The unflappable Mr. Johnson
Posted By DEAN MCNULTY, SUN MEDIA
Posted 3 months ago
It would appear that Jimmie Johnson is one of those unstoppable forces, as he rushes toward his record-setting fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
The Californian has certainly unnerved the competition in the 2009 version of the Chase for the Championship, to the point where several of the also-rans have already publicly conceded the title.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Toyota Camry, saw his chances of winning the crown go up in smoke at Lowe's Motor Speedway with an engine failure; he told reporters that beating Johnson at this stage might be all but impossible.
"(He's) just hard, hard to beat," the Virginia native said. "There is no doubt in my mind we'll contend each one of the (remaining races). But with the way the front guys are running right now, it's going to be impossible for a championship unless something absolutely freaky happens."
He argues that Johnson just seems to have a big advantage in the three most important areas: Car, motor and crew chief.
"I don't want what I sound like to be disrespectful to Jimmie because he is one of the best of our sport and not just in our era, but in past eras," Hamlin said. "But it's not that Jimmie Johnson's that much better than these drivers out here, especially Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart - those who have accomplished the highest accomplishments in our sport.
"He's not that much better than they are; he's just got every little thing working for him. He's got a great crew chief in Chad (Knaus); he's got great race cars and a tremendous amount of horsepower."
Hamlin points out that Johnson uses the same race lines on the various NASCAR tracks as do other drivers, but he just gets his car through them faster.
"We run the same lines. There are a few guys -- I run a little bit different than Jimmie -- but there are a few guys that run the same line as he does," he said. "Our cars don't accelerate off the corner like his does. They don't get into the corner like his does. And that is what makes the difference. Those little things they've figured out are just making him look really, really good."
The other major factor in Johnson's dominance, Hamlin said, is that Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's team just never gets caught making errors at critical times.
"He obviously does a good job of not making mistakes," he said. "And that's where I'd put him above everyone: letting his car do a lot of work; taking it easy on the car in the beginning; working on it; working on it ..."
Hamlin, of course, isn't about to just roll over and allow Johnson to run roughshod over his No. 11 Gibbs team in the final few Chase races, but he won't be taking out the potential champion, either.
"There is too much riding on the line to show too much emotion," he said. "You have, obviously, a lot of big-time sponsors in this thing that put your cars on the race track and put you in the seat, and they don't want their companies looking bad.
"There is too much riding on it to just, you know, completely show your rear end because something bad happens that weekend."
Hamlin, of course, isn't the only Chase contender who has talked about the steep hill ahead if they hope of catch the champion.
Two-time Cup title holder Tony Stewart went into the Chase thinking he had a real shot at winning; but now, not so much.
Like Hamlin, Stewart hasn't given up, but he does see the enormity of the task in front of him.
"All we can do is to just do our jobs," he said after the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte. "Even if we win (every) race for the last five weeks, there is still no guarantee we could close the gap. All we can do is worry about ourselves right now. It really takes the pressure off us. All we can do is to go for broke.
"There is no blueprint that says this is how you win or don't win a championship. So as long as mathematically you still have a chance, you're still in it. Until they tell you that you can't physically or mathematically catch up, then you are still in it. You still have a shot."
The last word goes to Hamlin, who said that Johnson looks bullet-proof as the Chase winds down.
"When he has to push it in the end, he's got the car there for it," Hamlin said. "He's got the mindset to win those races and that's what makes him the best."
