The 2013 RTD champion shot 3-under 69 in the second round of the DP World Tour Championship. He is 3 under par and six shots back in the event, but his standing is still strong in the season-long race.
Four players can win the overall title, in order: Stenson, Danny Willett, Alex Noren and Rory McIlroy.
If any of them wins this week, they will also win the Race to Dubai.
Noren (69) is a shot in front of Stenson, at 4 under, but he needs to finish no worse than runner-up this week to have a shot at capturing the RTD.