Jimmie Johnson’s Goal Was to Wreck Busch
Jimmie Johnson Admits That His Goal Was To Wreck Kurt Busch.
It looks like Jimmie Johnson has got his horseshoe back. In the closing laps of Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in New Hampshire Kurt Busch moved race leader jimmie Johnson out of the racing groove and passed him for the lead. A roar erupted from the grandstand as Busch began to drive away.
“When we got going on the restart, Kurt knocked me out of the way, and I thought, ‘I don’t care if I win this race or not. I don’t care if I finish this damn thing. I am running into him and getting back by him one way or another,” Jimmie Johnson said.
Johnson was not done yet. A few laps later Johnson put the same move on Busch and held on to win the race.
“I have to say I was a little shocked,” No. 48 Johnson said. I haven’t spoken to him or really seen any video to know. If it was his intentions, that’s the first time in nine years racing with him that I have experienced that. It will definitely change the way that I race with him.”
After the race Kurt Busch said that he didn’t think that Johnson would intentionally wreck him to get the win.
“I hate that he felt that I wasn’t going to wreck him because that was my goal was to wreck him,” said Jimmie Johnson. “I usually get caught up in it, so I knew what my thought process was. Wreck his ass.”
The win was Johnson’s fifth victory in 2010 and 2nd in a row.
Kasey Kahne put on a strong showing for Ford leading 110 laps until suffering an engine failure.
Jack Roush, leader of the Ford contingent, was seen walking away from pit road before the race was over. That was a serious statement. Roush never leaves early. But he had seen enough today. His best finishing car was Greg Biffle in 16th place.
Jeff Burton was leading late in the race when a caution flag flew. Burton’s crew chief made the call to stay out when everyone else pitted for tires. But if Burton had pitted everyone else would have stayed out so he was in a no win situation. Burton quickly lost the lead. Then he was involved in an incident with Kyle Busch that sent Busch for a spin and both of them had to pit for tires.
Dale Earnhardt Jr continued to show steady improvement. Junior started 31st and finished 8th. Dale Jr will be in Victory Lane before the end of the year. Maybe as soon as Saturday Night at Daytona.
But it’s what you as a fan thinks that is most important. What do you think about today’s race?
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
The Nancy Pelosi Secret to Winning in NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have mastered the art of psychological gamesmanship. They are experts at getting inside the hearts and minds of their opponents.
Drivers are more concerned about beating Jimmie Johnson than they are about making their own cars faster.
Johnson enjoys the games. “I get caught up in that mind game stuff and find a lot of satisfaction in it,” Jimmie Johnson said. “I told Chad before the year was over I want to win a lot to frustrate the competitors.
Kurt Busch is concerned
Just look at Kurt Busch’s remarks after losing at Bristol despite dominating the race and leading 278 laps.
“I don’t know, I’d rather lose to any of the 41 cars out there than the 48 car,” Busch said
“It’s up to the best of us to knock him off the top,” Busch said after losing to Johnson in the closing laps of Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol. “So it’s rough. You know, they’ve won three times this year. Not that we need to, deserve to win, it’s just that they are winning every chance they’re given. We just need to position ourselves more to get those wins.”
Matt Kenseth is worried about Johnson, too. During the spoiler test this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway Kenseth was asked about the upcoming race at Martinsville and Johnson’s winning record there. “He’s good everywhere,” said Kenseth.
What drivers can learn from Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi knows how to play mind games all too well. She called President George Bush a “total failure” when Bush criticized Congress’s inaction on important legislation.
“God bless him, bless his heart, President of the United States — a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people,” said Pelosi.
When Barack Obama was pushing for passage of his Obama Care plan Pelosi urged her colleagues to vote for it. “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it’” urged Pelosi.
There are a few NASCAR drivers who can stand to learn a thing or two about mind games from Pelosi.
Chad Knaus does the same thing to other crew chiefs. He’s been known to walk through the garage on the morning of the race with a rear spring over his shoulder headed to the race car – but never intending to change a thing on the car.
He just wants to get the other crew chiefs talking – to throw them off their game.
When the No. 48 team was invited to participate in a Goodyear tire test late last year many drivers including Greg Biffle were complaining that Johnson was gaining an unfair advantage. Here’s how Chad Knaus responded to that:
“But as far as sending a message, I hope it does. I hope people talk about it. Like I said earlier, I hope people are worried. I hope people are talking about the fact that we tire tested and it’s wrong. All these people can get wound up about stuff that really doesn’t matter,” said Knaus.
Dale Earnhardt was the master
I haven’t seen anyone this good at psychological racing since Dale Earnhardt. He wasn’t known as The Intimidator just for what happened on the race track.
Once at Talladega when all the other drivers were busy dialing their cars in during practice Dale shook things up with a very simple move. He parked his car in the garage, covered it up, and went fishing.
Dale Earnhardt won 10 Cup races at Talladega.
Earnhardt once struck fear into the hearts of his fellow drivers when he made his famous comment about drivers complaining about the high speeds at Daytona. Essentially, he told them if they were afraid to drive the car they should go home.
So who else in NASCAR is good at psyching out their competitors? What tactics have you seen played out by drivers? I’d be happy to hear about it in the comments, or feel free to contact me.
Can anyone beat Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville?
Is there any reason for NASCAR to run a race in Martinsville next week?
It seems like Jimmie Johnson wins every time we go there. Johnson has 6 wins at the half- mile Virginia paperclip. His average finish is 5.1.
So far this year Johnson has won 3 of 5 Sprint Cup races. He is the man to beat at Martinsville.
How do Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus do it?
The No. 48 team’s domination can’t be good for NASCAR – long known for keeping an equal playing field.
You don’t have to look any farther than the grandstands at Bristol to see that. There were 50,000 empty seats on Sunday. And Bristol has been sold out for 55 straight races.
Can anyone beat Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson Greatest All Time
Is Jimmie Johnson the Greatest of All Time?
Jimmie’s fans apparently think he is the greatest. His fan base is growing daily. Kyle Busch fans are tossing their No. 18 hats in the trash and buying No. 48 hats. Jeff Gordon fans are donating their No. 24 t-shirts to the Salvation Army and buying Jimmie Johnson shirts.
One Dale Earnhardt Jr fan even had her tattoo redesigned from No. 88 to No. 48. I never thought I would see the day when a Junior fan would switch to Johnson.
“Over the last couple years my fan base has grown leaps and bounds,” said the 4 time Champion in a matter of fact way.
“And then within our sport, I’m racing with some of the great, and there is different reasons why guys are popular. Junior’s success and Junior’s popularity is there for a lot of different reasons. One way people measure things is based on souvenir sales, and our souvenir sales is one of the few that has been showing an increase.”
“I’m very proud of the fan base that I have. It’s a very large fan base, and it’s growing rapidly.”
Jimmie Johnson has a record that no one in the 61 year history of NASCAR can match – 4 straight championships.
Sure, Richard Petty has more, but not 4 in a row.
Dale Earnhardt has 7 to match Petty, but not 4 straight.
Jeff Gordon has 4 – but not in 4 consecutive years.
Johnson does not have the most wins. But at 47 career victories he is ranked 11th on the NASCAR All Time Win List. And Jimmie Johnson is nowhere near retirement. He still has plenty of winning left to do.
So far in his career Johnson has averaged 5.8 wins per year. At that rate he will pass David Pearson’s record of 105 wins by the time he is 44 years old. Pearson raced until he was 51 and ranks No. 2 on the All Time Win List.
Johnson will never pass Richard Petty for the top spot at 200. But you have to consider that Petty would run as many as 61 races per year. Johnson only gets 36.
So is Jimmie the Johnson the Greatest of All Time? If not Johnson, who?
Photo Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports
Is Jimmie Johnson Cheating?
Do You Think Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are Cheating?
I’m taking a quick poll. Do you think Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are violating any NASCAR rules — or are they just really that good?
After all, NASCAR has had the No. 48 car back at the NASCAR R&D Facility after almost every race, and they still haven’t found anything.
What is really going on with Chad and Jimmie — cheating or just really good?
No Penalty from NASCAR
No Penalty for Mark Martin or Jimmie Johnson
Crews for Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson had to make some fast changes before their race cars could depart Hendrick Motorsports for this weekend’s Price Chopper 400 Sprint Cup Race at Kansas Speedway.
During an Official NASCAR inspection the cars were not found to be illegal – but were very close.
The No. 5 car and the No. 48 car were found to be extremely close to the tolerances set in the NASCAR Rulebook after going through technical inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center this week.
NASCAR has not announced any penalties against either team – so their top 2 positions in the points Chase seem to be safe for now.
Hauler drivers were supposed to be on the road with the race cars – but instead were standing by to leave the shop.
NASCAR took several cars to the R&D Center following Sunday’s race at Dover, including the No. 48 and No. 5.
Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin – and their race teams — need to be extremely careful. It is difficult enough to win a Championship as it is. It would be impossible to win one after a 100 point penalty and the loss of their crew chiefs.
NASCAR has taken a hard line against cheating since rolling out the COT. Do you think it has been effective?
Jimmie Johnson Wins Martinsville
Johnson Tops at Martinsville — Again
Jimmie Johnson moved Denny Hamlin up the race track with 15 laps to go Sunday afternoon at Martinsville to take the lead. It was a lead Johnson would never give up.
Johnson beat 2nd place Hamlin to the finish line by .774 seconds.
After the race Johnson was asked if he would have liked to have been passed the same way he passed Hamlin.
“I got in there alongside of him and he kept coming down to go to the inside line, Johnson said of the race winning pass of Hamlin. ” We made some contact. I think I went up over the curb. We were both sideways. Fortunately nobody tore anything up. It’s really tough, short track racing.”
Denny Hamlin should have been upset with the way he was raced by Johnson – but he wasn’t. “It’s short-track racing-that’s all the fans could ask for right there,” said Hamlin, last year’s winner of this event. “If the roles were reversed, I’d do the same thin. Believe me, I will if it ever comes back around.”
This win also means that Jimmie’s beard is not a jinx after all. He plans to keep it. “Chad hates the beard, so I’m going to keep it as long as I can because I know he hates it,” said Johnson. ”My grandmother hates it. I don’t like to make her mad, but it’s fun to have her complain to me.”
All 4 of Hendrick Motorsports cars finished in the top 8. Hendrick’s 2 affiliated cars of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman also finished in the top 8.
The win came o the 25th Anniversary of Hendrick’s first win. “It doesn’t seem like it’s been 25 years, but when you look back over some of the milestones of the people that have driven the cars, it does seem like it’s been a long time” said Rick Hendrick. “It’s really unbelievable to think that we’ve been fortunate enough to win the championships and the races. And I’ve been very fortunate with the drivers that we’ve had, but I’m just amazed that I’m still in it.”
Photo Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports
Win Jimmie Johnson’s Camaro
Win Jimmie’s Camaro
Jimmie Johnson has one thing in common with Dale Earnhardt Jr., they both like Chevy Camaros.
Jimmie has a ’67 that he is very proud of. Junior has a 1972 Camaro — and he helped design and build a special edition 2010 Camaro that he tested in Australia.
Now Chevrolet has a promotion where you can win Jimmie’s Camaro — and a garage full of Kobalt tools from Lowes.
This is what Jimmie Johnson had to say about the Camaro he was giving away in a promotion with Chevy and Lowes:
“My Proudest possessions — I have a few that are very special to me lets start off with 3 championship trophies.
Its hard to overlook those.
I do have a car that’s very special to me it’s a 67 Camaro.
Its really built around Randy Dorton and an engine that was built in his honor
We unfortunately lost Randy, along with 9 others on a plane crash in 2004, .
The engine came from the Hendrick engine shop.
It was being auctioned off in his memory, with the proceeds going to his foundation.
I decided that engine could not go any farther, so I bought that engine.
We built this Camaro around it.
Its made this Camaro so special to me.
In those line Chevrolet has made sure that the new Camaro has plenty of soul. For one lucky winner a new Camaro could be yours.
Enter right now to win what’s sure to be your proudest possession, an all new Chevy Camaro.”
You can register at WinJimmiesCamaro.com
Jimmie Johnson Photos From New York
Photo Gallery: Jimmie Johnson in New York
Jimmie Johnson was in New York to receive the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Trophy. Here are some photos of Jimmie as he made his way around New York for the festivities.
Johnson stands in Central Park with The Sprint Cup.
Jimmie Johnson and Brian France
Johnson accepts the Sportsman of The Year award at the annual March of Dimes Luncheon.
Johnson and his posse at the New York Stock Exchange.
The Sprint Cup.
Jimmie and Chandra Johnson with The Sprint Cup.
Photos Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports
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Homestead Post Race Show
Have Your Say on Homestead
Photo courtesy Hendrick Motorsports
Share your opinion on Jimmie Johnson’s championship and Carl Edwards’ win
If anybody had any doubt who was going to win the championship Jimmie Johnson just erased it.
Congratulations to Jimmie on the 2008 Sprint Cup Championship, and congratulations to Carl Edwards for the win at Homestead.
Now for the bad news — the NASCAR season is over. But, on the bright side — only 90 more days until the Daytona 500.
For all the Jr. Nation fans out there — tough luck on the broken brake rotor. But more good news, did I mention the next race is Daytona?
Carl Edwards did everything in his power over the final 5 races, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Jimmie Johnson.. Edwards had 3 wins and 5 top fives in the last 5 races.
Fords haven’t always got the best gas mileage, but Carl Edwards seems to know how to get every drop out of a tank of gas. I’m sure there are a few other drivers who would like to know Carl’s secret when it comes to fuel mileage.
So what are your thoughts on Carl Edwards winning this race, and Jimmie Johnson winning the championship?
As always, this page is for you — so fire up your keyboards and give us your opinion.
