Winning a race is difficult and special. Winning two in a row at the same track is impressive, but certainly not unheard of. Taking three consecutive at the same track is pretty darn impressive, but again, has been done on numerous occasions.
But winning four in a row at one track—well that gets you on a special list. NASCAR.COM
Johnson will go for a record fourth consecutive Phoenix victory in Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. A win will match his dominance at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where he won four in a row from 2004-05, and add to his short-track supremacy.
Not that he’s thinking of such trivialities.
“I don’t really go into a race thinking about stats,” Johnson said in his prerace release. “It is pretty cool that we’ve had some good runs lately at Phoenix. The last win gave us some good momentum going into Homestead.
“Don’t get me wrong; a win is always a big deal and never easy, and winning four in a row somewhere like Phoenix would certainly be special. But it’s not something that I’m really thinking about a lot.” USA TODAY
Last November, Johnson became the first driver to win three consecutive races at Phoenix, a quirky 1-mile track. The last time any Sprint Cup driver has won four straight races at any track was Johnson, who swept both events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway during 2004-05.
Johnson has a good chance of making it four in a row at Phoenix, which has a history of repeat champions. Five drivers have posted multiple victories at Phoenix, each time in consecutive races: Davey Allison (1991-92), Jeff Burton (2000-01), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003-04), Kevin Harvick (both 2006) and Johnson (2007-08).
In addition to Johnson’s three victories at Phoenix (including one from the pole last year), he has three other top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes. He’s not sure what the secret is.
“There’s not really anything I can put my finger on,” Johnson said. “I know that’s a popular question, wanting to know why a driver does well at a certain track. I think something just clicks with certain drivers at certain places. We’ve just been able to get the car comfortable for me and I’ve just been able to get around the track.
“During a race there’s a lot that can go on at a short track like Phoenix and having a good pit stall and good pit stops is important too.”
The Sprint Cup Series record for consecutive wins at a track is seven, co-held by Richard Petty (Richmond, 1970-73) and Darrell Waltrip (Bristol, 1981-84). Johnson, though, is more concerned with cutting into the points lead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who edged Johnson for the win at Texas two weeks ago and has a 162-point lead over Johnson in the points standings. Kansas City Star
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