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Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Half predicting, half declaring next week's NASCAR season finale will be "one hell of a show," Jimmie Johnson emerged from his fifth-place finishing No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet smiling and feeling good about his chances for an unprecedented fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

You'd have thought he won the race. He's not even leading the standings.

That designation belongs to the unhappiest of Sunday afternoon drivers, Denny Hamlin, who, after leading a race-best 190 laps, had to pit for fuel with 14 laps remaining at Phoenix International Raceway.

Hamlin heads to next week's final showdown at Homestead-Miami Speedway a scant 15 points ahead of Johnson in the closest championship fight since the Chase playoff format was installed in 2004. Third place Kevin Harvick is still very much in the thick of things, 46 points behind Hamlin.

The in-car television camera showed Hamlin yanking off his driving gloves and throwing them one by one against the dashboard of his 12th place No. 11 FedEx Toyota after the race's cool-down lap. Sitting on pit wall immediately after the race, he threw a water bottle and sullenly awaited his television interview.

"Yeah, it's pretty disappointing,'' Hamlin said, taking a long pause before answering questions. "We were in a good position there to look pretty good going into next week.

"It's tough to not be happy having a points lead going into the last race but. ... I was sitting pretty.''

 

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Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

The good news for NASCAR is that the mere 38 points separating the top three Sprint Cup Series championship contenders with three races remaining makes it the tightest title fight since the inception of the Chase playoff format in 2004.

The more intriguing twist is that four-time defending series champ -- and current points leader -- Jimmie Johnson has two drivers trying to chase him down instead of one. And unlike previous years, they are on his bumper. Denny Hamlin trails the champ by 14 points and regular-season points leader Kevin Harvick is only 38 back.

A statistical analysis of the performance of Johnson and his challengers at the remaining three race tracks indicates he still holds most favorable status, but things should stay interesting.

Even when Johnson has had more comfortable points margins and the option to play it safe at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, the 1-mile Phoenix oval and 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway, he has put up impressive numbers to close out the season. His combined average finish at the three tracks is 9.2, compared to 10.6 for Hamlin and 12.1 for Harvick.

However, each has proven himself capable of beating the other two at a given track and that's why this championship is still up for grabs.

 

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Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR

Anyone looking for a chink in four-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson's armor will seize upon his 25th-place showing in Sunday's opening race in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

His finish at the one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway equaled his starting position -- which was a career worst at the track. But it hardly tells the whole story of an eventful afternoon of more spills than thrills.

Johnson spun out, traded paint and misdiagnosed a wheel problem in the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet before ultimately posting the worst performance of the 12 Chase drivers. It dropped him from second in the standings to seventh, 92 points behind leader Denny Hamlin, who finished runner-up to winner Clint Bowyer.

"We just don't know until the end what type of bonus points you need,'' said Johnson, who started the Chase with 50 bonus points earned for his five regular season wins this year. "The bonus points coming in ... how helpful were those 50 that I had coming in ...

"Only time will tell. But you don't want to get off to this start. If you can hope for something, you want a top 10, and 25th is not what you hope for.''

 

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Filed under: Kevin Harvick, NASCAR Fights, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano

A NASCAR veteran caught the ire of a sophomore driver and his father after spinning out the young driver at the end of of Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.

Kevin Harvick dipped inside of Joey Logano on the second-to-last lap of the 200-lap race as they battled for fourth place, made contact and spun Logano's No. 20. Following the race, Logano parked his Toyota alongside Harvick's No. 29 on pit road, promptly exited his car and engaged in a shouting match with Harvick -- all while being egged on by his father Tom Logano.

Afterwards, in a television interview, Logano said, "It's disappointing. We had a top-five run going. For us, that was going to be awesome and I was pretty pumped up about it."

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Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Daytona Int'l Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona is billed as a grueling, endurance test of driver, car and crew. For NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and the defending Grand-Am Series champion GAINSCO team, that describes the 24 hours just leading into the historic sports car season-opener.

The four-time Sprint Cup champ Johnson was still smarting Friday from a collision in Thursday's opening practice for this weekend's twice-around-the-clock race through the Daytona International Speedway road course.

 

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Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Chase for the Sprint Cup, IRL, Danica Patrick

Unlike some so-so motorsports seasons earlier in the decade, 2009 was abundant with major story lines and compelling plots. Lackluster it was not.

For as much excellence behind the wheel -- Jimmie Johnson, Tony Schumacher, Mark Martin -- there was equally as much drama off the race track -- Kyle Busch smashing trophies, Danica Patrick's "would-she? wouldn't-she?" NASCAR foray, Tony George's Indianapolis ouster and then the great Michael Schumacher punctuating the year with his comeback announcement.

Here are FanHouse's selections for the top-10 motorsports stories of 2009:

 

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Filed under: Tony Stewart, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR Awards

LAS VEGAS -- Imagine Vegas icon Wayne Newton dropping the green flag for a race car parade on a shut down Las Vegas Strip, NASCAR pit crews performing demonstration stops in front of Bally's and the ultra-lux Bellagio resorts and four-time champ Jimmie Johnson doing victory burnouts on Las Vegas Boulevard.

This over-the-top scene is NASCAR's reality this week and the thousands of fans that have gathered here for NASCAR Champion's Week couldn't be more supportive of the sport's decision to move west after more than a decade spent holding the Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony in New York's famed Waldorf-Astoria.

"You couldn't pay me to leave this city right now,'' two-time cup champion Tony Stewart said Thursday, offering rave reviews. "I'm a million times happier out here. ... I don't like cabs blowing horns at two o'clock in the morning. It's just so much more relaxing and there's so much more to do here.''

 

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Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Chase for the Sprint Cup

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- With two laps to go, pop star Nick Lachey began clapping and cheering on his good friend. The back slaps and handshakes among crew, family and friends started coming like a slow wave picking up speed as Jimmie Johnson slid his Chevy out of the final turn and approached the last checkered flag of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

His father, Gary, stood behind the growing celebration in his son's pit stall at Homestead Miami Speedway -- a huge smile on his face, a sparkling Superman pin attached over the logo of his Hendrick Motorsports cap.

Superman is the nickname bestowed on Johnson, who on Sunday became the first driver in NASCAR's 61-year history to win a fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship.

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Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Chase for the Sprint Cup

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The hard-core conspirators will think NASCAR scripted it. The reality is Jimmie Johnson was the fastest driver of the day.

Johnson will start his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet from the pole position in Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway -- the ultimate beginning to the last chapter in his quest to become the first driver to win four consecutive championships.

Of all things Johnson knocked his Hendrick Motorsports teammate -- and only title challenger left -- Mark Martin off the top spot on the qualifying speed chart. Johnson leads Martin by 108 points and needs only to finish 25th or better to clinch his historic championship.

 

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Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Two days before he attempts to wrap up a historic fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, Jimmie Johnson has announced a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports that will keep the champ driving the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet through the 2015 season.

"It's the only car I've ever driven,'' Johnson said with a smile Friday morning. "I'm very proud of that.''

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