A drive to the finish line

Victory on Sunday at Fontana serves notice that defending champ Johnson will be in the Chase

Associated Press

September 2, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It has certainly been the season of Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards has proved himself a credible championship threat.

But lest anyone forget, this is Jimmie Johnson's favorite part of the year. The two-time defending NASCAR champion reminded everyone of that Sunday night with a dominating victory at the Pepsi500 in Fontana, Calif.

Johnson led all but 22 of the 250 laps, then beat Greg Biffle to the finish line in Fontana by a cruise-control 2.076seconds. It was his third win of the season and helped chip away at the lead Busch and Edwards will have over him when the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins Sept.14 at New Hampshire.

Plain and simple, it was a statement race.

Johnson will not quietly step aside. If he loses his title, he'll at least go down fighting.

"I feel like we're doing the right things to have a fighting chance at the championship," Johnson said.

That's bad news for Busch, Edwards and everyone else in the 12-driver championship field.

See, this is the time of the year Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team kick into the highest gear. The No. 48 team races to win every week, but when the title is up for grabs, it takes no prisoners in pursuit of perfection.

Jeff Gordon learned that the hard way last season, when Johnson's one-time mentor was tremendous during the 10-race title run. But his bid for a fifth Cup championship was denied when Johnson, his one-time protege and Hendrick teammate, was flawless down the stretch.

Johnson won four straight races to snatch the title and ended with a jaw-dropping average finish of 5.0. He was outside the top 10 only twice - a pair of 14th-place finishes before his wins at Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix.

By the time Johnson crossed the finish line first at Phoenix, Gordon conceded. He visited Johnson in Victory Lane that day, bowing to the winner.

Last year wasn't the first time Johnson has put on such a show. He won just one Chase race during his 2006 title run but clawed out four runner-up finishes in five races to win the championship.

He won a pair of Chase races in 2005 - the year he was in contention for the title headed into the finale, but wrecked at Homestead when he blew a tire.

Johnson won four of five races and finished second in the Homestead finale to claw back into title contention in 2004. He ultimately finished second in the standings, but it set the tone for how Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus would approach the Chase every year.

That's not to say they aren't serious during the 26-race "regular season." Johnson has 19 pre-Chase victories since 2004. But he has been quiet this year.

Busch has a Cup series-best eight victories this season - some by the same dominating standard Johnson showed Sunday - and 18 overall spanning NASCAR's top three series. He's the Cup points leader and will start the Chase at the top of the standings with at least 80 bonus points with one race to go.

Edwards has six Cup victories and is second in the standings. But his bonus points stand at 50 because NASCAR docked him 10 when his winning car failed inspection at Las Vegas.

Either way, those two drivers have dominated the schedule while the champ faded from the headlines.

Johnson doesn't mind, though, knowing that the upcoming stretch is really all that matters.

"They have set the world on fire. Between the two of them, they have dominated the first half of the season. I recognize that and give them the respect that they deserve for that," Johnson said. "We still have 11 races, a lot of racing left in the season, almost a third left, and hopefully we can switch this around and finish up the season as the dominant car."

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A drive to the finish line

Victory on Sunday at Fontana serves notice that defending champ Johnson will be in the Chase

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A drive to the finish line

Victory on Sunday at Fontana serves notice that defending champ Johnson will be in the Chase

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