Jimmie Johnson had a rough few weeks. He was involved in an on-track altercation with Kurt Busch at Richmond – he finished 31st. He went on to Chicago and had a respectable, but not overwhelming 10th place run. Then he struggled at New Hampshire, finishing 18th.
The driver found himself 29 points back in 10th, the farthest back he’d ever been in a Chase at that point. And to top it off, it looked like there was trouble in paradise between Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus. Surely Johnson was done for – or so some would have had you believing.
Barring another miraculous comeback – which is not out of the question – Jimmie Johnson’s five-year reign as NASCAR Sprint Cup champion may finally come to an end this season.
And then we got to Dover. Johnson qualified sixth, led 157 laps and ultimately finished second. That seemingly insurmountable 29 point deficit was cut to just 13 and Johnson picked up five spots in the Chase.
Not a surprising feat for this team.
For the last several seasons the “is Johnson done for?” parlor game has been especially popular for the NASCAR press corps – this year, with Johnson not quite as hot as he has been, the speculation has been just as strong (fair disclaimer, we’ve admittedly been guilty of it). But it seems, just when everyone starts counting them out, team #48 starts making its ascent.
It’s happened a couple times mid-season over the last five years when the team soured, and it happened during Johnson’s inaugural championship run in 2006 when he overcame four straight finishes under 13th (including a 39th and 24th). Still Johnson and Knaus always got it together and came out on top.
We’re just three races into the Chase, and we have one of the strongest Chase fields we’ve ever had, but if last weekend was any indication, this year may not be any different. The fact is, Knaus and Johnson are good, very good. They’ve proven that season after season. And despite the occasional bickering and disagreement the two have chemistry like few before.
For me, after five straight, I’m done counting Jimmie and Chad out. That is until we’re sitting in Las Vegas with someone else at the head table. It’ll happen sooner or later.
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Two years ago Brad Keselowski, seeing that his opportunities were limited, left his Nationwide ride at JR Motorsports, for a full time Cup ride at Penske Racing. The move was met with mixed reviews.
And in his first full season in 2010, Keselowski struggled. The team averaged a 22.4 finish and scored just two top-10s. They finished the year 25th in points. It was a disappointing way to start out a new partnership.
2011 looked to be shaping up much the same for Keselowski despite a change at crew chief in the off-season. In the first nine races of the year the team didn’t have a finish better than 18th and found themselves mired back in 28th in points. It was a rough start.
Then came Darlington – ten weeks in and the team finished third. It took just two more weeks for Keselowski to win his first race of the season. Since then, there have been some rough patches here and there, but for the most part, the #2 team has been surging.
In the 11 races since that first win, Keselowski has had seven top-10s, four top-fives and two more wins. The team couldn’t have timed their jump in performance any better. With two races to go until the start of the Chase, Keselowski sits 11th in the points with three wins.
In addition to strengthening his chances at a berth, Keselowski’s surge also provides another interesting dynamic to the Chase race. If he can make it into the top-10 – and with his recent performance that is not at all out of the question – one of those two wild card spots open back up. Right now Denny Hamlin, with one win, gets one of the Chase spots and Paul Menard, 20th in points, gets the other. Chasing Menard is David Ragan in 21st and Marcos Ambrose in 22nd.
For Keselowski though, what looked to be a season of struggle, has turned into a season of triumph. The sky’s the limit for team team #2 – if/when he makes the Chase, Keselowski will be tied for second in the points with Kevin Harvick. That is nothing short of impressive, considering even after his first win, Keselowski was beyond the requisite 20th in points.
In the weeks to come this Penske team is definitely one to watch. Competing in and qualifying for the Chase is all about momentum and right now Brad Keselowski has it – perhaps more than any other. Stay tuned.
With all the hype leading into this final race we certainly had an exciting finish. Who wasn’t on edge after Denny Hamlin spun, Jimmie Johnson’s crew (continually) screwed up, and Kevin Harvick got caught speeding on pit road? I was on the edge of my seat until the final laps.
And so after 36 races and thousands of miles we have our 2010 champion – the same champion we had in 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. This is an accomplishment Jimmie Johnson and his crew should be proud of and something we all should be celebrating. But I suspect most of us aren’t.
The fact is, despite the hype, that end was kind of deflating.
I struggled after the race to find a way to think about this positively. It really is an extraordinary thing. But the truth is, I wasn’t really all that excited about it. The only thing I could think was, “NASCAR and ESPN thought the ratings were bad this season.”
I can’t tell you, over the past two and half years, how many people have e-mailed or commented at their waning interest in the sport over the #48′s dominance. I fear this will only make that worse. And I can’t really blame people – I’m getting bored. I say this too feeling bad for thinking Jimmie’s success is hurting the sport, but I honestly believe it is.
While they would never admit it, I think the folks at NASCAR see it too. The changes to the points that they’re considering have got to be, to some extent, as a result of what he’s been able to do – and even with today, we had a different path, but the exact same result.
I write this with no ill will toward Jimmie Johnson. I think Jimmie is a great guy and I think he and the #48 team are to be commended for all of their success. But this isn’t good for this sport. That said, I’m just not sure there is anything NASCAR or Jimmie’s fellow competitors can do about it.
With that, we’ll be off for the next week taking a little vacation (we’ll be moderating comments though). Check back next Monday for a new TNI post and our off-season schedule. We hope you all have safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR
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Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Richard Childress Racing, NASCAR
It’s hard to believe, but we’re just a couple of days away from the end of the season. And with a three way battle for the championship I thought now would be as good a time as any for my annual look at the points within the Chase and in the old points format.
Current Points Under the Old System:
1)#29-Kevin Harvick, 5109 2) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 4814, -295 3) #11-Denny Hamlin, 4744, -365 4) #99-Carl Edwards, 4625, -484 5) #24-Jeff Gordon, 4617, -492 6) #18-Kyle Busch, 4580, -529 7) #17-Matt Kenseth, 4497, -612 8 ) #14-Tony Stewart, 4481, -628 9) #2-Kurt Busch, 4350, -759 10) #31-Jeff Burton, 4348, -761 11) #16-Greg Biffle, 4280, -829 12) #33-Clint Bowyer, 4249, -860 13) #5-Mark Martin, 4249, -860 14) #1-Jamie McMurray, 4225, -884
Current Points Under the Chase:
1)#11-Denny Hamlin, 6462 2) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 6447, -15 3) #29-Kevin Harvick, 6416, -46 4) #99-Carl Edwards, 6198, -264 5) #17-Matt Kenseth, 6151, -311 6) #24-Jeff Gordon, 6124, -338 7) #18-Kyle Busch, 6115, -347 8 ) #16-Greg Biffle, 6113, -349 9) #14-Tony Stewart, 6074, -388 10) #2-Kurt Busch, 6033, -429 11) #33-Clint Bowyer, 6028, -434 12) #31-Jeff Burton, 5958, -504 13) #5-Mark Martin, 4249, -2213 14) #1-Jamie McMurray, 4225, -2237
In previous years what we’ve seen is a lot of similarity between the two lists, this year, not as much.
Only Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards maintain their same positions within both points systems. And for a few it’s one shift down or up. While the lists are different, the cream is at the top of both.
No doubt though, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have benefited substantially from the Chase – without it they’d be out of the fight. Obviously, Kevin Harvick has benefited the least.
Under the old system Harvick would have easily pulled out the Championship win – in fact we would have been celebrating that one a couple of weeks ago. Now we’ve got a three way Chase (finally) going into the last race. I know it’s worn and tired, but with just 46 points separating first from third, it’s still anybody’s game.
Every year I do this, I always get scolded by someone for taking part in this “pointless, what if practice.” At the very least though it’s entertaining to see how the two differ – for the sake of curiosity. For me, I think it’s interesting to see how, despite the implementation of a thing like the Chase, the best cars from that season are always the ones competing for the championship – if not a little closer than they would have been.
Chase or not, I know I’m looking forward to seeing how this thing ends on Sunday.
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR