Jimmie Johnson’s Fifth Championship
Jimmie Johnson’s Drive for Five Championships is Alive and Well.
How is it that Jimmie Johnson can be so dominant when NASCAR is so competitive?
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
The rules are so tight that no one driver should be so prevailing. But Jimmie Johnson always seems to peak at the right time. How does he do it?
Sunday at Dover International Speedway’s Monster Mile Johnson started from the pole in the AAA 400. He led the most laps and won the race. “Maximum points†is how crew chief Chad Knaus described it.
According to Johnson it was “the weekend we would dream of, were able to get it with winning the pole, leading the most laps and winning the race.â€
Johnson had little pressure from 2nd place finishing Jeff Burton in the closing laps. Although Burtons lap times were quicker than Johnsons at times Johnson was able to maintain a 2.637 second lead at the checkered flag; in part thanks to a speedy green flag pit stop by the No. 48 crew.
Mid-race A.J. Allmendinger, driving the No. 43 Ford, looked to have the car to beat. But Allmendinger ran over a ten cent washer and cut a tire. He went 2 laps down before rebounding to finish 10th.
“We played it smart,†said Jimmie Johnson about the press by Allmendinger. “He wasn’t a Chase guy. When he got to me and put pressure on me, I let him by. I just need to worry about those 11 other drivers and really about myself. Way too early to worry about stuff. Come the end of the race, he wasn’t there to have to fight with.â€
The only other serious challenger to the No. 48 was Kyle Busch. Then Busch scraped the wall and lost the handle on his No. 18 Toyota. He was not a contender for the win after that.
The win moved Jimmie Johnson to 2nd in the Sprint Cup point standings – just 35 points behind Denny Hamlin with 8 races to go.
This is the time of the year that Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 crew always seem to bring out the big guns. They seem to pick up the pace when the Sprint Cup is on the line.
According to crew chief Chad Knaus it is the people on the team that make the difference. “We work hard to make sure we have the right people on the team, said Knaus. “I think we do. We’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I can promise you, if something goes wrong, something falls short of what their goal is, there’s nobody that feels worse than what that individual does. To try to motivate from that point is unnecessary when you got guys like that.â€
Can Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team pull it all together one more time for a 5th championship? And how will that championship be received by the fans of NASCAR?
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s R&D Experiment
Photo Courtesy Chevy Guy 454
Without a spot in the Chase Dale Earnhardt Jr has been tasked with helping his teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon win races and a championship.
Dale Jr wasn’t doing a very good job of helping his teammates in the Sylvania 300 Sunday afternoon. He finished 4th – ahead of both Gordon at 6th and Johnson at 25th.
If this is what it means to be the research and development team then Dale Earnhardt Jr needs some more of it.
The chassis setup that crew chief Lance McGrew put on the No. 88 Chevy didn’t look so hot to start with. Earnhardt qualified 32nd. But by mid-race he had rocketed through the field to 6th.
McGrew made a strategic call to stop for fuel only on the final pit stop; a move that allowed Junior to maintain track position and gave him a legitimate shot to finish first or second.
Both Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer elected not to pit. That decision cost Stewart the race when he ran out of fuel – and won the race for Bowyer when he did not.
As the laps began to run out and the leaders began to run on fumes Earnhardt’s chances began to improve.
When race leader Tony Stewart ran out of gas on the white flag lap Dale Jr picked up another spot to finish 4th.
While 4th is not a win it is an improvement as big as the sky. Dale Jr needs those experimental setups every week.
Do you think Chad Knaus will be sharing any more secrets with Dale Jr and Lance McGrew?
Will NASCAR Fans Tune In for the Chase?
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Will you pay less attention to NASCAR if your driver is not in the Chase?
Will you follow NASCAR more intensely if your driver is in the Chase?
Does the Chase even make any difference at all?
Late Saturday night NASCAR’s most popular driver was officially eliminated from NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. But even Dale Earnhardt Jr’s most loyal supporters knew weeks ago that he wasn’t going to make it in. The writing was on the wall ever so plainly.
Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray are 13th and 14th in the standings as the Chase begins – and were the only two drivers with a legitimate shot of making the cut heading into Richmond. Neither did.
Will fans of Newman and McMurray pay less attention to NASCAR now?
Will fans of Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and the rest of the drivers in the Chase pay more attention?
How much difference does the Chase really make any way? I believe that had there never been a Chase format Jimmie Johnson would still be a 4 time Champion. I don’t think it would have made any difference at all.
But don’t go back and start calculating points based on the old points system. That is not my point at all.
What I am saying is that the championship winning teams will adjust their strategy to whatever rules package you out in front of them, and the champion will always rise to the top.
Is the Championship important? Sure it is. But so is racing for wins every week.
So where do you stand; is your driver in or out? Will that effect how you follow NASCAR for the next 10 weeks?
NASCAR Fans Stand Up to Cancer
The following is a guest post by Philip and Karen Williams
My wife and I are sitting here watching the Atlanta race and having a discussion about NASCAR’s role in Stand Up To Cancer. We thought it would be a good idea, if it is not already possible, to have a way that fans could donate to Stand Up to Cancer.
We don’t know if NASCAR would allow it but one way to do it would be to have donation stations around the race track where fans could donate as much or as little as they could freely. We live in Starkville, MS and have been to Talledega many times and have never seen anything like a donation station when entering or exiting the track so don’t know if anything like this is possible.
Another way would be to put a line on the tickets where fans could donate a sum of money when purchasing their tickets. If every person that bought tickets donated $1 per ticket, millions of dollars could be raised for a great cause. NASCAR could even have a NASCAR Stand Up to Cancer Pin that could be purchased.
I know that times are hard and money is tight but most folks will donate what they can when given the opportunity.
We appreciate your time.
Philip and Karen Williams
Starkville, MS
Make a donation or learn more about Stand Up to Cancer here
Wake up with Dale Jr
Dale Earnhardt Jr uses one of my favorite quotes on this trip to Nashville: “Y’all take it Easy.”
Be sure and let everyone know what you think by leaving your comments.