Victory keeps Johnson on path to title No. 7
MARTINSVILLE, VA. No matter which challengers step up to face Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR championship race next month at Homestead- Miami Speedway, he’ll be the favorite.
Sure, other drivers might appear to have faster cars at times. Others might have better performances in the next two races.
But no one has the championship credentials of Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the No. 48 team.
Johnson, given the chance to declare himself the car to beat, wouldn’t go there. That’s par for the course for Johnson, who has never been good at talking trash.
“I don’t know who the other three will be, so at this point it’s really difficult to pick a favorite,” Johnson said, adding that he had no career wins at Homestead. “I still think it’s going to be hard to pick one ( favorite) going down there, I really do.”
It’s OK if Johnson won’t say it; we will: Johnson will win No. 7 — the longawaited title that would tie him with Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the most all time.
That was clear Sunday after Johnson won at Martinsville Speedway to put himself into NASCAR’s final four, showing the form that helped him win six titles between 2006 and 2013.
“If I’ve got to race for a win at a track like that, I’d put my money on him,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “With Jimmie, when all the chips are down and it’s for the seventh championship, I think he’s going to ratchet it up a notch.” Who’s going to stop him? The team looks to be in vintage form. Look at Sunday, when Johnson angered Denny Hamlin ( and suffered damage from contact), nailed Aric Almirola and accidentally turned off the power in his car before a key pit stop. He overcame all three.
That’s the resilience Johnson showed en route to winning a record five consecutive titles, when he seemed unbeatable. But this time, the garage doesn’t seem ready to hand Johnson the title.
“I wouldn’t deem anyone better than the rest,” Hamlin said. “I think any car that makes it in is going to be tough to beat.”
“Of course he’s a hitter — all eight of these cars are hitters, though, at this point,” Joey Logano said. “Obviously, they’ll be fast.”
Detractors would suggest the team’s Homestead record is a weakness. Johnson’s stats there are less than stellar, by his standards. Johnson has 10 top- 10s in 15 career starts there but only four topfives— and none since 2010.
Then again, Johnson has rarely gone to Homestead and had to perform, because he typically had big leads under the old system. The one time he didn’t? He was runner- up in 2010, when he came back to beat Hamlin.
“The issues we’ve had in Miami in the past— look, at the end of a stressful, long season, situations arise, just things that are outside of your control,” Knaus said. “There’s been a lot of weird things that have happened there.”
Said Johnson, “There have been a few bad memories down there, but I’ve got six really good ones. I’m going to go with those, hopefully play that card.”
When it’s time for the other three drivers to sit onstage at the pre- Homestead news conference, it will sink in: Johnson, with all of his experience and talent, paired with Knaus, with his genius and two extra weeks to prepare for a race, are not going to be beaten.
It’s the greatest driver ever and the greatest crew chief ever chasing a recordtying feat.
Apologies to the rest of the field, but this has become Johnson’s year.