Auto Racing | Sizzling Johnson wins 3rd in a row
FORT WORTH, Texas - Jimmie Johnson was caught between his competitive urge to win and the big-picture reality that a mistake could cost him a shot at another NASCAR Nextel Cup Series championship.
The urge to win won - and so did Johnson.
The reigning Nextel Cup champion came out on top after a dramatic side-by-side duel with Matt Kenseth, grabbing his third straight victory and, of greater significance, wresting the series points lead from Jeff Gordon on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Johnson leads Hendrick Motorsports teammate Gordon by 30 points with two races remaining in the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. Clint Bowyer, in third, is 181 points behind the leader.
Johnson’s race with Kenseth was a thriller, with both cars wiggling dangerously as they came off the corners nearly touching.
“That was tough racing,” Johnson said. “Matt was crowding me and I was trying to move him up a little bit and we were doing all that at 190 miles an hour. It was pretty intense.”
The entire time, Johnson was aware a crash likely would have taken him out of the championship battle.
“I feel like I was doing a good job balancing those emotions in the car,” he said. “When I got inside of Matt and tried for a lap or two to get by him and he was crowding me, I actually backed off and let him go. So I just checked those feelings and regrouped and then went back after him.
“But, after seeing the video when I was doing the victory-lane interview, I was more sideways than I felt like I was. I think I was too focused on the prize and I was pretty crossed up a couple of times.”
Team owner Rick Hendrick was unnerved by the duel.
“We’ve got an awful lot at stake here,” Hendrick said. “You know, Jeff was running seventh and I thought, ‘We don’t need to do this.’ But I felt like Jimmie was under control. I was nervous and I was wanting to hit the [radio] button, but I didn’t.”
Gordon, a four-time Cup champion who began the day nine points ahead of Johnson, finished seventh.
“We just flat-out got beat today,” Gordon said. “We just weren’t very good right from the start. There at the end was the best we were all day and night. We made the most of it.
“It was a disappointing day, but I’m happy for Jimmie and those guys. They did an awesome job.”
Notes
• Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw was 18th. Vancouver, Wash., native Greg Biffle was 33rd of 43.
• Tony Schumacher won his fourth consecutive Top Fuel title, beating Bob Vandergriff in the final round of the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona to edge “Hot Rod” Fuller for the championship.
Matt Smith won the Pro Stock Motorcycle title with a final-round win, while Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon sweated it out until the semifinals before securing his second title. Jeg Coughlin wrapped up his third Pro Stock title.
Chasing the Cup
Unofficial NASCAR standings, with two races left in the Chase for the Nextel Cup:
Driver
Pts behind
Jimmie Johnson
leader
Jeff Gordon
30
181
Kyle Busch
339
Carl Edwards
357
Tony Stewart
373
Jeff Burton
431
Kevin Harvick
439
Kurt Busch
453
Matt Kenseth
454
Denny Hamlin
524
524