Jimmie Johnson practices for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson won’t go there until he gets there.
In other words, Johnson has opted not to contemplate winning a record-tying seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title until he reaches the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Nevertheless, Johnson acknowledges his odds are improved after reaching the Chase’s Round of 8 for the first time since NASCAR adopted its current elimination format in 2014.
“Gosh, this Chase has such a different feeling than Chases I’ve won in the past,” Johnson said before Friday’s opening practice at Martinsville Speedway, site of Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500. “I still feel like I have this massive hurdle to get over to get into the final four.”
So massive, in fact, that Johnson hasn’t entertained the prospect of joining the seven-championship club occupied by NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
“With that in mind, I have not gone there,” said Johnson, an eight-time winner at Martinsville. “My chances are a lot better than they were three weeks ago, for sure, but this format just requires such a different mind-set and a different way to make it to the final four to even have a shot at the championship. Not yet.”
If Johnson doesn’t want to contemplate rarefied air of a seventh title, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon isn’t loath to handicap the chances of the No. 48 team.
“With this new format I think his Achilles was that second round, and by him getting through the second round and being in this round, this is like an excellent opportunity for him.” Gordon said. “I feel very confident they are going to go to Homestead (with a shot at the title).
“This is all predictions and things like that, guesswork. (Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch) are good, but, boy, when you get the No. 48 in a final race for the championship, they do things that are extraordinary. I think their chances are pretty good. I feel very confident they are going to be there in the thick of the battle.”
On the other hand, Gordon doesn’t believe Johnson needs another championship to validate his standing in the sport.
“The other drivers that I’ve competed against, it was always, ‘Well, how good is their car, how good is their team?’ and you always had that question mark,” Gordon said. “With Jimmie, I know. We are driving similar equipment. I get to see what that team does every year and what Jimmie’s talents are. Because of that, I think he is the best that I’ve ever raced against and possibly the best that there has ever been.
“Even days where I felt like I had a car that could compete with him, he did extraordinary things to get more out of it. He’s a pretty calm, cool guy, but, boy, when you put that helmet on him and you get him in the race car, he just becomes another person and takes it to another level.
“He doesn’t have to win the seventh to prove that to me, but I also know that stats and numbers mean a lot out there in the world of comparisons. I think that would be great for him to have that to show the rest of the world that he is one of the best – if not the best.”
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Ask drivers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards why their performance at Martinsville Speedway has improved so much since they moved from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing, and they’ll give you a two-word answer: “Denny Hamlin.”
Both Kenseth and Edwards credit Hamlin, a five-time winner at the .526-mile short track, with helping them find the rhythm at one of NASCAR’s most perplexing venues.
With defending series champion Kyle Busch joining teammates Kenseth, Edwards and Hamlin in the Chase’s Round of 8, there might be a temptation to start withholding vital information.
Not so, says Hamlin.
“It’s hard not to be selfish, but you can also hurt your overall performance these last four races if you start to get selfish,” Hamlin said. “There’s not one thing I’ll ever hold back from any of my teammates at any time at this race track or any other if they ask me, and I would expect the same when we get somewhere that I might need some help as well.
“I think that teamwork is what got us here, and you can’t veer away from that. We all feel like selfishly we can beat each other, and that would be a good problem to have when we get to Homestead – to have to beat each other for a championship. I’m looking forward to that part of it.”
Matt Crafton: No Mulligans In Round Of Six
Small wonder Martinsville is Matt Crafton’s favorite race track.
In the past five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at the .526-mile paper-clip-shaped short track, Crafton has won twice and finished second, third and seventh.
With six drivers left in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, and with the next-to-last round set to begin with Saturday’s Texas Roadhouse 200, Crafton acknowledges there’s no room for error at his favorite venue.
“I don’t think you’re going to be able to have a mulligan this weekend and get onto the final round,” said Crafton, who was 12th fastest in Friday’s final practice and third fastest over a 10-lap average. “Without a doubt, you have to have a good run leaving this place – if it’s a top-10 worst case – to go into the next two to go into the final four.
“I love coming here, and if it’s meant to be, it will be. I say that each and every week, and that’s what I live and die by.”
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