After leading the last 104 laps of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 on the .750-mile Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night to win his sixth race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Jimmy Johnson and his #48 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will now look towards New Hampshire International Speedway next Sunday and the beginning of the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"We are happy to be hitting our stride at this point," Johnson said. "As everybody knows it was a little bit of a tough summer for us. Now between the Car of Tomorrow and the current car, we're strong on all fronts and I'm happy that we're able to put that together and win back to back weeks like this." The reigning Nextel Cup Champion, Johnson’s six wins will be of major significance in the beginning the Chase as with each of them came 10 bonus points. With 5,060 points in his Alpinestars driving suit, Johnson will be the top seen in the 12-driver fight.

"My mental strength is much greater than what it was last year and so is our team," Johnson said in Victory Lane at Richmond. "To be able to go through five seasons and almost getting it and then getting it, I feel a lot more confident and I'm sure the team does, too." However, while it is all systems go for Johnson, it’s not going to be easy. Not by any means as past champions Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth will be right there with him. "It's a really stout field. You see a lot of teams hitting their stride — and this the most competitive Chase we've seen. I just want to be strong and steady and start knocking down top-fives starting next weekend ... hopefully win a race or two in the Chase." Over the next 10 weeks, The Chase for the Nextel Cup will take place at Richmond, Dover, Kansas, Talladega, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami. When factoring in everything from tiny half-miles (Martinsville) to high-speed ovals (Atlanta) and high-naked superspeedways, only the very strong and resourceful will survive.