Johnson's strength plays to Chase format, close races
If there ever was a format made to order for Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 crew, it's one where the winner of a long event is determined by performance in the final moments.
The Chase format for determining the champion of the Sprint Cup Series has been playing into Johnson’s hand every year. No matter who shows strength during the 26-race regular season, Johnson steps ahead in the final 10. Or at least he has for four consecutive years.
It's the same with individual races. His three wins so far this season -- at Auto Club, Las Vegas and Bristol -- came in races that other drivers appeared poised to win. At Auto Club Speedway, he needed some luck in the pits to overpower the Richard Childress contingent late in the race, but he was successful in that.
At Vegas, it was Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon who led a race-high 219 laps, only to lose to Johnson, who took the lead with 17 laps to go after his four tires taken on the final pit stop proved to be better than Gordon's two. At Vegas, Johnson led only 18 laps.
At Bristol, Kurt Busch led 278 laps and appeared to have the fastest car, but a late-race caution for a small piece of debris on the track sent the leaders to the pits for fresh tires.
Four drivers took just two tires, while Busch and Johnson took four apiece and lined up fifth and sixth with 10 laps left.
The outside lane took off first, giving Johnson the break he needed to score his 50th career Cup win, while Busch was third. Johnson led the final seven laps and 84 overall.
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Even though Busch lost out in the late-race shuffle, the Food City 500 was yet another sign that crew chief Steve Addington probably hasn't been getting enough credit for his contributions to his race drivers.
He got his first 12 Cup victories with Kyle Busch then added another with Kurt Busch at Atlanta this year.
“I have a great crew chief in Steve Addington,” Busch said. “[It] may be a missing link I’ve been missing at Penske for years, but it’s early in the year. We’ve had a couple of solid runs. We’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
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The old-timers race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Scotts EZ Seed Showdown, was supposed to be a fun event, but it was marred by a wreck that left former Nationwide Series champion Larry Pearson with serious injuries.
Jim Wozniak, a Welmont Health System spokesman, told the Bristol Herald Courier in nearby Bristol, Va., that Pearson had a compound fracture of the left ankle, a fractured pelvis and fractured right hand.
Pearson's car appeared to be sliding with a flat tire when it was struck by the oncoming car driven by Charlie Glotzbach. The drivers were in Late Model cars that are about as fast as Sprint Cup cars but do not carry many of the safety features that have been incorporated into NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow that is used in the Cup Series.
