Martin & Gordon lead the pack on Johnson's six (AP Photo Steve Helber)
Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Ron Hornaday Jr. all have a shot at clinching their respective series titles as NASCAR makes a trip to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend.
Despite the stumble the Lowe’s team endured in Texas last week, Johnson has to like the track of the week. He has won three of the last four races at PIR, and he is looking to continue a perfect record of wins since the fall 2007 Cup race.
Last fall, Johnson started from the pole and led 217 laps thanks in large part to hitting a perfect set up early in the weekend. After resuscitating the Lowe’s Chevy last week, the deciding factor for the No. 48 this week may very well be what goes on between the ears of Chad Knaus.
In the last six races, Johnson has finished in the top-five all but one time, with three of those finishes ending in Victory Lane. His average finish during that period is a 2.5 with and average running position of 4.7. Johnson also has logged 537 fastest laps and 842 laps led before this weekend begins.
Johnson’s PIR career average finish of 5.4 at PIR with 3 wins, 7 top-fives, and 10 top-tens has him atop the Driver Rating with a 120.0, compared to last week’s race winner Kurt Busch in second with a 102.4.
Last week’s hiccup closed the gap in the Chase standings to a mere 73 points over Mark Martin. It is mathematically possible for Johnson to clinch his fourth straight championship at PIR, but it will not be an easy feat. He would need to leave Phoenix with a 195-point lead to have the title locked up going into Homestead. That is a total of 122-points to pick up in Sunday’s race, more than what he lost in his Texas tangle.
Points to remember and consider at PIR
The trick to a good race is Phoenix is unloading well and adjusting to the perfect set up. Teams who find that perfect set up often go on to be unstoppable at PIR.
Second to set up, qualifying plays a major role in getting to the checkered flag for a successful day. The further back in the pack a driver finds himself, the more likely things could go wrong even in the first laps of the race.
While Johnson has dominated at PIR recently, several spoilers are poised to take the win from Johnson. Keep an eye out for Kurt Busch, coming off of his Texas win. He has recorded a perfect driver rating at PIR, as has another potential spoiler, Kevin Harvick. In addition to sharing perfect rating at PIR with one Busch brother, Harvick is poised to embrace history himself going head-to-head with the other Busch. Both he and Kyle Busch, another potential spoiler, are doing triple duty this weekend in Phoenix.
Potential dark horses for the weekend include: Jaime McMurray, Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, and Marcos Ambrose. McMurray and Mears have lit up their racing as plans for 2010 are still up in the air. Bowyer, and even teammate Jeff Burton could be factors as RCR is looking to end a disappointing 2009 on a positive note. Due to his injuries at Texas, Burton is a questionable call until he takes the No. 31 car on the track at PIR. Finally, the rookie Ambrose, has run well as of late and is quietly making a place for himself in the lead pack in a variety of races.
For more information on Southern California Motorsports, check out:
California drivers show relatively well in Texas
Jimmie Johnson meets Hornish to create Franken-Chevy
Camping World West Champion Jason Bowles to race Nationwide at Phoenix
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
Comments