Johnson goes for 4 in a row - again
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Friday, February 29, 2008
Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 16: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, sits in his car in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2008 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for NASCAR)
It’s nearly been 10 years since a driver won one event four years in a row. But for the second time in his career, Jimmie Johnson will try to match that feat.
Jeff Gordon won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway every year from 1995-98. Johnson won three Coca-Cola 600s in a row from 2003-2005 but finished second in his bid to win it four consecutive seasons.
But now Johnson has a chance to win his fourth consecutive race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of this weekend’s UAW-Dodge 400.
“I think that the experience at Lowe's has helped me moving into this weekend's race in Las Vegas,” Johnson said earlier this week. “It's tough to remove the emotions and excitement to maybe do something that's either never been done or something that hasn't been done in a long time.
“So I'm excited about that. But the more I can rule it out of my head and not think about it and just stick to the basics, driving the race car, just trying to win the race, the better.”
Johnson said when he was going for four consecutive victories at Charlotte, he thought about the feat a little too much. This time, he’ll try to consider the race as just another race. Sure, that’s a cliché, but the simple things do indeed add up to a lot in this sport.
“There's no need to put more pressure on myself than I already would,” Johnson said. “And if I can keep it in my mind more like it's a normal race, and I found this also with the championship last year, if I just keep it simple, I stay in the right mindset and focus on the right things."
Whatever he thinks about this weekend, he, crew chief Chad Knaus and the entire No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team will be targets. Other teams will likely figure that if they can outrun Johnson, there’s a good chance they’ll be up front.
What makes Johnson’s streak more impressive is that Vegas was reconfigured before last year’s race, with added banking and new asphalt. Still, Johnson was able to go to victory lane.
“With the old track, there were some things that really popped out that I was excited about and knew would help me with marks, how I drove the track and attacked the track,” Johnson said. “But it's changed. I had to learn with everyone else last year about what the track was going to do.
“It's so early in the season and I feel like the team's trying to get into a rhythm, I'm trying to get into a rhythm, that it's not been a race that I've gone into saying, 'All right, we're in our stride right now and we're going to win in Las Vegas.' It's just worked out that way. We've usually finished second in Fontana, leave Fontana with some good thoughts, good direction, then head on over to Las Vegas and win. I hope we can do that again.”
