Jimmie Johnson carried a vendetta all season. And after winning his second Nextel Cup title, he promptly took care of business.
To celebrate his first title last season, crew chief Chad Knaus and Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Hampton burst through his hotel-room door the morning after the finale and doused a sleeping Johnson with champagne. Johnson vowed to get even.
On Monday morning, he and wife Chandra had returned from a night of partying when they stopped by the front desk to change room keys. They wanted to ensure Knaus & Co. could not gain access to his room this time. At precisely that moment, the clerk stopped to take a phone call. Canadianpress.com
Driver Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, the whole No.48 Chevrolet team and all of Hendrick Motorsports had a year that very few of us will ever equal in whatever our line of work might be.
In a sport designed to have a level playing field, so that fans can root for their favorite driver knowing they have a fair chance to win a race, Hendrick Motorsports and Johnson apparently didn’t get the notice.
Johnson, along with teammates Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Casey Mears, dominated the 2007 Nextel Cup racing season. As a group, the four drivers won 18 of 36 races, collected 84 top-10s and earned a not-so-paltry $24,420,344. Steve Schwarz, Sports Network.com
Taking the green flag at Homestead-Miami turned out to be as expected nothing more than a formality for Jimmie Johnson as he finished seventh on his way to his second consecutive Nextel Cup championship. The Hendrick Motorsports driver entered the final race of the season of a roll of four consecutive wins that gave him a huge 86-point lead over his teammate Jeff Gordon.
Johnson and his team showed on Friday that they were not going to be content to just show up and race to protect their points lead. They attacked qualifying just like they have all season long and sat on the pole. Starting up front gave him the opportunity to lead a lap early and then make sure that he stayed out of trouble the rest of the day. He crossed the start/finish line in the lead at the end of the first lap on his way to securing the all-important five points for leading a lap and then was content to drop back and run in the top-10 for the majority of the day. News-Expres Sky.com
| 
|