Jimmie Johnson meets Obama

Here’s a video of President Obama meeting with Jimmie Johnson to honor his 2010 Championship. Do you know why the President waited almost a year after the fact?

Who do you think will be meeting this time next year?

 

Will Jimmie Johnson Pass Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty

Will Jimmie Johnson Pass Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty

Jimmie Johnson now has 5 NASCAR Championships. Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are tied with 7 each. Petty and Earnhardt never won more than 2 in a row.

Will Jimmie Johnson equal the record set by Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty? Could he pass the two 7 time champs and win 8 or more?

I’m taking a quick poll to see what you think – just leave your opinion in the comments below.

Johnson is NASCAR’s 5-Time Champ

I have to admit that I thought it was impossible for Jimmie Johnson to win 5 straight Sprint Cup Championships.

But then again I thought 4 straight was out of the question last year.

“Jimmie, you are a rock star, my friend,” crew chief Chad Knaus told Johnson on the cool down lap. “You have proven it time and time again. And you damn did it today, my friend.”

Today Jimmie Johnson proved all the doubters wrong by cruising to the championship with a 2^nd place finish behind a dominant Carl Edwards in the Ford 400 at Homestead.

“I’m just beside myself,” said Johnson as he celebrated with his crew in Victory lane. “Four was amazing. Now I have to figure out what the hell to say about winning five of these things. Everybody is going to want to know what it means. I don’t know. It is pretty damn awesome. I can tell you that.”

Denny Hamlin led the Chase heading into the final showdown. But when he spun his No. 11 Toyota into the infield grass and damaged the front splitter his championship hopes appeared to be over. But Hamlin wasn’t done. His crew repaired the car and he came back to make one more run at Johnson. But the damage to the car was just enough to give Johnson the edge.

“We just had a good car today and we did almost everything that we needed to do,” said Hamlin. “We put ourselves in position to run up front, and we ran up front and you know, in the end, we just got beat there on that last restart and they just out ran us.”

What do you think about Johnson’s 5 straight championships? Who can stop him from getting number six next year – if anyone can?

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?

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.”

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.”

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.”

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?

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 2^nd 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 16^th 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 8^th. 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 11^th 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?

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