Worst to first in the Chase? Johnson does it in 2006

As the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup is set to begin this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, there is a rule of thumb that states "there is no way to win the championship after one of 10 races, but it is possible to lose it."

In the past four seasons, for the most part, that theory has held true. Poor starts in the first race of the Chase usually have spelled doom for those drivers unlucky to finish 30th or worse at New Hampshire.

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In 2004, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield all found trouble at New Hampshire and never were factors for the rest of the Chase. Stewart was able to rally to finish sixth, but 180 points behind eventual champion Kurt Busch.

Those three switched places in the 2005 Chase. A crash on Lap 3 of the 2005 New Hampshire race left Busch with a 35th-place finish -- and he would finish last behind eventual champion Stewart, who had the dominant car until being passed by Newman on the next-to-last lap.

Kyle Busch kept it all in the family in 2006, when he collided with Jeff Green on the third lap and wrecked again later in the race. His 38th-place finish at New Hampshire led to an eventual last-place finish in that season's Chase.

But there seems to be an exception to every rule, and the driver who finished 39th that day proved that you can still win the title by going from worst to first.

After his win at Indianapolis in August -- his fourth of the season -- Jimmie Johnson had a comfortable 100-point lead on the rest of the field and was virtually guaranteed a spot in the Chase. In the next five races however, the No. 48 failed to score a top-10 finish -- leading only five more laps-- and eventually fell to second behind Matt Kenseth when the Chase field was set.

Still, when New Hampshire rolled around, Johnson and his team expected to be ready to challenge for the championship. But things seemed to go wrong right from the drop of the green flag. Struggling with a sour engine, Johnson stopped in the pits several times during the first caution in an attempt to make repairs, putting him deep in the field on the restart. (Continued)