The 12 drivers in contention were separated by a mere 40 points heading into the first Chase Race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Veteran driver Mark Martin led the pack going into the Chase, looking for his first championship in a long career after coming out of retirement before the season. Martin said he will prepare for the upcoming races the same way he does for every other race. 
 
“It going to be the same as it always is. Same training, same nutritional deal, meet the same obligations. Just do my thing,” he said. “I know it is the Chase for the Championship, and I know that makes it a little different than it was at one time, and there’s some bonus points for wins, but in the end the guy that wins is the guy that scores the most points, and that’s the same as it was on the dirt track in 1974 when I started.”
               
One of the Chase drivers is looking to achieve something never done before in NASCAR. Jimmie Johnson, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion, entered the Chase tied for second. He would be the first driver in history to win four championships in a row, breaking Cale Yarborough’s record of three-straight titles (1976-78). Johnson is fully aware he is on the cusp of history.
 
“I have to admit, in last year going through trying to tie Cale, it really brought that into perspective. My race wins and moving up through the record books, now that I’m in this situation I’m like ’Wow that’s really cool,’ and it’s taken on a whole new meaning for me,” he said. He added that this year feels different than the past three years, “I feel a bit more competitive. Last year we had to fight so hard to catch up…and this year we’ve been really good all year, so I’d say it’s been less stressful.”
 
A popular pick to capture the Sprint Cup in 2009 is two-time champion Tony Stewart, who entered the chase tied for second. This has already been a memorable year for Stewart, as he started racing under his own team, Tony Stewart Racing, and both team drivers, himself and Ryan Newman reached the Chase (Newman started tied for ninth) and are the only team featuring its complete slate of drivers in the chase. The chance to win the Sprint Cup as an owner and driver has everyone at TSR running on all cylinders.
 
“I know the morale of the team is definitely up. It would be up anyway having us in there but having Ryan in there as well the whole organization is excited and you don’t have one team wishing they were in but supportive of the other team so the whole shop is in it and has a shot to win a championship now and I think that carries a lot of weight,” said Stewart. 
               
For some of the drivers, one of the benefits of being in the Chase is the chance to come to Manhattan, even for a short time. Kurt Busch, who started the Chase tied for sixth, said that having a shot to win the championship is fun and having the chance to come to New York only sweetens the deal. 
 
“Coming to New York on a week like this makes you feel special about the season you’ve had so far, and it’s a privilege to make it to this point. I’ve been out a couple of years, I’ve made it four out of the six years, you seem to feel like you’re the odd man out or you missed out on something if you’re not part of the Chase,” he said. “It‘s a nice treat year after year. When Brian France gets up and speaks at dinner…you know that something was special about the first 26 races if you‘re sitting there listening to him here in New York.”
               
None of the drivers in the chase are from the New York area but three, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Brian Vickers, all have apartments in the city and spend some of their time in the city during the off season or during NASCAR’s northeast races. Even in the hectic pace of Manhattan, Johnson said it helps him get a breather from racing. But that’s getting a little harder to do as NASCAR is gaining popularity in New York. 
 
“I love coming up and finding new places to eat, spending time with friends, and just kind of relaxing and forgetting about racing for a while…I’ve had a few experiences in the last couple of days where I wouldn’t expect people to recognize me. We went to the Jane Hotel, they have a nice lounge there, and they had a private event going on, and we’re trying to get in and they wouldn’t let us in then the bouncer looked at me and said ‘I can’t believe management is disrespecting you like this’ and he got us in.” 
           
For Gordon, a four-time champion and one of NASCAR’s most recognizable drivers, New York is a very special place. “I love New York, I got a lot of friends here now, I met my wife here, I think it’s a great city,” he said. And like Johnson, he is finding it more difficult to get around the city unnoticed. “There was a time when you could walk up and down the street and never get recognized and the nice thing about New York is that you’re rarely going to get recognized. But it still happens and it happens when you least expect it…when it happens it’s cool and when it doesn’t happen you try and take advantage of it.”  
 
Drivers who only make the occasional visit to New York, such as Busch, notice more and more NASCAR fans every time. “From the first year of doing the parade through the city of this year to walking into the Hard Rock Café today, there are hundreds of people out there checking us out, it’s pretty neat,” he said. 
 
Even with football season underway and the hockey season and baseball playoffs around the corner, New Yorkers are paying more attention to NASCAR, and drivers finding it more difficult to blend in. When the Sprint Cup winner comes back to New York at the end of November, they shouldn’t be surprised to see even more NASCAR fans ready to congratulate them.