(photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – As the country singer noted, “It’s all over … but the crying.”
Today, perhaps Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are reasoning, as Charley Pride sang, “Come up the hard way, fought a good fight, and it’s all right with me.”
As noted in the movie “The Big Chill,” “Rationalizing is more important than sex. Try to go a day without rationalizing.”
As they don’t actually say in various monarchies, “It looks like the king is never going to die. Long live the king!”
Hey, here’s an idea. How about the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season in song! You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll even swap pit crews.
Here’s a method many fans have tried without success: “I’m trying to hate you (chorus: ‘Jimmie …’) right out of my mind.” Alas, he won’t go away, even though these Jimmiephobes are not going to love the winner of five straight championships “forever and ever, amen.”
Not only is it going to be “a long, long time,” it already has been. Wonder if Johnson can sing? “When touchdown brings me down again to find, I’m not the man they think I am at home, oh, no, no, no, no, I’m a rocket man …”
Sorry, uh, Newman.
It can’t last forever. Can it? “Come and listen, young fellers, so young and so fine …” Sad to say, but title hopes remain “dark as a dungeon, damp as the dew.”
For many years, I could empathize with the fans of, oh, everyone but Johnson. That’s because I grew up a Boston Red Sox fan. Keep hope alive. The Red Sox won championships in “aught-four” and “aught-seven.” Maybe, like Jethro Bodine, that hillbilly of Beverly, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, et al., will learn to “cipher.”
At the moment, everyone not named Jimmie Johnson might as well be “A Boy Named Sue,” thus enabling all to concede, “I guess that I’ve fought tougher men, but I really can’t remember when.”
Look at the bright side. The champion’s not exactly “so vain,” even if this column waswritten about him.
Jimmie Johnson crosses the finish line in second place in the Ford 400 to clinch his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. (Photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A guy wins his first championship, and it’s incredible. When we wins the next year, imagine that. Third year it’s getting a little old for everyone except him and his team. The fourth year brings back the excitement because no one’s ever done it.
Jimmie Johnson won for the fifth year in a row at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which means he has crossed over from sports to business, in a sense. It was oft said in the 1950s that pulling for the New York Yankees was like pulling for U.S. Steel. Then U.S. Steel collapsed, and pulling for the Yankees turned into pulling for Wall Street. That didn’t work out.
So now all we’ve got is Jimmie Johnson, who has acquired the same middle name Boston Red Sox fans often use in relation to Bucky Dent.
Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief and Svengali, said Johnson’s going to get his fair share of credit this year after five straight. He said the same thing a year ago after four.
The same fans who have spent the majority of their lives believing that NASCAR conspiratorially rigs the outcome of races now … want NASCAR to conspiratorially alter the outcome of races. “NASCAR has to do something to stop Johnson,” they write in mail, e- and “snail” alike.
No. NASCAR should not do something to stop Johnson. That’s the last thing NASCAR, or any other reputable sport, should do.
Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick gave it their best shot. Other drivers, other teams … they are responsible for stopping Johnson. Quit crying and go beat him. Stop claiming the owner’s in bed with NASCAR. Stop claiming the crew chief is a cheater.
Just shut up and beat him.
Hamlin said his hard-luck Sunday is going to give him “fuel for next year.” Fuel isn’t the problem with Johnson. He’s provided enough fuel to keep the L.A. freeways going wide-open, around the clock, for a decade.
Incentive? The also-rans – and it’s getting to the point where that’s all there are – should be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound by now, and that’s not even counting a Carl Edwards back flip. Speeding locomotives are outdated. Johnson’s peers need one of those “bullet trains” they’ve got in France.
As long as there is a Jimmie Johnson, winning a championship year after year, no one in NASCAR can accurately claim that the sport is more competitive than it has ever been. Johnson’s performance is antithetical to the notion of competitiveness. No sport can be competitive if one guy wins every year.
That’s not Johnson’s fault. That’s all the other teams’ fault.
Carl Edwards celebrates his second win of the season after taking the checkered flag at Sunday’s Ford 400 while Jimmie Johnson has his own reason to celebrate – his place in history with five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – In marked contrast to three drivers who were focused on the Sprint Cup championship, Carl Edwards actually set out to win the Ford 400.
And why not? Edwards, who won the season’s final two races, said of the forever-and-ever-amen champion, Jimmie Johnson, “I feel like I’m better than him. I mean, everybody feels that. That’s why we race. If you get a driver who says, ‘oh, no, Jimmie is better than me,’ you don’t want that guy on your team.’
“Obviously, they have proved they are able to win more races and championships than the rest of us, we just have to figure out how to do that.”
With Johnson wrapping up his fifth straight championship, all that was left for Edwards were the leftover crumbs from another gala Johnson celebration at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Two years earlier, the same outcome occurred.
Supposedly, three drivers – Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick – were destined to battle it out. Neither could allegedly win the championship without winning the race, or so did many of the spin doctors brazenly suggest.
Hah! Johnson finished second, leading a lap (there were 267, 190 of which featured Edwards at the top of the heap). Harvick finished third and didn’t lead any. Hamlin didn’t lead any, either, en route to a fate-scarred 14th.
Once Edwards established himself as the fastest, and Hamlin established himself as the unluckiest, all that was left for Johnson was to keep Harvick in comfortable proximity. He admitted it.
“But eventually, they (Harvick, Hamlin) slipped back, and that’s when I felt a little secure,” said Johnson. “Just get up front and ride behind the ’99’.”
Edwards knew it: “I was fortunate he (Johnson) was racing for the championship. I think he was taking it a little easy at the end.”
Johnson still has never won at Homestead-Miami. That’s because the last time he needed to win the finale was in 2004, when second place wasn’t good enough. This time he finished second because it was good enough.
Hamlin, who actually began the race as the point leader, had a race that would have been more fun than a barrel of monkeys if his goal had been zaniness. He spun around and around down the back straight. He pitted at an inopportune time. Johnson still had the “golden horseshoe” Harvick talked about earlier in the season. Hamlin’s Toyota must have had a broken mirror in it somewhere.
“It’s just circumstances,” said Hamlin, “but, you know, we had a great year.”
Harvick gave the race a little flair, not by making a decent bid at Johnson, of course, but by just wrecking Hamlin’s teammate, Kyle Busch, for kicks. Harvick said Busch had been racing him “like a clown all day.”
Hamlin, sitting next to Harvick in the post-race press conference, said, “Funny, but that’s the way your teammates were racing me all day.”
Denny Hamlin pits after sustaining damage to the front right splitter after a spin on the 24th lap of the Ford 400 on Sunday. (Photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Martin Truex had a solid shot to win the Ford 400 until a right-rear tire cost him a lap on the 199th lap of the Sprint Cup finale.
While championship contenders Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick paid attention to each other, Truex and Carl Edwards dominated the race.
When Truex’s Toyota suddenly slowed, Johnson narrowly missed hitting him. Truex was barely out of the pits when Jeff Gordon’s blown engine brought out a yellow flag, but Truex wasn’t in position to get the lap back.
Under caution, bad blood between Joey Logano apparently led Montoya, who had clashed with Logano earlier in the race, to ram Logano’s Toyota. Mission apparently accomplished, Montoya’s Chevy retired to the garage area.
* * *
SICKENING FEELING--The first gasp occurred on the 24th lap of the Ford 400. That’s when the Sprint Cup point leader, Denny Hamlin, spun on the back straight and was fortunate not to have his hopes dashed.
Hamlin’s Toyota tangled with Greg Biffle’s Ford off turn two. In radio communication with his crew, Hamlin blamed Biffle, but the replay did not support his view. When the cars sideswiped, most of the movement seemed to be the No. 11 (Hamlin) drifting into the No. 16.
Luck favored Hamlin, whose Toyota wasn’t seriously damaged even after it spun around and around for half the length of the Homestead-Miami Speedway back straight.
The perils weren’t over. On the 67th lap, Hamlin had to make an unscheduled pit stop.
WHAT’S IT TAKE?--On lap 140, Hamlin miraculously avoided a back-straight crash that began with contact between his JGR teammate, Joey Logano, and Juan Pablo Montoya.
The 164th lap produced a caution when the Raybestos Only Rookie of the Year, Kevin Conway, spun in turn four.
POINT/COUNTERPOINT--Kevin Harvick led the field out of the pits on the 189th lap, apparently meaning he had secured five bonus points for leading a lap. NASCAR officials then penalized Harvick for speeding entering pit road, which Harvick strenuously protested.
In radio conversation to his crew, Harvick said it was “impossible” because he trailed the No. 56, Martin Truex, down pit road. NASCAR provided alleged documentation to Harvick’s crew chief, Gil Martin, that did not come close to placating Harvick.
The penalty stripped Harvick of the bonus points.
ONE LEADS TO ANOTHER--No caution flag waved when the cars of Kurt Busch and David Reutimann tangled on the fourth lap, but the crumpled right-front fender on Reutimann’s Toyota led to the first yellow.
On lap 18, Reutimann’s tire, undoubtedly rubbing since the earlier incident, exploded, sending the No. 00 into the wall a second time, this time on the opposite end of the track from the first incident.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The rosy question being asked at Homestead-Miami Speedway is, “What could be better?”
A caller on a radio talk show said he hoped the Ford 400 would come down to a last lap with three drivers, side by side, racing for the Sprint Cup championship.
OK, so maybe it could be better. The scenario the fan described is impossible. As close as it is, the three contending drivers – Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick – are separated by 46 points. No side-by-side finish with the other two can land the title for Harvick.
Such a far-fetched scenario could decide matters between Hamlin, who hopes to give Toyota its first Cup championship, and Johnson, who hopes to give himself a fifth straight.
It’s not impossibly close. It’s just close.
Johnson has the fleeting advantage of starting position. Hamlin is starting 31 positions (37th) behind Johnson (sixth). On the other hand, Hamlin began this race in 38th position a year ago … and won it. A championship wasn’t on the line then.
“I know it won't last forever,” said Johnson. “That also needs to be said. “Going to ride the wave as long as we can, see what we can do. I think when people are on a run, doesn't matter the sport, at that time, it's hard for everyone to embrace it. But when they reflect back on it, it's ‘look at the run that so and so is on, the Lakers, the Yankees.’
“You reflect back on it with a much different perspective. I guess, in time, people will reflect back on what we've done with the four (titles) and a potential fifth.”
To summarize, Johnson isn’t bored with winning championships. Neither is his meticulous crew chief, Chad Knaus, nor his slick owner, Rick Hendrick. Together, at least until the Ford 400 is over, they represent NASCAR’s current state of the art.
Until then, everything is speculation. Johnson seems relaxed and has seemed so for weeks. Hamlin seems a bit more serious. Harvick, who must rely on the other two making at least some mild misstep, seems, well, the same as always.
Hamlin’s leading virtue is forthrightness. Johnson doesn’t take himself too seriously. Harvick likes to “stir the pot” a bit.
The championship, alas, is to be determined by cars – two Chevys and a Toyota – instead of personalities.
Chase contenders Denny Hamlin, Jimmy Johnson and Kevin Harvick during a Champions press conference on Friday. (Photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Let the best man win. Let the fastest car win. Here’s hoping they’re the same.
Grant the serenity not to have to muddy the Sprint Cup waters with leaking oil or litter them with debris. Here’s hoping no one’s title hopes run out of gas … literally.
Even though “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” is but a memory, it would be nostalgic to have the Ford 400 decided amid “the human drama of athletic competition.” What’s more important than who wins is how he wins it.
In an incredible development, given the slings and arrows of the Chase format, the three drivers who are still in contention – at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in the final race, with a 46-point blanket over them – are the three who deserve to be there.
If there were no Chase – and the points awarded in each race the same as now – Kevin Harvick would lead by 295 points. Of course, there is a Chase.
The driver with the most victories is Denny Hamlin.
The driver with four straight championships is Jimmie Johnson.
Chase or no Chase, they would be the top three now, though in different order. If the true goal of the Chase is to tighten, but not otherwise alter, the course of the season, then this Chase is the one that exemplifies the format. Even those who dislike the Chase – they’re out there – should be willing to concede that this is just about as good as the format, however flawed, gets.
If everything works out perfectly today, NASCAR will have a difficult time justifying further changes, even though NASCAR chairman Brian France has been floating trial balloons on the subject since July.
They’ll probably “tweak it” a little – France and his minions love that word – just to save face.
France was still pumping hot air – perhaps not quite as hot as before – into the balloon as recently as Friday.
The results of the current season, he said, demonstrate that “the more we can do, to have incentives ‑ an incentive basis -- to decide this championship, that puts it all on the line more often. That's what we need to be thinking about.”
Oh, yeah. “Take paradise and … put up a parking lot.”
Carl Edwards, fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, was second-fastest in qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Carl Edwards too has a reason to race, just one not so compelling.
Edwards is out of the Chase in terms of the championship but has fourth place, 47 points ahead of Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth. And, of course, it’s Ford Championship Weekend, and Edwards drives one.
What Edwards talked about was “locking down fourth place.”
“That would be a big accomplishment for us, and we’ll just keep trucking,” he said. “I don’t feel like we have implemented all the things we’ve figured out yet. I think we have a lot of really positive things that they’re working on at the shop, so I think we could even be better yet come Daytona, Phoenix, Vegas (in 20100).
“I think we’re poised to be extremely good at the beginning of next season, maybe in a better situation than we were at the end of 2008, where I felt like we had been ahead and people were catching us.”
PITS CAN BE THE PITS–Pit choices could play a vital role in the outcome of both the race and the championship. Space is chosen on the basis of qualifying, which means Jimmie Johnson, who qualified sixth, has a much better location on pit road than Denny Hamlin, mainly because the point lead qualified 37th.
Johnson will pit at the midpoint, with an open spot in front of him. Kevin Harvick has a decent spot, behind the pole-winning car of Kasey Kahne and ahead of the No. 66 of Mike Bliss. Hamlin will pit near the pit entrance, behind Matt Kenseth and ahead of Aric Almirola.
NEW TASK AT HAND--Even though Johnson has won four straight championships, he’s never had to come from behind in the final race or, for that matter, the final two.
“In professional sports, things aren't always going to work out as you hope,” he said. “I wish we were leading the points and had the pressure of defending a championship down here, but I'm making the most of where we are.
“It's not far (15 points) from where we are to where Denny (Hamlin) is. We're going to have to go out and have a great day on Sunday afternoon, take it from there, see what happens.”
MOVE IT AROUND-- The third contender, Harvick, doesn’t want to see the Chase format change. He wants to see the Sprint Cup schedule change.
“I'd like to see a little bit more diversity in the race tracks,” he said. “I don't think the last 10 weeks should be the same tracks over and over and over again. I think it should rotate around. I think that would help particular race markets get better.
“You have it end at different places, have it start at different places. Maybe you go to some of the same tracks, but I think a different 10 weeks, even a road course at the end of the year, would put that full diversity, I guess you could say, on your champion to getting to all the different styles of tracks.”
Four-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has cameras follow his every move in the garage during practice Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. for Sunday's Ford 400. Johnson qualified sixth, well ahead of Kevin Harvick (28th) and Denny Hamlin (37th). (Photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – For the two contenders seeking to deprive Jimmie Johnson of a fifth straight Sprint Cup championship, qualifying was no cause for celebration.
Johnson qualified sixth at176.482 mph. It was a nice solid run, leaving him well situated for the start of Sunday’s Ford 400.
Kevin Harvick qualified 28th, which wasn’t that unusual. Denny Hamlin qualified 37th, which was. Hamlin’s previous low in qualifying was 34th at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 8. On the positive side, Hamlin did manage to salvage top-10 finishes in each of his previous qualifying performances that were 30th or worse, and he won after starting 30th just two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway.
A poor qualifying performance is also a poor predictor of race-day success, but starting deep in the field adds a certain amount of pressure to an already overheated championship battle.
Johnson held a press conference before qualifying, but what he said seemed pertinent: “I slept great. I don’t know if Denny (Hamlin) did, but I know I did.”
Hamlin’s response? “I feel the same as I do every week. No, I’m never uptight.”
SPEECHLESS--If Foster Gillett meant to quiet rumors regarding the future of Richard Petty Motorsports, this wasn’t the way to do it.
Gillett, whose father George is the official owner of the team that carries the seven-time champion’s name, was at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday. His presence spread quickly, but he refused to responded to any questions posed by media members.
Rumors have the team going out of business, going out of business temporarily while other investors are acquired and being sunk by the reputed mountain of indebtedness faced by the Gillett family.
Foster Gillett’s presence reportedly did nothing to allay fears among team members that their jobs are endangered.
STEWART’S TAKE-- Tony Stewart is the only driver who has won championships under both the “season-long” and current “Chase” format. Long relegated to the nether regions of the Chase field, Stewart offered his analysis of the three-way battle for the title.
“I think they’re all playing mind games with each other,” he said. “You don’t get this far in the season and be in this position by racing guys dirty. I don’t see it coming down to the last race with guys racing each other dirty.”
TITLE MAY GO THROUGH HIM--As expected, Carl Edwards established himself as a contender to win the race. He ended a 70-race winless streak last week at Phoenix and qualified second. Edwards won this race in 2008 and has finished eighth or better in five straight races at Homestead.
Referring to Hamlin, Johnson and Harvick, Edwards said, “They’re all going to be aggressive. That’s the way it’s going to be, no matter what they say. That’s how they got in the position they’re in, and now it’s going to be a great race for everyone to watch.
“I hope I’m watching the whole thing in my rear-view mirror, though.”
Will Denny Hamlin join the Miami posse of Lebron James? The opposite is unlikely.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – It’s all about the South down here. No drawls. No plantations (well, there is a city near here called Plantation). But there’s South Beach, and the geography is unmistakable. Homestead-Miami Speedway may not be Southern but it’s as south as the United States of America gets.
NASCAR takes its traveling show to most parts of the country, but it doesn’t get much glitzier than this. Juan Pablo Montoya held his annual South Beach gala – or soiree or extravaganza, or whatever – on Thursday night.
In other big news, Denny Hamlin met LeBron James.
“It was just at our hotel, basically,” said the Sprint Cup point leader. “One of the guys that I know, that works at the hotel, asked if I cared to meet him, and I said, ‘Of course. Sure.’ I just briefly talked to him for just a second. It really wasn’t anything too big. Obviously, he’s one of the most interesting guys of the past year, so it was good to experience that.”
Asked if the NBA star knew anything about NASCAR, Hamlin said not too much.
“He’s heard of it. I don’t know,” said Hamlin. “I really didn’t ask him too much about to be honest with you. I got to thinking, though, I was sitting there and looking around and the scene around him, and what-not, and I was thinking, why in the world would he leave Cleveland for this?”
It may have been a bit like the time Red Grange visited the White House. Grange was introduced to Pres. Calvin Coolidge, who was told, “This is Red Grange of the Chicago Bears,” and the president replied, “I’ve always enjoyed animal acts.”
NASCAR is known here. Every Chase has ended here, not to mention the seasons of 2002-03 before there was a Chase. NASCAR holds its grand finale in a city made famous at various times by Jackie Gleason, Tony Montana and Dan Marino. It’s going to take at least a Montoya championship to make NASCAR a household name.
Or maybe Hamlin can win the championship and thus earn a place in LeBron’s posse.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Heartfelt apologies to Jimmie Johnson. The reluctant words below are neither partisan nor personal. My job is writing about NASCAR. Given a choice, my priority is having something to write.
I hope Johnson loses. There, I’ve said it. I sometimes get accused of writing too much about Johnson. Oh, wait. Here’s one:
“I have waited a week to see if you have corrected your biased view of any driver who isn’t Jimmie Johnson. … You did not disappoint!”
Why, thank you, ma’am. And you’re right. I never wrote nearly as much about all those other drivers who won four straight Sprint Cup championships.
But it’s time for a change. Johnson has already won more consecutive championships than anyone else in history. Only two drivers have won more total championships. He can’t set a record. He can only extend it. Losing it is a bigger story than winning it.
First of all, it would be a great story if Kevin Harvick wins it because that would mean the other two in front of him, Denny Hamlin and Johnson, would have to falter inexplicably. The guess here is that it will take bad luck.
And Hamlin! This has been his coming-out party, both as a driver and a man. He overcame a knee injury – and a pseudo-secret fine for speaking his mind – but won more races than any other driver. Last week at Phoenix, he blinked and squandered most of his lead. Now it’s precarious.
No Chase has been comparable since the first, when the most intelligent tire in the history of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company aided Kurt Busch. Even though that tire flew off Busch’s Ford, it still had enough presence to roll around the track while Busch was limping into the pits, thus bringing out a caution flag. That tire even knew the right place to fly off.
I saw one Chase determined by the way the ball, er, uh, tire, bounced. Now I want to see one determined by old-fashioned, hard racing. One scenario would find Harvick running up front, while Hamlin and Johnson struggle with track position, trying to get close enough to defeat Harvick if there isn’t enough time actually to pass him.
The more delicious treat would be a lap-by-lap battle between Hamlin, the emerging superstar, and Johnson, the established superstar.
I’ll gladly write about either one of them.