Sunday in Dover, Delaware, Jimmie Johnson reminded everyone why he is the three-time consecutive and reigning champion of NASCAR's senior circuit, the Sprint Cup Series. After winning the pole position on Friday, Johnson led the most laps in winning his fourth race of the 2009 campaign and closing to within of 10 points of current points leader Mark Martin.What makes this feat remarkable is that Johnson, 34, has never won a race this early in the ten-race Chase format during his three previous championship years. In winning the second of the ten-race Chase, Johnson seems to have set a tone and set a message to the other drivers in the 12-team championship contest.
"I'm pretty sure that dude is Superman," Martin said. "I've seen that dude up close and I see why he's so successful. He works harder at it than anybody else, I think, on the circuit." Martin, who won last week's race at Louden, NH is considered by many to be the most physically dedicated driver in the business. Martin is well known for his physical fitness and workout regimen.
This is not the first time a fellow driver has called Johnson Superman. During the 2007 Chase, after the race in Texas which was won by Johnson, four time champion Jeff Gordon said of Johnson "He's Superman. Nobody is going to stop him this year. He's unbelievable." Johnson went on that year to win the his second consecutive title.
Asked about his win today, Johnson said "As far as sending a message, I hope it does. I hope people talk about it. I hope people are worried. And we'll keep our heads down, we'll keep our blinders on and we'll go to work.
"At the end of the day, all the talk means nothing. We've still got to show up at Kansas and run that race. That's what we do a really good job at, staying focused."
In addition to the greatness shown by Johnson in his win, NASCAR proved what great technological advances they have made in the area of safety. Rookie driver Joey Logano was involved in an amazing crash, during which his car rolled seven times before standing on the driver's window side, then falling back to its wheels. Remarkably, Logan walked away, even commenting on the fact that he didn't feel sore after the crash.
Next Sunday's race is at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Last year Johnson won the race in Kansas on his way to winning his third consecutive championship.
6 comments:
I live DEEP in NASCAR Country....folks get shot at for having the wrong number logo on their back windows....so being a hockey fan I sorta stick out lke a sore thumb.
I've always wanted to go to a Nascar event, maybe get involved with it. Not really a sports fan unless its inside "The Octagon". I need to go to an event.
Hey Sol:
Well, we were there and witnessed Jimmy's win. I know he's your guy, so congrats. And Mark came in second, so that was great too. He's still in first place.
We sit in turn 4, so we had a good view of Logano's accident. Amazing that someone can walk away from something so violent. The COT has certainly proven itself to be safe, and that's a good thing.
Steve - no matter who your driver is, if you're a true fan of the sport (TCL will attest to this) you really just want to see a great race each week and you pray nobody gets hurt too badly. If your driver wins - bonus!
Down your way there might be a few more rabid Dale Jr. fans than out here, but at the rate his career's going, they'll be looking for a new driver soon.
Candle - there's a lot of Republicans and southern "rednecks" there - not sure how well a flaming liberal would do in that environment.. lol....
TCL - it was a power win, but then he's done that a lot at Dover. He and Mark are going to have a good battle, barring something wacky happening to one of them.
Everybody's still in it right now, we'll see after this week...
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