Jimmie Johnson, whose late-summer problems have been worrisome during his five years on the tour, until last year’s successful title run, seems mired again. He’s probably not in serious danger of missing the Chase, but he has fallen precipitously the past month, and it is clearly telling on him.
July 30, 2007
The Allstate 400’s defending champion, Jimmie Johnson, was a casualty of an eight-car pileup on the 46th lap of the annual Nextel Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The crash began with contact between Johnson’s Chevrolet and Jamie McMurray’s Ford, for which McMurray accepted the blame. Monte Dutton, GastonGazette.com
July 30, 2007
“It’s been a steady roll of bad races for us,” Johnson said. “We’ve had lots of speed. Chicago, we were in position to win. Here, we had a top-five car but we don’t have the results to show for it.”
Johnson ran fourth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 40 laps into the 160-lap event, but he collided with Jamie McMurray on Lap 45 and suffered left-front damage in what became an eight-car melee.
July 30, 2007
Johnson was collected in a crash on Lap 45 that damaged his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. After repairs in the pits, the El Cajon native returned to the race but soon blew a left front tire and crashed into the Turn 3 wall, his car catching fire.
After the car stopped, Johnson quickly jumped out of the cockpit.
“The flames had me nervous there inside the car and I lost some eyelashes and the side of my face got pretty hot,” Johnson said. “That’s the first time I’ve had flames inside the car.”
July 30, 2007
Jimmie Johnson escaped his Chevrolet before it became charcoal on wheels Sunday, symbolizing his failed bid to successfully defend his Allstate 400 at the Brickyard title. His 39th-place finish was caused by a blown right front tire and broken brace, sparking a fire that singed his eyelashes.
July 30, 2007
“The flames had me nervous there inside the car, and I lost some eyelashes, and the side of my face got pretty hot,” said Johnson, who finished 39th Sunday.
Johnson, the defending series champion, has dropped from fourth to ninth in the standings.
But that seemed irrelevant after his car burst into flames. Jim Pedley, KansasCity.com
July 30, 2007
Johnson, who had been solidly in the top 10 at that point, wound up 39th, two weeks after finishing 37th at Chicagoland after he crashed while leading the race.
“It’s been a steady roll of bad races for us,” Johnson said. “We’ve had lots of speed. Chicago, we were in a position to win. Here, we had a top-five car, but we don’t have the results to show for it.
“We need to make sure we don’t lose our focus, which is building fast racecars.” Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
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