A Ticked Off Jimmie Johnson is A Dangerous Jimmie Johnson
It’s easy to get caught up in the fact Jimmie Johnson dropped more than 100 points following Sunday’s debacle at Texas.
Still, Johnson remains in the lead for the Sprint Cup championship – going for his fourth consecutive title – with two races remaining.
I don’t know about you, but why are we worrying about it? Johnson is still going to win the championship. You can take that to the bank.
For whenever Johnson has a bad race, particularly later in the Chase, he always comes back with a huge rally. He’s done it at various stages of the last three Chases and he’ll do it again in this season’s Chase.
There’s a kind of irony, though. Both last year and this year, at least heading into Sunday’s race at Texas, Johnson was in a position that if he did well, he could conceivably clinch the title the following week at Phoenix, the next-to-last race of the season.
Yet, something happened that essentially prevented it from happening.
Now, Johnson can still mathematically win the title next weekend at Phoenix. It’s not that difficult. All he has to do is leave there with a 162-point lead over Mark Martin and the crown is his.
So, do the math, Johnson lost 111 points Sunday at Texas, but is still 73 points ahead of Martin. Admittedly, that’s a pretty big hit.
But also consider this: Johnson merely needs to out-point Martin by 89 points at Phoenix and it’s all over. Sure, you can make a case that Jeff Gordon, 112 points behind Johnson, still has a chance. And that Sunday’s winner, Kurt Busch, is still mathematically in the hunt, albeit at 171 points back. Heck, Tony Stewart’s even in the party, still, at least from a statistical standpoint, sitting 178 points behind Johnson.
But Johnson would have to endure two more horrible finishes like he had Sunday to lose the title.
And there’s no way that’s happening.
Johnson is at his best when he’s frustrated. He gets motivated by mishaps or when his luck turns sour. Frankly, he’s at his best when he’s ticked off, and I can assure you Johnson is ticked off after having left Texas.
I said this the last two years and I’ll say it again: a ticked-off Jimmie Johnson is a very dangerous Jimmie Johnson. He and Chad Knaus will put together a strategy that will likely see him run equal to Martin at Phoenix, so that in the end, no matter how many points Martin earns there, Johnson will do his best to minimize the damage Martin will have done to his fourth championship hopes.
And while I don’t see Martin getting into trouble at Phoenix, where he won earlier this year by the way, I also don’t see him overtaking Johnson there or in the season finale at Homestead.
As much as I hate to say it, and I really do hate to say it because if there’s anyone that deserves a championship, it’s Mark Martin, but I still think he’s ultimately still going to wind up with his fifth career runner-up seasonal finish.
Martin is often said to be a bridesmaid but never a bride when it comes to being a Sprint Cup champion. There’s a lot of truth in that, unfortunately.
So what if Johnson lost 111 points Sunday. He’ll earn back most, if not all of them back in Phoenix.
Remember, a ticked off Johnson is the most dangerous kind of Johnson there is. And Martin, Gordon and every other Cup driver knows that, as well. Phoenix will not be just another race, it’s going to be yet another race where Johnson bounces back from adversity to make a statement: that he is not going to be deprived of that fourth straight Cup championship.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/08 at 09:14 PM
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