History in the making: Jimmie Johnson

I want everyone to close their eyes and try to imagine the following scenario. You are in a tight three-way battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with two very good drivers. You closed on the points leader at Phoenix and now you had your sights on that championship everyone thought wasn’t yours. You raced a great race at Homestead-Miami, keeping your two competitors behind you most of the race. You cross the finish line 2^nd in the race and first in the point standings, being the only driver to the win the championship after being second when the race started. You just made history by winning a fifth consecutive championship. Now open your eyes. Who did you see in the scenario? You? Or the driver who actually did this last season? Yes, I’m talking about the driver of the number 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson; 5-time; Superman; what ever you want to call him. No one, and I mean NO ONE, can say they won 5 consecutive championships. Love him or hate him, you can not deny that Jimmie Johnson has to be one of the greatest drivers of our generation.

Though missing Rookie of the Year honors in 2002, Jimmie Johnson didn’t let that slow him down. He is the only driver to qualify every year for the Chase. In 2006, his 5^th season in the Cup series, Jimmie Johnson captured his first Cup championship, beating Matt Kenseth. In 2007, Jimmie Johnson outran his teammate and owner of his car*, Jeff Gordon for his second championship. In 2008, Jimmie matched the only driver to win 3 consecutive championships, Cale Yarbrough, by beating Carl Edwards, despite Carl winning the season finale race at Homestead. At this point, was anyone thinking he could do it again in 2009? I sure didn’t. But, in 2009, Jimmie Johnson won a record 4^th consecutive championship, beating his teammate Mark Martin. All of these championships, Jimmie was leading the points going into the final race. The 2010 season was totally different for Jimmie. Jimmie didn’t run away with the Chase. Though he did lead the points standings during the chase, Denny Hamlin led most of the Chase. After a miscue with Mike Ford at Phoenix and an early spin at Homestead, Jimmie Johnson just drove right through that door Denny Hamlin left wide open.

What makes Jimmie Johnson, well, Jimmie Johnson? Is it running for Hendrick Motorsports? Is it the 5 championship trophies? Is it his willingness to contend for the win every weekend? Between 2002 and 2011, Johnson has recorded 53 wins, 137 top-fives 206 top-tens, and 25 pole positions. That is quite a feat considering he’s only had 333 starts in the Cup series. Jimmie has spent about 62% in the top ten, 41% in the top 5, and 15% in Victory Lane. Get this. In 333 starts, Jimmie Johnson’s average FINISH is 11.7. He finished 11^th yesterday at Martinsville. He has NEVER been any lower than 6^th in the final point standings since 2002.

Every so often, I take a question to twitter to see what people think. Most of the time it’s about something that happened in the race. This time, it’s to talk about the 5-time champ Jimmie Johnson. I asked what everybody thought of him. 99% of responses from twitter and my Facebook fan page were…positive. You’d think more people, when given the chance, would say bad things. I was surprised that people didn’t take that chance. Here’s what some people said about the 5-time champ.

@jennyslaunwhite: Jimmie is a cool driver and he wins the clean way and seems good with his fans

@speeds_promdate: he’s a great driver. Has a ton of ability Always walks away with a positive attitude. No matter how bad a finish, he’s up beat

@denver2u: I think JJ is a very polite, down to earth kinda guy, who just happens to win! He’s been really cool to have on twitter and he’s funny, has a good attitude, is having fun an diaper duty. Oh yeah, he’s got talent as a driver. I like JJ

@britt4875: I guess I like him more of a person outside of racing (there was more to this, but I don’t think I should put it in)

11in11Embracer: I think he’s a good guy. I think he deserves the credit for winning 5 in a row, even though he beat [Denny] (again, there was more to this, but I only got a portion)

@nascarchick_3: he’s a good driver, just after winning 5 championships, I feel it’s time for someone else to win one

@KK_KFfan4: I think Jimmie is a great driver and he is funny. Not Vanilla

@Nascartalk10: Jimmie is an awesome guy, just wish he would let someone else have a chance at the cup trophy for once

From not being ‘vanilla’ to being an awesome guy, Jimmie Johnson is that kind of guy that people like as a person, not as a driver. Who can blame them, really? The guy is ‘Winning’ A LOT! 5 championships, 53 wins in 333 starts (and counting, I might add). He’s at the top of the sport! For the past few weeks, Jimmie Johnson started using twitter and has become quite popular (not as popular as Danica Patrick or the Daytona 500 winner, Trevor Bayne). Jimmie does what quite a few celebrities don’t do on twitter. He interacts with his fans. He tweets his fan when they tweet him. I actually have had the 5-time champ tweet me this past week, nothing too big. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/JimmieJohnson. I’m sure if you just tweet him, you could get a tweet back.

*The first car Jimmie Johnson ever drove in the Cup series was an old Jeff Gordon car. Ever since then, Jeff Gordon has been listed as the owner of Jimmie Johnson's car.

Taking Dale Earnhardt to discussion for the next blog! Stay tuned!

Follow me on twitter!

http://www.twitter.com/HurriKahne4

PIR, snapping winless streaks and tempers

Phoenix International Raceway. PIR. Second race of the season. Strange, I know, seeming we were just there last November. With the changes to the schedule, NASCAR finds themselves in Arizona once again. Fresh off his Daytona 500 win, Trevor Bayne didn’t have the weekend he wanted. He crashed his primary Cup car and for the first time in his career, he had to go to a back-up car, which he crashed in the race. The Nationwide race didn’t go over as well either. While running seventh, Bayne’s tire blew, wrecking the car and ending his day. Now, let’s…

Sweep.

What does this word mean to NASCAR? How about: when a driver wins all three races at the same track in the same weekend. Or: when a driver wins both races at the same track in one of the touring divisions. Think really hard. Who did this (the first one)? I’ll give ya a hint. 18. It’s not his age or the number of times they were asked if they wanted the Senior Citizens discount at the grocery store. It’s his car/truck number. That’s right Kyle Thomas Busch. Mr. Rowdy Busch. He did it at Bristol last year and it looked like he was going to do it again, until the…

24.

Again not his age or the number of times girls ask them to marry him. It’s the number that has been on his car longer than the 2011 500 champ has been born. (that’s 20 years for those of you who can’t count or are too lazy to.) Jeff Gordon! The original Boy Wonder, who is now sponsor by AARP. He snapped a 66-race winless streak for the 39-year-old driver. He survived the wreck fest, that may have made new…

Feuds.

Love this word. Feud. We’ve seen a lot of this since NASCAR said, ‘Have at it Boys.’. I think those were the drivers favorite words, except for ‘Gentlemen, start your engines’, being said by a busty blond who probably doesn’t know how to turn a regular car on let alone a NASCAR car. Anyways, back to the feuds. I’m going to throw four names at you. Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Brian Vickers (Leprechaun!). Can you put the right names together?………..I’ll make it easier for ya and do it. First: Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Is there or isn’t there? Kyle gets lose and gets passed by Rocket Man Ryan Newman and I think he may have gotten a little pissed at hit Carl, sending him down into the grass, bringing him back up and collecting some of the other drivers. I don’t know what exactly happened there, but I don’t think there is a few going on between those two. BUT! I think Busch should stay away from Edwards at LVMS. Second: Matt Kenseth and Leprechaun, I mean, Brian Vickers. This one is GOOD! The two of them get together. Just a little. The piece of sheet metal sticking out on Kenseth’s car looks to have cut down Vickers tire. Vickers spins, making 12 other cars kind crash into each other. While being interviewed, Vickers blamed Kenseth for racing him too hard. Kenseth came over the radio and said he didn’t touch him. Everyone makes…

Mistakes.

Like this one. The front tire changer on JIMMIE JOHNSON’S car dropped a lug nut, making him lose about 6 spots on pit road. Nice going. The weird thing about it was, Chad didn’t seem angry, just a little upset. Weird. I was expecting Chad to go Carrie on them and kill them with his mind and then somehow set something on fire, further killing him. What wasn’t a mistake was that Kasey Kahne, yes Kasey is being mentioned it here (yeah, big surprise, NOT!) stay OUT of trouble at PIR to come home with a 6^th place finish, his first since the fall of 2006, where Kevin Harvick swept both Cup races. I guess, all these tracks with older racing surfaces are worried about…

Repaving.

Yes! Another track is being repaved, BUT, PIR is being reconfigured. The dog leg, what ever that really means, is being made different. I don’t know how, but it is. So, PIR will never be the…

Same.

Will the chase contenders be different this year or different? With new faces in the top 12, will it be a different year. Or, since we are only 2 races into the new season, just sort itself out and we will see the cream rise to the top? This is where it gets tricky. New points system makes it a little harder to catch up to the leaders. With the guys who are normally at the top at the bottom, will they have a chance to rise to the top, or is it already too late?

Next blog will take your opinions and hopefully get some answers!

Why Driver/crew chief relationships are important

In NASCAR, you have to have a good relationship with your crew chief in order to be successful. We've all seen what Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knuas can do together. Steve LeTarte and Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano and Greg Zipadelli, Denny Hamlin and Mike Ford, Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis. These are some of the more well known driver/crew chief in NASCAR. Most of the time, they get along, but some times, it doesn't go over so well. Rick Hendrick almost split Jimmie and Chad up because they kept fighting. What makes now so different than a few years ago. Jimmie and Chad still yell at each other. As a driver, you HAVE to have faith and trust in your crew chief. How are you two going to work if you don't have either of those? Everybody can say that Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knuas are the best driver/crew chief combo in NASCAR, but they are not. I know they have the 50+ wins and the 5 championships, but they don't quite mesh together as well as a certain driver/crew chief combo. Here's a hint for you. These to have ten wins together, but have recently been separated due to the fact that the driver was release early from his contract. Give up? It's Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis. These two may not be as successful as Jimmie and Chad, but they have something they don't. Respect for each other. I'm not saying that they don't, I'm saying is that they don't that the relationship that Kasey and Kenny have. When Kasey gets angry, Kenny doesn't yell back. He tries to calm his driver down. You never seen them angry at each other. One driver/crew chief relationship that doesn't work is Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Lance McGrew. Going back to what Kyle Busch said back in 2008 about Rick making Lance Dale's crew chief, "It's always the crew chief, never the driver." In this case, it is the crew chief. From what I have heard, Lance doesn't listen to Dale. They are not meshing. What I think should happen is when Kasey goes to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 is Kasey should bring Kenny with him as his crew chief of the 5, Alan goes to the 88, and Rick gets rid of Lance completely. Lance is not helping the situation at ALL. You see, driver/crew chief relationships are very important in this sport. (Note: I think Kenny Francis should get a twitter account.)

Cup race at Texas was pretty fucking hilarious

YES! I used an obscene word in my title. How else am I suppose to describe yesterday's race? I mena, between Denny getting the win and the points lead, a double Jeff fight on the back stretch which, my driver Kasey Kahne wanted to stop and watch them go at it, and the very obscene hadn gesture Kyle Busch gave an official, it was really fucking hilarious.
YES! Denny Hamlin has the points lead by 33 points over Jimmie Johnson. Stat: every year since the Chase started, the points leader with two races to ago has won the championship. Just food for thought there.
YES! Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton got into a fight on the back stretch after the two of them got tangled up under caution. I have to say that everytime I saw the fight, I hade to laugh. I thought it was funny! Not to play favorites here, but I would have gone with Burton.
YES! Kyle Busch gave a NASCAR official the finger while he was held for a lap for speeding on pit road. That got him two more laps. I think maybe the old Kyle Busch is back, but that's just me.
At the end of the night, Denny Hamlin came out victorious. He almost finished second to Matt Kenseth, IF Matty didn't hit the wall after passing him for the lead. Does that remind you of anybody back in 2008 at Kansas? Carl Edwards pretty much did the same thing trying to beat Jimmie Johnson for the title and the race. Can you believe it's been almost two years since we've seen Carl Edwards in Victory Lane in Cup?
YES! Trevor Bayne DID make the race! *Sings* Happy, Happy, Happy! YES! He DID finish on the lead lap! YES! He DID finish 17th, ahead of some of the chase drivers. Isn't that awesome? I think so. The kid is so amazing! (I know I shouldn't be calling him a kid cuz he's older than me, but all well!)He never went a lap down, he passed quite a few really good drivers out there. he qualified 28th but had to start in the back because of a transmission change. he dug and dug and got a great finish for his first Cup race!
He did better than Joey did in his first Cup race. Speaking of Jo-Lo, he finished 4th after leading some laps. Now, that kid is really proving himself, trying to get career win number 2. After finishing 27th the week before, Kasey Kahne finished 13th, his best finish with the new team. I predict that Kasey Kahne will break into Victory Lane before the end of the season at either Phoenix or Homstead. He is a great driver and he refuses to give up.
Now, on to Nationwide. I don't usually do this, but I think it deserves some words. Carl Edwards won the race and Brad Keselowski wrapped up the driver's Championship for Roger Penske's first NASCAR championship. They are trailing the owner's championship to Joe Gibb's #18 Toyota by 80 points, so these last two races are going to be tough ones. so congratulations to both Roger and Brad.
So what does the nest two races have in store for Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick? I don't know, so we are all going to have to find out!

NASCAR fueds: are they or aren't they?

Everybody keeps talking about who is going to be the next feud. Just this season, we have seen quite a few 'feuds'. But the question is, are they really feuds or are they just drivers getting aggravated this each other on the track. First example: Brad Keselowski vs. Carl Edwards. It looks like Brad is pissing in pretty much every body's cornflakes these days. First 'sighting' of a feud? April, Talladega, 2009. Edwards into the catch fence as Keselowski goes to Victory Lane. Second sighting? March, Atlanta, 2010. Two offences here. Edwards with trouble after Keselowski spins him (i think). Keselowski flipped up into the wall, Edwards driving away. The most recent sighting? July, Gateway 2010. Final lap. Keselowski turned into the wall, causing a big pile up, Edwards going to Victory Lane. Is this a feud or is this just racing? They both said that they have no beef with each other, but after four offences , two for each, I'm thinking maybe it could be a feud. Brad has gotten into Hamlin for about half of last year's Nationwide season. That was a feud. Next person. Kevin Harvick. This one is a good one. Kevin has had 'feuds' with people ever since he started in the sport. Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano just to name a few. I am more up to code with the Harvick/Logano thing. Both offences I have seen, Kevin Harvick is the one who is guilty. The most recent? Pocono, June 2010. Joey has fifth. Kevin doesn't. Joey gives him room. Kevin doesn't take it and he spins him out. Joey comes back to finished 13th. Joey, not a very happy camper, calls Harvick the 'F' word and after the race, has to be retrained from getting at Harvick. Just a few months later, Joey accidently spins Ryan Newman and Ryan gets angry with Joey. Joey, only 20, calmly tries to talk to Ryan, but Ryan wouldn't listen. Ryan is a big guy, so naturally, he goes after the skinnier guys. Last Saturday at Atlanta, He spun Nationwide driver Trevor Bayne. Sunday night, Ryan Newman gets into Chase hopeful, Kasey Kahne, causing him to get into Kurt Busch. Kasey finished 32nd. Ryan ruined Kasey's chances of winning the race and getting into the Chase. The best 'feud' I have seen this season has to be between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. You see these everywhere in the sport. I guess you can say it is what makes the sport interesting. What doesn't make it interesting is when a driver gets taken out by his team mate. Kasey Kahne and Elliot Sadler can account to that one. Kasey at Pocono in June and Elliott there in August. The offender? AJ Allmendinger. June. AJ pushed Kasey into the grass, causing Kasey to come up back on the track and wreck about four other cars. August. Kurt Busch starts an accordion effect through the field, AJ doesn't slow, causing him to hit Elliott. Elliott spins and goes spinning into the inside reattaining wall, his engine flies out of of his car. Feuds can make or break you. You have to choose whether or not it's going to do something with it or not.

Reuty's night

Just days after the birth of his frist child, Jimmie Johnson took the green flag in second. Jeff Gordon was about to make his 600th start. Landon Cassill was going to make his 2nd cup start. Kasey Kahne was hoping to finish in the top-five for the 4th time in the last five starts And David Reutimann had no idea what was in store for him. Jamie McMurray led the field to the green, but was quickly overtaken by none other than Jimmie Johnson. Surprise!! Jimmie would lead until grean flag pit stops where he makes a roookie mistake. His misses pit road. He loses the lead to pole sitter and evenual 5th place finisher, Jamie McMurray. That didn't stop Jimmie. he ran down 2nd and then ran down Jamie to take the lead back. Caution. Restart. Jimmie Spins. Caution again. Jimmie never really recovered from that. Went 2 laps down. Got a lap back. Hit the wall, went another 2 laps down. He's not the only driver high up in points that had problems that night. Points leader Kevin Harvick also had problems. Now, to about the last 70 laps. Your leader, Jeff Gordon. Your 2nd place car, David Reutimann*. Reuty wears him down for about 18 laps. with 52 laps to go, Reuty takes the lead. He never looks back. Carl Edwards finished 2nd, Jeff Gordon finished 3rd, Clint Bowyer finished 4th and Jamie MacMurray finished 5th. On a more serious note, Kasey Kahne, the 6th place finisher, came over his radio stating the he was dizzy and nauseous. It night have be Carbon Monoxide poisoning. But, after several tweets, his publicist said he was just fine. Congratulations to David Reutimann on his second career win!
*(Note: david Reutimann was in teh top-five all night. Plus he got that stupid asterik erased from by his 1st win!)

Jimmie and Chandra Johnson welcome baby, but don't have a Name :(

on my mom and Landon Cassil's birthday, Jimmie Johnson's wife Chandra gave birth to a 6 pound 14 ounce baby girl. They haven't figured out a name yet, so they call her "Baby J". Jimmie, who starts second tomorrow, has been show people pictures including soon-to-be team mate Kasey Kahne. Now, the big question is, what are they going to name her? Everyone has been pitching names. I heard Bristol and Victoria Lane. So, I have some suggestions for Jimmie and Channy. Besides Bristol and Victoria Lane, I have got Charlotte, Hannah, Jalynne, Daisy, Angeline, Lola, and Raina. There will probably be more and more name suggestions for them. I have got to wonder. Did they have any names floating around before "Baby J". All I have to say is, what ever they pick, it will be a perfect name for little "Baby J". Plus, I think I am not the only one just wondering waht they are going to name her.

I'm getting really mad at Kevin Harvick right now

First off, welcome to my blog. i didn't get to say this when I first started because well, I forgot. Now on to the goodies, or with a title like this one, I guess you have to say baddies, if that's even a word. First order of business. Kevin Harvick won last night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Second order of business. Jimmie Johnson crashed out with about 13 laps to go along with half the field. Third order of business. Despite being in pretty much all the wrecks last night, Kurt Busch managed to finish 7th. Out of the three business orders I mentioned, I am only happy about one. Can you guess? Yes, you guessed it. The one about Jimmie Johnson. What the hell is Kurt Busch's problem? I mean, he crashed out like 10 guys and he gets a top-ten out of it? and Kevin Harvick, you have a nice lead, i know it will go away once the chase starts, but the guy the finished behind you, the perfect haired, perfect everything Kasey Kahne, needed the win a lot more than you did. I mean coming in to last night's race, he was 20th in points and 174 points back. Well, I guess you already guessed the second place guy, huh? Yeah, my man, Kasey Kahne, finished second. That would make three top-five finishes in four races. It would have been four top-fives in four races, if his engine didn't go in last week's race at Loudon. all i have to say is thank god I beat my grandpa in our weekly bet. He has Jeff Gordon, the race's third place finisher and I have Kasey, the sexy runner-up guy. That's three out of four, should have been four out of four, but all well. Dale Jr. had a solid night last night, finishing fourth after winning the night before in the Nationwide race in the Wrangler 3 car his dad made famous. Rounding out the top-five was Kevin Harvick's team mate Jeff Burton. With 13 laps to go, Kurt Busch (surprise, surprise) gets in it with Jeff Burton, bundling up the rest of the field. Well, you can only imagine what happens next. Oh yeah, the BIG one! The 09, 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 20, 31, 38, 39, 42, 47, 48, 77, 78, 82, 83, 98 were all involved and two of your top-five finishers were in there. Now, what is going to happen next week? Can Kasey Kahne finally pull off a win? Can he get into the Chase? I guess we all have to find out next Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL Which is 264 miles from my current city! Food for thought. See ya!

Who really cares if Jimmie Johnson misses the chase!

Jimmie Johnson has been dominating the Sprint Cup and a lot of people are saying, "STOP!!" You know what, Jimmie? Enough is enough already! You just don't understand that people hate watching people win everything all the freaking time! I hope you can't start a race when your wife goes into labor! I hope, if you do get to start a race, you CRASH in the opening lap. Yeah, i said it. You SUCK!! Not really, but you really got to stop winning and let other people win a championship. I just don't know why you have to be so anal. Just wondering, is your beard telling you what to do? Is your brain in there? Is that why Chad hates it? Cuz it gives you a brain. Well, if your brain was in there, it's a not very good brain! You know what Jimmie? I don't care if you miss the chase. I will be pissed if you did, though cuz i don't LIKE you! Your beard is almost as bad as Dale Jr.'s. Well at least yours doesn't make you look like a dirty hobo in a stolen fire suit. Does DeLana have your fire suit too? Maybe you and Kevin could join forces and fail an attempt to get them back. What else do I want to vent out at the four-time champ? Maybe that you are a four-time champ? You are making NASCAR boring with all your damn winning. You know what? I kinda like that you are in a slump right now. Did your lucky horseshoe fall out your ass? Maybe Denny Hamlin found it, cuz he has been doing your winning lately. Can you see where this is going? Oh, yeah. You are getting it good. You know what? You are going to fall out of the Chase and then you are going to cry like a little baby and i am going to laugh. Yes, laugh cuz it is going to be funny. Maybe Jeff Gordon has a right to be pissed at you. I think he knock your horseshoe loose and AJ Allmendinger ripped it out at Darlington when he "accidently" hit you. I am going to have a field day when you miss a race and when you miss the chase. What are you going to do when someone else is hoisting that Championship trophy and you know it's not you?Have fun trying to see the stage at the Ceremony Banquet in Las Vegas. Maybe I will send you a pair of binoculars for you to see everything from where you are going to be sitting and maybe a GPS so you can find your spot! Have fun sitting with the guys you call the "losers". Guess what? You are one of them!