Aaron McFarling

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• Monday: Hokies finally get one to fall; Threats from jail; Warming up pitching arms and engines

MARTINSVILLE -- This was a lottery drawing with only two ping-pong balls.

Oh, sure, the fans in red showed up to Martinsville Speedway on Sunday hoping this race would be different. And every driver who strapped on a HANS device set his sights on the checkered flag.

But a sense of inevitability hung over this place all afternoon, and not even a record amount of cautions could shoo it away.

Either Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon was going to win. The only question was, which one?

Johnson won. Surprised? You should be only if you believed it was Gordon's turn.

In some ways, this has been a season of change in NASCAR. The Nextel Cup Series added a bonus for winning in the first 26 races. Juan Pablo Montoya joined the circuit, and other foreign drivers are flocking to the sport.

The Car of Tomorrow debuted, changing strategies at short tracks and superspeedways.

But the fundamental question -- who will win the race? -- has been answered consistently. Johnson and Gordon have now combined to win 13 of the 32 races.

It's their Chase now, their autumn, and nobody else's.

Johnson cut 15 points off Gordon's lead and sits 53 points back with four races to go.

Johnson admitted he was frustrated by gaining such a small amount while winning, but that's how he's going to have to do this. Johnson should take solace in the fact that he still has a shot at the championship, something nobody else can realistically claim.

An ever-polite Gordon says he still wouldn't count Tony Stewart out. Tony Stewart, who dropped to 249 points back of Gordon, is out.

Clint Bowyer, no doubt a feel-good story, is only 115 points back. But it might as well be 1,100 points the way the two Hendrick Motorsports stars are going.

Here's how daunting these two are to the rest of the field:

Asked whether there were any tracks he feared on the remaining schedule, Johnson thought for a second before deciding on Phoenix.

The reason? He usually runs between fourth through sixth there -- and Gordon is a little better.

It's like trying to catch Michael Jordan for a scoring title. It can be done, but it won't happen quickly, and only the best of the best have a chance.

Flush with cash and talent, Johnson and Gordon have mastered this new car more quickly than anybody.

Add in their history of success at Martinsville and there was little question what would happen Sunday. It didn't matter that Johnson prefers long green-flag runs, which didn't come often as cars spun at a record rate. A determined Ryan Newman tried to make a late move, but Johnson held on to the surprise of nobody -- not even his more decorated teammate.

"He's Mr. Martinsville if you ask me right now," Gordon said.

Wait -- doesn't Johnson already own titles elsewhere? Isn't he the king of Lowe's Motor Speedway?

But you get Gordon's point. Johnson's won three in a row at Martinsville.

In 11 races here, Johnson has finished outside the top-10 only once.

The only other active driver with a comparable resume: Jeff Gordon, who's won here seven times. As the final laps ticked off the board, a line of fans could be seen already walking toward the parking lot through the gap in turn 2. Were they nuts?

Why pay all this money to come to the racetrack and then miss the finish?

Simple: Their ping-pong ball wasn't even in the hopper.

They've seen it all before.