What’s the best way to forget a bad week? Simple, make the people remember the next one for the opposite reason. That’s exactly what Jimmie Johnson did, much to the hatred of many fans.
Last week in this column, I talked about the restart procedures that NASCAR employs after the initial green flag of the race. It was pretty well cut-and-dry in the rules, and at the same time was the talk all week of whether NASCAR made the right call, which according to most fans and officials, the call was the correct one.
Even six days later, when NASCAR went to Pocono, there were still questions of whether Juan Montoya, who was the leader, snookered the start. He said he didn’t, but Johnson had a better start.
Fast forward to a new week, and once again it’s Johnson in the news, but this time it’s for what he did at Pocono.
Last year, the races at this track were reduced down to 400 miles, 100 miles less from what it was before, because fans and drivers felt it was too long, almost a marathon when the field got strung out. That meant a reduction from 200 laps down to 160. Seemed like a good idea, and for the most part it has been.
But, the guy that ended up winning, Johnson, made it his mission to get back in the spotlight for what he did right, not for what he did wrong.
He certainly accomplished that because at the end of the day, Johnson started on the pole (due to a rainout and it being set by points), and led over 75 percent of the laps run, and cruised to the victory. The win was his third of the year, and pretty much guaranteed that for the 10th consecutive year, Johnson will be in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He has never missed a Chase since its inception back in 2004, and has won five of the nine Chase titles ever done. The other four were won by Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart in both 2005 and 2011, and last year by Brad Keselowski.
Many folks were already picking Matt Kenseth as being the one to win based on the momentum he’s obtained since going to Joe Gibbs Racing, but even before the year the pick was Johnson to take it. Shows that even the defending champion isn’t safe when picking a champion.
Look out, because if momentum is what wins titles, the guy that has it, and did have it from the beginning of the year, is Johnson. It could mean in November, Johnson will have a six-pack of championships.
RESULTS: 1-Johnson 2-Biffle 3-Earnhardt Jr. 4-Stewart 5-Newman 6-Kyle Busch 7-Kurt Busch 8-Hamlin 9-Harvick 10-Logano
NOTABLE FINISHES: 12-Gordon 16-Keselowski 25-Kenseth 29-Patrick 36-Kahne
CAUTIONS: 6 for 19 laps. Lap 67-70 (Debris), 126-129 (Oil on track), 134-136 (#20, 42 Accident-T2), 139-141 (#7, 43 Accident-T1), 149-151 (#51 Slow on Track), 155-156 (#7 Accident-T3).
LEAD CHANGES: 12 among 4 drivers. Johnson POLE, Edwards 1-9, Johnson 10-27, Keselowski 28-29, Johnson 30-57, Keselowski 58-59, Johnson 60-67, Newman 68-70, Johnson 71-100, Newman 101-113, Johnson 114-126, Newman 127-129, Johnson 130-160.
TIME OF RACE: 2 Hrs, 46 Mins, 26 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 144.202 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.208 Seconds
POINTS: 1. Johnson, 521 Points; 2. Edwards, -51; 3. Bowyer, -69; 4. Earnhardt Jr, -82; 5. Harvick, -87; 6. Kenseth, -103; 7. Kyle Busch, -109; 8. Kahne, -121; 9. Keselowski, -123; 10. Biffle, -126; 11. Gordon, -128; 12. Menard, -136