OPINION

By Bill Marx

updated 11:46 a.m. ET Oct. 14, 2009

Jimmie Johnson won Sunday to reach the top spot in the standings for the first time since last year. The way he's driving — two wins in the first four Chase races — he might not give it up. Here's the breakdown of the top 12 after Sunday's race at Auto Club Speedway.

1. Jimmie Johnson, 5,728
Johnson and the No. 48 team never cease to amaze. They have 16 wins in the 54 Chase races. That's more wins than 2,809 drivers had in their Cup careers.

2. Mark Martin, 5,716
Martin lost the top spot despite posting his third top five in four races. He trails Johnson by 12 points and, amazingly, might find himself needing wins each week — not simply top fives — to win his first title.

3. Juan Montoya, 5,670
Keeping to our "amazing" theme ... Montoya finished third, his fourth top five of the Chase — and lost ground to the leader. Montoya remains positive, however. He knows he's doing great — he's simply up against someone who is doing greater. But Montoya also knows that if he keeps posting top fives — he's the only driver with top fives in each of the first four races — and Johnson or Martin slips, he'll be right there.

4. Tony Stewart, 5,644
Stewart preserved his championship hopes by finishing fifth after losing a lap because of a pit-road speeding penalty. That's two top fives in a row. Now he needs six more.

5. Jeff Gordon, 5,623
Gordon finished second for the second week in a row and for the eighth time this season — and still lost ground. He is still paying for finishing 15th in the Chase opener at New Hampshire.

6. Kurt Busch, 5,607
Busch finished eighth Sunday, and if you have been reading this story from the top, you know that top fives, not top 10s, are what drivers need. Busch's biggest moment Sunday was a bad one. He caused an accident that ended the already slim championship hopes of fellow Chasers Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne.

7. Greg Biffle, 5,540
Biffle finished 20th, and he is 188 points behind Johnson. Might as well be 1,888 points. Biffle's team has been experimenting with setups. It now has the green light to continue along that path to get Biffle his first win of the year.

8. Carl Edwards, 5,536
Edwards finished sixth to extend his remarkable record at Auto Club Speedway: 11 starts, 10 top 10s. Solidly out of contention for the championship, Edwards will focus on getting his first win in 2009.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

9. Denny Hamlin, 5,509
Hamlin had the lead and a great car ... and then made a great mistake, crashing on a restart on Lap 190. He misjudged his lead over Montoya and bounced off Montoya's nose into the inside wall. He finished 37th, and he no longer is a contender for the title.

10. Ryan Newman, 5,505
Newman finished 15th, running his winless streak to 65 races. Making the Chase was a huge accomplishment for Newman and Stewart-Haas Racing. And if he can get a win in the next six races, it will have a similar positive impact on both.

11. Kasey Kahne, 5,422
Kahne is treading — not swimming — in frustration. He was unable to finish Sunday's race after getting collected in Busch's mistake and was left with his second DNF in four Chase races — after not having a DNF the entire regular season.

12. Brian Vickers, 5,377
How far back is Vickers after Sunday's 29th-place finish? If Vickers were to win the final six races — and lead the most laps in each — he still wouldn't pass Johnson if Johnson were to finish ninth and not lead one lap in those races.

SportingNews.com Johnson's run is historic—but it's not over NASCAR Number: 6 On this day ... November 23 Daily podcast from Rowdy.com: November 23 Johnson grabs 4th straight title; Hamlin wins race

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