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Martinsville
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
By Heather Pohlabel
Sunday's Martinsville 500 NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Cup race was one of the best short track races that Jimmie Johnson has run this year. Not only was he battling his teammate Jeff Gordon for most of the race and they managed to keep it clean, he had other Chase contenders who were out to get him! There was no Brian Vickers pushing him to victory, and while he did get one favor from future teammate Casey Mears, for the most part, Johnson had to rely on good pit strategy, good driving by the folks around him, and good handling and speed on his part. His car was set up to work very well, and he clocked many fastest car laps during this race.
Johnson's supreme handling of his car shocked rookie Cup contender Denny Hamlin, who put Johnson in a compromising position with six laps to go. Hamlin, with fresher tires and the desire to win in his home state, badly wanted to pass Johnson. He stated over his radio at the last caution, "He's mine", referring to Johnson, who was running first, right ahead of Hamlin who was running second. On a turn, Hamlin tried to slide under Johnson, nudging his bumper, where, sadly, anyone can lose control. But Johnson maintained control even though it looked like he was going to lose it, and went on to take the checkered flag.
In an after race interview, Hamlin admitted that the best man won, stating that had Johnson raced him that hard and gotten into him the way that he did Johnson, he was pretty sure that he could not have maintained his car to go on for the win.
In Johnson's after race interview, it was obvious that the race had taken its toll on him. He was out of breath and very emotional. This could have been the result of the hard racing at the end of the race, the tireless speeding and braking that occurs at Martinsville Speedway, or memories of losing the race at the end in Kansas. Or it could be that Johnson was recalling his last victory at Martinsville, two years ago, when members of his team died en route to the race in an airplane crash. That day, Johnson did not get to celebrate his victory, but he did this time, very emotionally. He dedicated his win to the members of Hendricks Motorsports who passed away that day.
The win was good for the entire Hendricks Motorsports team. Jeff Gordon, another of three Hendricks drivers in contention for the championship, had publicly stated prior to Martinsville that he was not really racing second place (considering that mathematically he could not possibly reach first place with his current standing and the amount of points allowed per race) for the last few races, but was ready to start gearing up for 2007. That was not obvious as he lead most of the first half of the race and continued to race Johnson hard for the lead at several points during the second half of the race. However, a win for Johnson is a win for Gordon, as he is part owner of Johnson's car.
With Gordon no longer a candidate for the championship, and Kyle Busch slipping further and further away every week, Johnson is once again Hendricks Motorsports only hope at the championship this year. If he keeps driving the way he did Sunday, he might stand a chance.
It didn't hurt his point standings, either, that other drivers had bad luck. Specifically Jeff Burton.
It will be a huge disappointment to fans to see Johnson walk away second in points again this year or to come to the last race only to have him lose it, which is surely how Jeff Burton fans must have felt on Sunday. Burton had a huge lead in points, but in typical Richard Childress style (for the last five years or so), the packages just aren't running well, and the cars are losing the races for the drivers.
Johnson's spectacular run and win brought him up from seventh in points to third, just forty seven points away from current points leader Matt Kenseth, who will be his biggest competitor during the Chase. I just don't think Kevin Harvick, currently second in points, has what it takes to take the championship.
Just when Johnson thought the championship was out of reach, Martinsville brought it back into sight for him.
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