Auto Racing | Johnson wins, increases lead to 86 points
AVONDALE, Ariz. - No one could touch Jeff Gordon in his prime, a three-year stretch when he won 33 races and two championships.
That was almost 10 years ago, and few thought they would see another driver capable of dominating NASCAR the way Gordon once did. Until Jimmie Johnson came along.
Johnson took command of the Chase for the Nextel Cup on Sunday, winning at Phoenix International Raceway to open a daunting lead over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate in the race to the title.
Gordon, 86 points behind Johnson with one race left this season, said of the Chase: “It’s over. It’s over. Even if we win it, it’s because they have problems. While we’ll accept it, we don’t want to do it that way.
“Those guys have flat-out killed everybody. And you’ve got to give credit where credit is due.”
Johnson, who has won four consecutive races, defeated Vancouver, Wash., native Greg Biffle to take the Checker Auto Parts 500. Gordon was 10th.
It was Johnson’s 10th victory of the season - the most since Gordon won 13 in 1998 - and barring a collapse in Sunday’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Johnson will become the first driver to win consecutive championships since Gordon did it in 1997 and 1998.
But Johnson doesn’t want to be compared to his mentor, the four-time series champion.
“I certainly don’t want to be called the next Jeff Gordon. I am Jimmie Johnson. I’ve always done it my way,” he said. “If you look at our driving styles, our setups, look at everything we do, we are on opposite ends. We do have some common interests; we are close friends.
“But I am not Jeff Gordon, so let’s just get that out of the way.”
Johnson’s work on the track makes it difficult not to draw the comparisons.
“They’re just unbelievably good,” said Matt Kenseth, the 2003 champion. “They’re as good as any group I’ve seen, including Jeff in his heyday when he was winning 10 races a year and the championship by over a hundred points.”
Johnson can realistically do the same.
The defending Nextel Cup champion needs to finish 18th or better to secure his second season championship.
Johnson was somewhat subdued in victory lane, and declined to claim the title.
“Homestead is going to be a stressful weekend,” Johnson said. “We’ve got seven more days. I’m just going to try to keep my mind clear and focus on the things we need to do. This is kind of where we were last year.
“We just have to go down there and be smart and see how it shakes out.”
Johnson became the first driver to win four consecutive races in a season since - who else? - Gordon did in 1998.
Gordon, who selected Johnson to join Hendrick Motorsports when the team expanded to four cars in 2002, marveled at how strong his protégé has been during the 10-race, 12-driver Chase.
Gordon dominated the “regular season” and opened a lead of more than 300 points before the field was reset for the Chase.
“Unless you lead every lap and beat Jimmie Johnson to win the race, we don’t have a shot,” Gordon said. “We’re just coming up short at a crucial time. Those guys have just knocked it out of the ballpark, and it would be tough to beat that even if we were hitting on all eight cylinders.”
Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, also isn’t ready to claim the Cup.
“Obviously we’re real happy to extend the points lead,” Knaus said. “But going into Homestead, you never know.”
Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw was involved in two crashes and placed 40th of 43.
Bourdais exits
with a victory
MEXICO CITY - Sebastien Bourdais went out a winner as well as a champion in his final Champ Car World Series race, overcoming a penalty and a lead-trimming yellow flag to win the Grand Prix of Mexico before heading off to Formula One.
Bourdais held off pole-sitter Will Power for his 31st career victory - tied with Al Unser Jr. and Paul Tracy for sixth in series history. And the Frenchman did it in a mere 73 career starts over five years.
“I’ll miss it a lot,” the four-time champion said, struggling to control his emotions - both over the end of his ties to longtime Newman-Haas-Lanigan teammates and anger at the prerace penalty for laying rubber in the pit box.
The 28-year-old driver said he will be in Europe by Tuesday testing cars for the Toro Rosso team he is joining for Formula One next season.
Chasing the Cup
Unofficial NASCAR standings, with one race left in the Chase for the Nextel Cup:
Driver
Pts behind
Jimmie Johnson
leader
Jeff Gordon
86
Clint Bowyer
241
Kyle Busch
387
Tony Stewart
403
Matt Kenseth
469
Kevin Harvick
479
Jeff Burton
483
Carl Edwards
505
Kurt Busch
516
Martin Truex Jr.
563
Denny Hamlin
599