Johnson in dire need of a win at Charlotte
Johnson’s hopes of winning a record-tying seventh title in NASCAR’s premier series this year are in jeopardy after he finished 40th this past Sunday at Kansas, the first race in the Contender Round. He was involved in an accident with Greg Biffle in the early going. Johnson, the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, is now 12th in the Chase point standings. He is 27 points behind eighth-place and teammate Jeff Gordon.
Per NASCAR’s new playoff format for Sprint Cup, any current championship- eligible driver who wins a race during a round will automatically advance into the next round. Joey Logano won at Kansas and secured one of the eight positions for the Eliminator Round. If Johnson can win at either Charlotte or Talladega, he will move on to the following round as well.
In May, Johnson won at Charlotte for a record seventh time when he took the checkered flag for the Coca-Cola 600 — NASCAR’s longest race of the season. He scored a season-sweep at this 1.5-mile track in both 2004 and ’05. His last victory in the fall race here occurred in 2009, the same year he claimed his fourth of five consecutive series championships.
“We’re ready to go racing,” Johnson said. “I love competing at this racetrack, and I look forward to a great race on Saturday night. The mindset is really to come in and try to take a trophy out of here. That would really solve our problem in the points that we have right now.
“If we can’t get a win, then we need to focus on finishing as high as we can. And the reason that leaves us a little bit of hope is if you miss the big ones (major crashes) at Talladega then you could assume that some of the Chasers will be involved in one or two of those. You might have another chance.”
Johnson has three wins this season but has not been to victory lane since June 15 at Michigan (18 races ago). Surprisingly, he has not led a lap in a race since the Aug. 17 event at Michigan. Johnson started the Chase with a 12th- place finish at Chicagoland, followed by a fifth-place run at New Hampshire and then third at Dover before finishing 40th at Kansas.
“We’re just not where we want to be, bottom line,” he said. “We’re working very hard to get there. This sport is not forgiving. And what you’ve accomplished in the past doesn’t buy you a damn thing for the present. You’ve got to go out there and earn it and make the most of it.
“We’ve been a third-to-fifth-place car, and we can run and finish there, but we haven’t been a dominant car. We’re certainly hoping that when we come to tracks that have been very good for the 48 then we can be able to find that little bit and find that extra tenth (of a second) to put us in that position and get our mojo going in the right way.”
Johnson has several good tracks ahead of him. He has eight wins at Martinsville, three at Texas, including a victory there one year ago, and four at Phoenix.
“I know what our team is capable of, and I know if we can find that last stone to flip over, where the speed is at, what’s holding us up, then we can go,” Johnson said. “We’re eagerly awaiting for that moment in time to happen. So I feel like good tracks are going to promote that and help us find that way sooner.
“Dover, although we didn’t lead a lap there, we were still very competitive and ran third. We’re here at another great track (Charlotte). Martinsville is right around the corner, so we’re hopeful to get on our way.”
For now, Johnson is just hoping to stay alive in the Chase and make it into the Eliminator Round.
Forty-four teams are on the entry list for the Bank of America 500.
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday, Oct. 11. Race: Bank of America 500. Site: Charlotte Motor Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. ET. Laps: 334. Miles: 501. 2013 Winner: Brad Keselowski. Television: ABC. Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
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