Jimmy Johnson Opens The Door
NASCAR has been taking a lot of heat over its Chase format in racing. The problem? A certain Mr. Johnson has dominated the last three years and has been looking for all the world like a shoe in this year as well.
The assault by Jimmie Johnson on his goal of a fourth straight championship looked all but done once he got through Talladega without being caught up in the “Big One.” Only three races remained in the Chase and it looked like smooth sailing. Even the drivers closest to him, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, were talking about racing for second place.
Then a funny thing happened. Jimmie Johnson wrecked and ended up finishing in the 30s. The powers that be at NASCAR and ABC/ESPN dropped to their knees and gave thanks to the racing gods. So did Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. With two races to go, what looked like a rout is now an actual championship race. The question is whether Johnson can be caught before the checkered flag drops at Homestead?
Could a three time champion be in trouble? Could he be cracking under the pressure of the Chase? It is pretty hard to imagine as much. It was only one weekend ago that people were lamenting the fact that Johnson was unbeatable. It was so bad that most of us were suggesting the rules should be changed to handicap him in some way! After one bad weekend, nothing has really changed. Anyone can crash.
In Texas, Johnson was caught up in a wreck not of his own making. It was David Reutimann turning around Sam Hornish, Jr., that led to the 48 looking like plastic toy racing car after 30 kids played with it at a birthday party. After an hour plus in the garage, however, out came the 48 in what seemed a futile effort. It wasn’t. By the end of the race he had pulled back 15 critical points and Martin remained 70 plus points behind.
Will Johnson will the title this year? It certainly looks like it. Still, the race in Texas should remind us all that anything can happen. One more result like this and Johnson could easily fall behind Martin.
Dirk Gibson is with DCJAutoParts.com – where you can find the lowest prices on car accessories.
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