Storylines: Johnson wants to win in style (Yahoo! Sports)
November 21, 2009
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Leave no doubt. Jimmie Johnson wants to clinch his fourth straight championship with a win.
Any questions about whether Johnson, who needs only to finish 25th in the Ford 400 to clinch another title, would coast around Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday were erased when he flattened the field in qualifying. Johnson clocked a lap more than two-tenths faster than everyone else – an eternity in the tight ship that NASCAR runs – to pick up his fourth pole of the season.
“The safest place to run on the track is up front,” Johnson said on Thursday. “You think of double-file restarts, the safest place to be is being the race leader, picking which lane you want to be in and set the pace coming to the green. Everything in my eyes points towards trying to win the race. That’s what we’re here to do.”
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If Johnson were to win, it would give him 19 victories in 60 Chase races. But if you want to know how he’s won three, going on four straight titles, it’s this: In the 39 Chase races run during Johnson’s reign, he’s finished in the top 10 in 23 of them. It’s a combination of dominance and consistency that no other driver has been able to match.
Johnson will be the story on Sunday. Here are five other storylines to watch for:
1. How can Mark Martin win the title?
Well, it’s too late to dynamite the 48 garage, as Ryan Newman suggested Thursday as maybe the only way to beat Johnson.
Martin’s road to a title is difficult if not impossible. If Johnson leads a lap, which he most likely will considering he’s starting from the pole, that means he only needs to finish 26th or better to clinch the title. And even then it’s only that high if Martin leads the most laps and wins the race.
If Martin were to lead a lap but finish second, Johnson would need only to finish 32nd – 33rd if he leads a lap.
“I’m not looking over my shoulder or looking ahead – either one,” Martin said. “You know, I’m sure that we could wind up fourth in the points, which is something no one has even considered. But I’m not thinking about that. I’m neither worried about that or Jimmie.”
2. How will the field race Johnson on Sunday?
Those who qualified around Johnson are very much aware of the situation. That’s a good thing, because Scott Speed (who will start on the front row next to Johnson) and Marcos Ambrose (who qualified third) don’t have a lot of experience running at the front of the pack in the Cup Series.
“He’s got a halo bar around his car this weekend and you just don’t want to be the guy that takes his championship away,” Ambrose said. “He deserves it and he’s clearly dominated the last four years, and I just don’t want to do the wrong thing by him. So I will be following him into Turn 1, but I won’t be on his bumper. I will be a safe distance behind and letting him do his thing.”
When asked about how he plans to race Johnson, Speed replied: “Certainly, you don’t want to be the guy that takes out the 48. That doesn’t look good on your resume. No plan – you’re going to give him room. You race him as hard as you can to race your own race, but I think the thing we all fear more than anything is being the idiot that takes out the 48 and ruins a perfectly good four-championship streak.”
Johnson said he’s not worried about what will go down around him. And he probably shouldn’t be, at least not at the drop of the green flag. Johnson will likely clear Speed by the time he reaches Turn 1. From there, Johnson will treat it like any other race.
“There’s a window in which I’m willing to take a risk,” he said. “If I can slide the car around a little bit and be within my comfort zone, have a shot at winning the race, I’m gonna take it. There’s no doubt about it. But I’m not going to push it over that limit and spin this thing out on my own or put myself in harm’s way. That’s the same as any other race.”
3. Does Johnson want to win under the “old points system” too?
Absolutely, and going into Sunday’s race he holds a 13-point lead over Tony Stewart under the old, season-long points system.
In his previous three championship runs, Johnson has never finished the season having earned the most points. Comparing the two isn’t fair – strategies would differ if NASCAR were still using the old system. Still, the fact that he hasn’t done it is fuel to the fire for those who think the Chase doesn’t produce the true champion and that Johnson’s run is somehow tainted.
In Thursday’s championship press conference, Johnson on his own brought up the old points system, saying: “I think it would be helpful if it was the old points system as well. I know we were close to winning a championship with that system also.”
When asked if scoring the most points all season long is something that concerns him, Johnson hedged a bit, saying: “I’ve said all along that I feel that the old system is kind of the toughest way to win a championship, and I wish I had won, just to say that I had won. You talk to [Jeff] Gordon, he says just the opposite. So it’s a matter of opinion.”
4. Can some winless drivers finally get to victory lane?
Greg Biffle has won at least one race in each of his six Cup seasons. That streak could come to an end Sunday.
Carl Edwards won nine races last season but is winless in 2009.
Juan Pablo Montoya has been close to winning several times this season but has yet to seal the deal.
Other notables without a win this season include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.
“It would be very disappointing to go a season without winning a race since I’ve been able to win every year,” Biffle said. “I don’t think there’s a driver in our sport that’s ever done that to date.”
5. Who’s saying goodbye?
With the season coming to an end, there are always some goodbyes. Among them:
• Martin Truex Jr. will say goodbye to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing after four seasons.
• Jamie McMurray will leave Roush Fenway Racing to take Truex’s spot at EGR.
• Jack Roush will say goodbye to his fifth car, having to trim down to four per NASCAR rules.
• Matt Kenseth will say goodbye to DeWalt Tools, his primary sponsor since his rookie season in 2000.
• Kurt Busch will say goodbye to crew chief Pat Tryson.
• And, after 25 seasons, Michael Waltrip will say goodbye to full-time racing.
Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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