Jimmie Johnson rallied back to clean their clocks at Martinsville
I don’t write a story every week this time of year. I just watch the races or listen to them on SiriusXM and see how each round of the Chase plays out.
Here’s something I can tell you: I’ve raced against Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and that whole crowd. I’ve raced with Dale Earnhardt Sr, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace and that whole crowd. I raced some with Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart but not Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick or Joey Logano, who represent the modern era of NASCAR.
So, I’ve seen them all. I’ve raced with a lot of them and analyzed the others since I went up into the FOX TV booth.
I have to tell you that I’ve never seen anyone with the composure or control and the self-discipline that I see in Jimmie Johnson. He very seldom gets very excited. You very rarely see him involved in anything controversial.
When I watch Jimmie drive like I did Sunday at Martinsville, he drives with such precision. He also drives with such confidence, not only in himself but in his team.
When crew chief Chad Knaus and the No. 48 team give him a car like they did Sunday, well, Jimmie is all but unbeatable.
The man already has 79 wins but the staggering fact is how young his career is. He simply hasn’t been in the sport that long.
So here he is with all these wins and six NASCAR Sprint Cup championships with a chance to re-write history again.
Sunday’s win at Martinsville guaranteed Jimmie one of the four spots in the championship round at Homestead in November. Should he win the championship he joins extremely rare air.
In all of NASCAR’s long history, only two men, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. were able to win seven championships in their career.
I’ll be honest, in today’s modern era with the competition the way it is, I never ever thought I would see anyone get near seven championships.
Now, though, here sits Jimmie with a chance to join those two and become only the third person to ever win seven championships.
I think and I know talking to the folks over at Hendrick Motorsports, they really think he can win there. In the past with the different championship formats he’s gone in there and just had to finish well. He’s never really had to push it.
Obviously, now with this championship format in its third year, Jimmie is going to have to beat three other guys for the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.
So, we have a handful of weeks yet to find out who the other three drivers will be but a tip of the hat for Jimmie in giving he and his team that opportunity.
One his most impressive qualities is how humble he is. Both my daughters, who pride themselves on being pretty good judge of character, will tell you they’ve never met anyone like Jimmie. He’s kind and considerate. He’s such a gentleman.
He doesn’t act like a guy who has won 79 races and is on the cusp of winning his seventh championship in his very short career.
That was the 24th win for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. The Fall Martinsville race is always important to car owner Rick Hendrick and everyone in the organization as they honor the memory of their family members and friends lost in the plane crash there on that fateful day on October 24, 2004.
I know being able to stand in Victory Circle at Martinsville in the Fall goes a long way in making Rick and everyone in his organization feel a sense of pride and sense of peace over the loss of their loved ones.
I sure wish I knew what the heck was going on Sunday with NASCAR’s timing and scoring. To have to run 30 laps under caution while you figure out where everyone belongs is somewhat mind-boggling to me. Sure, racing comes at you fast on a short-track but I’m sure NASCAR is working hard to eliminate that issue from ever happening again.
So, Jimmie punched his ticket to Homestead. That leaves three more spots to be filled. We know simply by the nature of the format that someone is going to make it in on points.
Right now, behind Jimmie sites Denny Hamlin with teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch. Below the line right now are Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards. That bottom four have their work cut out for them.
We’re headed to Texas. It’s big and fast big-boy racing down there. That’s where you pull your gloves up over your elbows and get up on that wheel for 500 miles. It’s a fast joint and I expect an exciting race. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see that No. 48 in back-to-back Victory Circles.
