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Jimmie Johnson sets sights on third straight title

By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer

Friday, October 10, 2008

Article Rating: 5.0
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Jerry Markland / Getty Images for NASCAR

Jerry Markland / Getty Images for NASCAR

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CONCORD, N.C. – For most of the season it has appeared that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series might crown a first-time champion in 2008, but Jimmie Johnson has begun to put that notion in serious jeopardy of late.

And if history is repeated, it may only get worse for the competition before it gets better.

Johnson’s ninth-place finish last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, coupled with his closest title pursuers’ involvement in a late crash, allowed the two-time defending series champion to stretch his points lead from 10 to 72 over second-place Carl Edwards and 30 to 77 over third-place Greg Biffle with just six races left on the schedule.

Up next are Lowe’s Motor Speedway, site of Saturday night’s Bank of America 500, and Martinsville Speedway, where the series returns next weekend.

Johnson has a combined nine victories in points-paying events at those two tracks. Count his two wins in NASCAR’s non-points-paying all-star race at Charlotte, and Johnson’s number of trips to victory lane between the two facilities soars to 11.

“I think if you look at Charlotte and Martinsville in particular - I haven’t studied the stats - but I would imagine that those are two of Jimmie’s best race tracks,” said Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton, who is fourth in the standings and 99 points behind Johnson. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I believe that would probably be the case.  If you’re not a student of history, it’s very hard to be very good at the future.

“There is no question that they’ve been consistently better at these next two race tracks than the rest of the field. I don’t think there’s no debating that.”

Nor is there any debating that the performance of Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team hardly resembles that of the group that went to victory lane just once – on a fuel-mileage gamble at Phoenix – in the first 19 races of the season.

Since his second-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway on July 12, Johnson has posted four wins and finished outside the top 10 just twice.

Others such as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, who began the Chase For The Sprint Cup with the series lead by virtue of his eight wins in NASCAR’s 26-race regular season, have sputtered.

“Typically somebody that is that strong through the first two-thirds of the season, you expect to see him at the end,” Johnson said of Busch, who has plummeted to 11th in points after failing to post a top-10 in the first four Chase races. “The flipside of that is the No. 16 [Biffle] and how much strength they have shown since the Chase has started. The No. 99 [Edwards] has been right there on par. I think he has been very consistent. We have gotten stronger through the course of the season. But in general, my overall feeling is that you have to race hard for this [championship].”

Johnson won four of the last five races of 2007 on the way to his second title. He was nearly as impressive in 2006, turning in finishes of first or second in five of his final six outings. It seems that after struggling for a few seasons to close the deal, Johnson and his Chad-Knaus led group have learned how to excel as the pressure intensifies down the stretch.

“The last three years have been impressive, in my opinion, with [Johnson’s] guys,” said Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s Hendrick teammate and the co-owner of Johnson’s No. 48 car. “They’ve done an extremely good job with the way they’ve come together as a team. I knew when they won that first championship because it took them a couple of years to get that ... it was only going to make them so much stronger and more together as a team. And they’ve proven that last year, and this year that you can’t ever count those guys out.”

With another championship this season, Johnson would join Cale Yarborough as the only driver in series history to claim three straight crowns. Yarborough won his in 1976, 1977 and 1978.

If Johnson matches that feat, it won’t come by running conservatively in an attempt to preserve his lead in the final six races, though.

“As far as strategy, we can’t change anything,” Johnson said. “We still have to go out and lead laps, win races and run up front. Seventy-two points is nice, but with six or seven races - I don’t even know how many we have left to go - it is not a lot. Anything can happen still. We are in a great position, but we still need to race for every point and don’t change anything.

“I feel through my career, the times I have tried to change something are the times I have made mistakes. So I am trying to wash out the points lead and just do my job and go out and race like I do each week.”

Average Rating: 5.0

Comments

6 responses to "Jimmie Johnson sets sights on third straight title "
  1. 1
    Irene Macfie said:
    Oct 10, 2008 at 8:48 AM

    Hope you win the cup again. Go Jimmie !

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  2. 2
    gwen thompson said:
    Oct 10, 2008 at 11:02 AM

    Well Jimmie its your HOUSE. Appears you and CHAD and the crew started LATE, but it never fails. YOUR CREW CHIEF IS AWESOME + the pit crew. Well, I will be watching and listening and cheering, I really want Dalejr to win. Can't you not win this time.lol Well, As long as HMS in in the House, I guess I will accept it. TRY STAYING AWAY FOR THAT 99. WE DON'T WANT WHAT HAPPEN LAST WEEK TO HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT YOU WERE SAFE. GOOD LUCK TO HMS.

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  3. 3
    Frank Alford said:
    Oct 10, 2008 at 11:41 AM

    Anybody but a Hendrick please esp not Jimmy again jeez

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  4. 4
    Linda said:
    Oct 10, 2008 at 1:13 PM

    Yes, please Jimmie again. I was saying not Kyle again earlier this year so know how you feel. But, we have history to make! Go Jimmie.

    Report as Abuse
  5. 5
    Anna Fie said:
    Oct 10, 2008 at 1:39 PM

    I said it before and I'll say it again. It would be great to see Jimmie win the championship and tie Yarborough. GO JIMMIE GO

    Report as Abuse
  6. 6
    DEBRA CHESSANI said:
    Oct 10, 2008 at 2:46 PM

    I don't get tired of saying this ever! Jimmie Johnson is a great driver, who lives to race. He and Chad together live for racing. This is why Team 48 excels when it matters most. They always want to get better, to fix what isen't working... Testing, Testing, Testing. What is the best about Jimmie, is that he is a positive role model for Nascar, he never embarrasses himself or his profession. He gives his time and money to so many less fortunate people as well. He is what a CHAMPION SHOULD BE.. Going for 3.. Championships that is, IN A ROW!! GO JIMMIE AND TEAM 48 ALL THE WAY!!! JIMMIE IS ON THE POLE FOR CHARLOTTE.. WHEWHOOOOOO!!

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