AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Rejuvenated by one of the best rides in his career, Mark Martin has shed a dreary attitude for an upbeat version that has him often smiling and enjoying his racing renaissance.

Yet, even a buoyant attitude can't keep Martin from realistically assessing his chances of catching Jimmie Johnson. A week after Martin cut 111 points from Johnson's lead because Johnson crashed at Texas, Martin -- still 73 points behind -- confesses: "I don't expect lightning to strike twice."

Martin notes that if he and Johnson both run to their potential, there's no way he can gain enough points today at Phoenix and next weekend at Homestead to keep Johnson from being the first driver in series history to win four consecutive Cup championships.

Johnson proved Martin's point Saturday. Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with Martin second.

That both were among the fastest is no surprise at this track. Hendrick Motorsports has won the past five races at Phoenix with Martin winning in the spring. Johnson won this race a year ago.

"When I started driving for Hendrick, I don't think that Phoenix was one that was circled on the calendar for any of the teams," Johnson said. "I think we, as a group, have figured out how to get around this track, the setups we needed."

This points race might have been closer, Martin admits, had he not been collected in the last-lap crash at Talladega. His car rolled upside down, costing him a number of positions and points. He finished 28th that day.

"Had I managed not to be involved in that wreck, then the race would be on and it would be down to who scored the most points in the last two races," Martin said.

Johnson enters today's race confidently despite last week's problems -- the first time in the title Chase he had placed outside the top 10.

"I feel that a 73-point lead is a very, very healthy lead," Johnson said. "But it's hard to look back at the week before at [the 184-point lead entering Texas], the comfort that brought. Homestead would have been a very enjoyable experience. That possibility still exists. [Martin] could have trouble this week. You never know."

Crew chief Chad Knaus said this week that Johnson's crash wasn't the result of a car hitting him, but that Johnson was that far in the field based on qualifying. Johnson started 12th at Texas -- one of his worst starting spots in the past five months. Today, Johnson starts third.

Even with last week's problems, Johnson's team has shown it is not easy to defeat.

"Even when they're not that fast, they're just like that team that won't go away," Carl Edwards said. "They don't every lay down. They're never bad. And that's what I think makes them so tough.

"What we do is just look at them and try to emulate them and say: 'Where are we getting beat by them?' I'm not demoralized yet. I feel like we can go out there and beat them next year just like we did last year [in overall wins], but we've got to do it. They've definitely raised the bar."