specific Loop Data shows that Martin has the best Driver Rating (100.2) at the remaining tracks in the Chase. Although Martin was winless at the remaining Chase tracks in 2005 and 2006, he has the most top-five finishes (8) and has the second-most top-10 finishes (9) among Chase drivers. Most impressively, he has the best Average Finish (9.7) at the remaining Chase tracks and has the highest Average Point Gain gaining 143.1 points per event.

Another Chase driver looking to make his way to the top of the point standings is Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has the second-best Driver Rating (98.4) at the remaining tracks in the Chase and there is no better time for his team to be heading to LMS. Loop Data specific to LMS shows that Johnson has the best Driver Rating there at 119.2.