Jimmie Johnson will be gunning for his fifth-straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, having successfully defended his title three times. David Caraviello of NASCAR.COM will learn just how hard a feat that is as he starts his trek to defend his 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase Tracker championship.

Registration for the Chase Tracker game has officially opened on NASCARMedia.com with the sport’s top journalists testing their prediction skills against celebrity NASCAR fans from the world of sports, entertainment and politics.

Caraviello, who held off Jerry Van Der Ploeg of EUROSPORT TVand Godwin Kelly of the Daytona Beach News-Journal for his media title, will be joined by defending celebrity champion Congressman Patrick McHenry, from Cherryville, N.C. McHenry beat world-renowned chef Emeril Lagasse and professional bowler Danny Wiseman.

The Chase Tracker is a fantasy game in which contestants predict each week’s Chase standings and race winners. Like a “March Madness” grid, a Chase Tracker entry must be completely filled out (all 10 weeks) before the Chase begins. Points are awarded for each correct prediction, with the amount increasing each week. One point is earned for each correct New Hampshire pick, two for each Dover pick, up to 10 points for each right Homestead pick. Correctly predicting the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion earns a contestant 20 points. Five bonus points can be earned each week for properly predicting the race winner.

This will mark the fifth season for the NASCAR Public Relations’ Celebrity Chase Tracker challenge. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Mike Hampton won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 and best-selling author Janet Evanovich was victorious in 2008. Other previous contestants include Tom Brady, Floyd Mayweather, Gavin DeGraw and John Cena.

Both celebrity and media champions will again be recognized in 2010 with Sprint providing prizes. To register, visit https://www.nascarmedia.com/sprint/2010_nascar_sprint_cup_celebrity_chase_tracker.aspx before the start of Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

For additional information, contact:

Josh Hamilton, NASCAR Public Relations, (386) 547-7205 or jhamilton@nascar.com