Is Jimmie Johnson done when it comes to this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship??
Last week in qualifying for the 4th Chase race in Kansas, the 6-time champion Johnson spun out during the session and was forced to start 32nd. He was never a factor and got caught up in an accident involving Greg Biffle which lead to a 40th place finish. Now he finds himself in an unusual position in the Chase standings going into this weekend’s race in Charlotte: last place, dead last and on the outside looking in when it comes to advancing to the next round in the sport’s new playoff format.
As a huge supporter of the #48 team and Johnson, I can understand the bad luck and just lack of speed that has plagued the team throughout the summer and early fall. But something that Johnson said Thursday during a press conference in Charlotte did disturb me a bit.
Johnson was talking about how the team is behind the eight ball and it would be in their best interest to win this race to advance into the Contender round, especially with the ultimate wild card looking next Sunday Talladega. But then he said that “it is a fading chance, in the position I’m in.” What?
It was almost as if Johnson knows he is not the best driver and doesn’t have the best car and is already conceding his chances to win the whole thing for a seventh time. That is certainly not the Jimmie Johnson I have seen and heard in the past. Would he say that having one of the best crew chiefs in the history of the sports in Chad Knaus, gives them just a “fading” chance of winning at a track where he’s won 7 times (Charlotte) and one that he’s won at twice before (Talladega)? I know the strain of a long NASCAR Sprint Cup season can get to you at times, especially if you are struggling, but Johnson just seems shaken. Not in a worrisome sense, but in a “oh well, we’ll give it another shot next year,” sort of way. Maybe it’s the new format which does not afford a driver to just finish “consistently” anymore and continue to advance.
In what may have been his biggest qualifying session of the season, Johnson advanced to the second round, but only could manage the 21st fastest speed. He will be right in the middle of the trouble area of the field again on Saturday. Johnson told Nate Ryan of USA Today before the chase started that you don’t get lucky in the Chase, you make your own luck. That said, qualifying 32nd and 21st in back-to-back weeks is making it very difficult on your luck and your chances to get to the front unscathed. It’s not like Johnson has never faced adversity in the Chase before. Don’t forget the Talladega crash with Brian Vickers in ’06 that damaged his hopes and a hole in his car’s nose in Homestead. He won the championship. What about Atlanta in ’08 when he was one lap down and had his back against the wall in 11th with 8 laps to go. He won the championship. In ’09 he finished 38th at Texas and then won in Phoenix this next week. After being counted out, he won the championship. And who could forget 2010 when Johnson swapped pit crews with Jeff Gordon in the middle of a race because his team was making mistakes. He won the championship.
Four weeks ago, I would not have made Johnson my favorite to win the title, but I would have included him in my final four at the last race in Homestead where the highest finishing driver will win the championship. Now I am going to predict he will not advance past this round. The car is not fast, the team is not making adjustments, and the bottom line is Johnson just does not seem confident. If anyone can rally its Knaus and Johnson. They are the most dangerous crew chief-driver combination in the garage. But in order to advance I truly feel they need to put it together and win the race in Charlotte.
But remember earlier in the season when Johnson was being questioned? In May right before he dominated the field at the Coca-Cola 600 where??….in Charlotte. Let’s see if he can shut us all up, including me, again.
(Above Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Speed For Thought 