By recent standards, Jimmie Johnson isn’t exactly having a championship season. Yes, the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion ranks second in the standings (and he’s only seven points out of first) after 19 races. But statistics can be deceiving – especially in light of his pit crew issues following a come-from-behind top-five finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Johnson only has one victory this season, at Talladega, and was .002 seconds (the MOV) from going O-fer in 2011.
Johnson knows he and his Hendrick Motorsports team will have to do better if championship No. 6 is in the cards in 2011.
At least three rivals have to believe they can dethrone Johnson:
• Kyle Busch dropped from first to fourth after New Hampshire tire trouble. But he has two more wins than Johnson – three – and has more than doubled the champion in laps led. Busch leads virtually every Loop Data category this season.
• Kevin Harvick, one of Johnson’s primary antagonists during last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, also has out-paced the champion with three victories – wins that will translate into crucial bonus points – three for each victory – at the beginning of this year’s Chase.
• Carl Edwards is the current points leader, a position he’s occupied through the majority of the season. Edwards is both fast and consistent, matching Busch in top fives (10) and leading the series in top-10 finishes with 13.
• Kurt Busch is the highest-ranked (third) former champion in the current top 10 not named Johnson. Busch, winner at Infineon Raceway, potentially is headed for his best season since joining Penske Motorsports adding three Coors Light Poles to a log of 11 top 10s.
With nine of the current top 10 having won at least one race – and the final two Chase spots seeding by “wild card” victories, it’s doubtful anyone will limp into this year’s championship playoff. Although Denny Hamlin started slowly – he didn’t win until last month in Michigan – last year’s runner-up to Johnson has led seven of the last eight races. Hamlin has come all the way from 20th to 10th entering next week’s Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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