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Jimmie Johnson versus the field at Texas Motor Speedway: Cowboys and dark horses
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Tired of the No. 48? Who to cheer for at TMS (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
With the trip to Texas Motor Speedway this week, Jimmie Johnson returns to his bread-and-butter type of track, the intermediates. While Johnson has admitted putting blinders on during the Chase to remain focused, he has enjoyed the possibility that he has played with other drivers’ heads. Texas Motor Speedway will be the race that determines whether the mind games have worked.
Unlike Phoenix and Homestead, TMS provides an opportunity for those in the field to steal the spotlight from Johnson. Despite running well at Texas, with an average finish of 8.5, Johnson has only one victory at Texas. Johnson has never started from the pole. His best start was third, ending with an accident on lap 260 of 334.
Even if Mark Martin wins all the remaining races in the 2009 season, including leading the most laps, Johnson only has to have a top-ten finish to take home the Cup trophy. The fact remains that the smart money is on Johnson, but smart isn’t always the most fun. For that reason, it is time to take a hard look at the challengers who Johnson faces: the cowboys from the Chase and the dark horses in the field.
The cowboys to take on Johnson: Those in the Chase
For all intends and purposes, the pressure is off the Chase drivers. As a result, watch out!
The Hendrick juggernaut is in full effect for TMS. Mark Martin is coming to Texas with a need to set things straight after the tumble on the final lap of Talladega, and Ryan Newman has even more reason to drive for a win to blot out his Talladega tumble. Jeff Gordon got he monkey off of his back this spring but is looking to build momentum for a duel in the desert in Phoenix.
Early on, the FedEx Toyota of Denny Hamlin was the workhorse at Talladega, so Texas could be where the No. 11 makes up for a blown motor last week. The Toyota of Brian Vickers has also had strong showings at similar tracks this year.
No intelligent discussion of Texas would be complete without referencing Carl Edwards. More so than any other driver, Edwards can be viewed as the one to beat from a pure statistics standpoint. However, the RFR racers have been spotty throughout the year, even with last week’s win by McMurray. Greg Biffle, is hungry for a win this season as Matt Kenseth has two in addition to McMurray’s win at Talladega.
Chaser to watch: If Tony Stewart unloads with a halfway decent car and qualifies reasonably well, he may be the Chaser to run for the win. Historically, when the pressure has been lifted for Stewart, and he races the race - not the points – he runs off with the lead. After dominating before the Chase, Stewart is in a position to show everyone that his new team can get it done in the Chase as well.
Dark horses: The pack
Of those not in the Chase, two drivers stand out as threats for Sunday’s win.
A new crew chief will be calling the shots for Kyle Busch, which will likely mean that either Busch will spank the field or have a communications disconnect that will lead to a meltdown. Busch is doing triple duty this weekend, so he could get early momentum towards a win on Sunday.
Probably the most stealth of threats for Sunday’s win could be Matt Kenseth. With early season wins at Daytona and California mired by engine issues at Las Vegas, Kenseth that dealt with a roll coaster of a season. The numbers may not scream out in Kenseth’s favor, but he does have an average finish of 9.7 (compared to Edwards at 13.4). Call it a hunch. Kenseth will be in play this Sunday at TMS even if he doesn’t take the checkered flag.
So, if Jimmie Johnson fatigue has set in, race fans can focus on those who threaten to steal the race trophy from the no. 48. Come Sunday night, hopefully NASCAR nation will be comparing predictions to actual performance rather than lamenting the demise of NASCAR like last week.
For more information on Southern California Motorsports, check out:
Kevin Harvick saved NASCAR from disaster
Camping World West Champion Jason Bowles to race Nationwide at Phoenix
Top ten finish for Jimmie Johnson more luck than skill
Janelle Jalbert is a fan of a variety of racing formats and equally enjoys the history of the sport. Janelle grew up in an auto mechanic’s family and swears that there is carb spray running through her veins. She can be reached via email for both comments and story ideas. You can follow Janelle as the Southern California Motorsports Examiner on Twitter as @SoCalMotorsport.
Janelle also serves as the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner. Feel free to join the discussion about the hard racing in the CWTS at the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner fan page on Facebook
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