Mike Hembree: Beat Jimmie Johnson? Here’s how
By Mike Hembree - Associate Editor
Monday, November 23, 2009
Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson celebrates after locking up his fourth straight NASCAR Cup championship with a fifth-place finish in Sunday night's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
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COMMENTARY
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The mercy killing is over. As expected, Jimmie Johnson rolled over the pretenders to the Sprint Cup crown Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, joining athletes like half-man/half-fish Michael Phelps in the virtually unbeatable category.
It will be a long winter for everybody else who drives a Sprint Cup car and every other team that hopes to redirect the hottest energy of the sport along a road that doesn’t include the No. 48. For four years, Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the talented folks who build and maintain their cars have been brilliantly successful.
If anybody hopes to challenge Johnson and the rest of the 48 juggernaut in 2010, it’s clear some serious offseason work is ahead.
The task seems almost insurmountable, given the results of the previous four seasons, but there are numerous approaches that could work. Among them:
· Find the next Chad Knaus. He’s out there somewhere. He’s waiting for the opportunity. He can carry the same techno-load Knaus carries. He can be the same sort of fierce team leader. He can win. His name might even be Darian Grubb.
· If the next Knaus can’t be located, go into negotiations and hire the original Chad Knaus. Bring a big check. It’ll be worth it.
· Find more money and hire more people. Hendrick Motorsports employs 500. This is sort of like being “outlawyered." Big numbers don’t always mean success, but you can make a really good argument that throwing a boatload of people at a project can work. Hendrick is a prime example. It isn’t decisions by committee. It’s work by good people who report to smart leaders.
· Partner with a large home improvement business. Seems to pay benefits. And the freebies – hammers, wrenches – are cool.
· Divert Johnson’s attention. Buy him a yacht. Give him a one-way ticket to Paris. Encourage him to try Formula One.
· If nothing else works, we can borrow a suggestion from Ryan Newman, one of the Chase For The Sprint Cup drivers who watched Johnson zoom past this year: Dynamite. Take down the 48/24 Hendrick shop. Dismantle the power base. Send the team cars up in smoke.
He was just kidding. We think.
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Comments
16 responses to "Mike Hembree: Beat Jimmie Johnson? Here’s how". Post a Comment.
4-DA-88 said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 12:10 PMSo.. ignore him and he will go away.. will not work?
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSheilaLovesNASCAR said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:24 PMJimmy winning the chase is here to stay. So, if the chase stays, NASCAR better get used to fans complaining how boring it is because only Jimmy can win championships. It was a better sport when the season was 36 races long. Points racing? Maybe. But the chase is not the answer. Give the winner 25 extra points, do away with the chase, and let's see what happens. Will the fans come back? I don't know for sure, but I know fans of the other 30 drivers have no reason to watch racing as it is. And if each win gets more points, you should get those drivers going for the win. And the driver with the most wins should be the champion. That sounds more exciting than 12 drivers in ten races, while there are still 43 cars on the track. NASCAR is racing. Let them race. And may the driver with the most wins (and points) win the championship.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnovara48 said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:32 PMGood Luck prying Chad away from HMS!! Remember he left HMS once already in his career....only to come back to where he knew he could have the most success. The Chase is not the problem. The other teams just need to step their game up. As far as bonus points go, if you are going to give bonus points for a win, give them when they are won, not weeks or even months after the fact. Until Nascar implements a rule specifically against the 48 team.......the 48 team will be the best on the track...Period. Old points system, new Chase format, doesn't matter what it is, as long as team 48 is on the track, they will figure out what they need to do to win the championship.
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» Confirm Abuse Report4-DA-88 said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:46 PMNOVARA48, not that it makes much difference, but I think you are mistaken, two of the four Championships under the old system JJ would not have. One would be Jeff's and the other would be Carl's. But, I doubt if the 48 team would have sand-bagged all year and come to life in the last part of the season if it were still done the old way. So we really have no way of knowing how it would have turned out.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportkylestewart said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:59 PMso basically this article gives all the credit to Chad and HMS. which it should.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportminkee2 said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 5:33 PMWell said and to the point, Kyle.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 5:39 PMtake the GM money and research and spread it more evenly amongst the Chevy teams....Chad sent a big thank you to GM...and we know how GM in the past has given support to favored teams...this goes all the way back to the 60's...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnascarnutsheeler said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 6:10 PMWerner your absolutly right, also though if Nascar doesn't put a stop to this dominance the stands are going to keep right on emptying.Why bother watching if the same team win all the time.I used to travel from Calgary to Texas or Las Vegas but haven't since Johnson started winning so many races. This same thing happened when Petty was winning them all. Thank heaven David Pearson came along.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAndi said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 7:27 PMSimple: The other teams have to step it up and not just give 100%, they need to give 200%. When they have a bad day, they need to keep after it, and never give up. Chad isn't going anywhere, Rick had said they are in the process of resigning him, and that him and Chad have even talked about retiring together. Distracting Jimmie isn't gonna work either. And the other teams have better be ready for the first few races. Chad said in post race/champion press conference that they already have the cars ready for Fontana and Las Vegas, and I believe Daytona. They're already working for next year. The Chase isn't the problem. The 48 team had finished 5th in the points their rookie year, and then second the next year. They have always been a championship contender, they just finally got it done. The thing is, this team never stops, even when it gets tough, they do not stop. And there are some drivers and teams that need to get that same mentality.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportlady6nascar said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 7:35 PM#2 agree completely with what you posted.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportbanditosmith said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 7:43 PMFirst off the stands are what they are because of the economy not dominance.Mark and Jeff need what every one else needs,that's Chad and a crew that can start you off good then dial you in as you go.It can be done and will be done.All the Sprint teams are GREAT they just have to be Greater,and believe me they will be.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSS396Chevelle said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 8:49 PM#2 30 of those drivers you speak about will never win a race or contend to win races. They are there for the money and being content with being 20th in the points. Take a good look at the list of drivers and teams and point out those who can win a championship. No matter what format you want HMS will still come out on top. They can adapt easily to anyway Nascar wants to crown a Champion. In 8 years the 48 team has finished no worse then 5th in the standings. The old way and the new way, it makes no difference. If Johnson had to win Sundays race he would have won it. Chad said after the race how fast Jimmie's car was, but never let him use it all. Hamlin won the race on fast pit stops, while Johnson's were made to make sure it was done right and no penalties for lug nuts or speeding. Go over the season and you can almost add 4 more wins for Johnson. Two wins lost because of fuel. If they need to win a race they will win it. No team can do that, not yet.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjbbigrod said:
Nov 24, 2009 at 1:05 AMI suppose a sniper could shoot out his tires every other race. Naw, that probably wouldn't be enough either. Maybe three out of four races. Naw, that wouldn't work either. He would probably crash into the guys in 2nd and third place and they would cushion his crash and he would still finish ahead of them.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnascarnutsheeler said:
Nov 24, 2009 at 2:09 PMBig Rod my friend you sound defeated, I know you were being sarcastic. Theres always next year. Our guys sure have a busy winter ahead of them though.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportgrumpyjim52 said:
Nov 24, 2009 at 3:06 PMChange "The Chase", add Bristol and Watkins Glenn, take out a couple of "cookie cutter" Mile and one half's. Then the others can have a chance to beat Johnson on tracks he doesn't dominate on.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportarttidesco said:
Nov 24, 2009 at 3:33 PMTo Jimmy proof the chase fit Watkins Glen and Sanoma into the chase schedule :-)
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