BY USA Today

Hendrick duo leaving field in dust
Though they don't go scuba-diving in the Bahamas or on the prowl at nightclubs in Manhattan as often since Johnson got married and Gordon became a father, ...

Answers to pressing questions heading into Saturday night's Bank of America 500 Nextel Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway :

Q: Has the Chase for the Nextel Cup turned into a two-man, one-team race?

A: With six races remaining, all of the cards in this season's championship run are being held at the Hendrick Motorsports shop that houses the Chevrolets of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who are separated by nine points.

With only one driver (Clint Bowyer, 63 points behind) within 100 points of the lead, there's not enough time left for many of the other 10 contenders to close the gap without a major collapse by the Hendrick duo.

Johnson rallied from a 156-point deficit through four Chase races last season to win the championship but overcame competition that wasn't as formidable. Johnson and Gordon, who entered the Chase seeded one-two as the regular-season leaders in points and victories, have been the circuit's most consistent performers and have exhibited no weaknesses during the title run.
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Because their cars are built side-by-side by the same crewmembers in a building without dividing lines, Johnson and Gordon essentially are breaking away from the field in identical equipment, which seems to lessen their chances of being caught.

Q: What is the biggest threat to a Gordon-Johnson runaway?

A: Perhaps the chance the stress of the title fight will hurt their friendship.

Though they don't go scuba-diving in the Bahamas or on the prowl at nightclubs in Manhattan as often since Johnson got married and Gordon became a father, they remain tight and haven't let competition poison their partnership.

But there have been signs of strain this year. Gordon wasn't happy with being blocked out of a win at Martinsville Speedway by a car he co-owns; and Johnson squawked on the radio at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago after being raced aggressively by his teammate.

"The only way it'd end is if someone got upset and just decided, 'I'm going to crash him,' " Johnson said. "I don't think that's Jeff Gordon's style or mine. Even though the tension is building, it's no different than any other time, and our relationship and the dynamic as teammates and friends won't change."

Q: Will the Centers for Disease Control quarantine Concord, N.C., this weekend?

A: An emphatic "no" comes from track President H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler in the wake of a Charlotte Observer story that reported congressional aides were told to be immunized for hepatitis, tetanus, diphtheria and influenza before attending races in Concord and Talladega, Ala. The recommendations were made for House Homeland Security Committee fact-finding trips about public health during mass gatherings.

"The very idea of immunization is laughable," Wheeler said. "It's like taping your ankles to go to the mailbox. This is not some third- or fourth-world country. Never in the 50-plus years of NASCAR has there been an outbreak of any kind at an event other than a few headaches because somebody's favorite driver ran out of gas or maybe a morning hangover."

Q: Which Chase drivers have been good at Lowe's?

A: Johnson, who hasn't finished outside the top 10 in five years here, leads active drivers in several categories (driver rating, wins, average finish). Carl Edwards has top-10s in four of five starts.

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