Auto racing: Jimmie Johnson wins at Martinsville, reaches final four
There was a time this summer when a seventh championship seemed out of reach for Jimmie Johnson.
Hendrick Motorsports was struggling and Johnson wasn’t at the top of many lists to contend for the title.
Then the Hendrick organization flipped a switch, built better, faster cars, and Johnson turned it up a notch. Now, that slot in NASCAR’s record books is absolutely within reach.
Johnson earned one of four spots in next month’s title-deciding season finale Sunday with his ninth career victory at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. The six-time NASCAR champion will race for his seventh championship, which would tie him for the record with Hall of Famers Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.
“I’ve been trying to ignore this conversation about seven, and now I can’t,” said Johnson, who doesn’t particularly want to start thinking about the stakes just yet.
“I’ll probably lie to all of you guys and say I’m not going to think about it at all. But it’s inevitable. Fortunately, I don’t have to think about it for three weeks. But we’re going to enjoy this and savor it. We’re going to get our ducks in a row for Homestead.”
The victory blocked Joe Gibbs Racing from placing all four of Toyota drivers in the final round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup title. There are only three spots still open for the Nov. 20 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and JGR’s hope of sweeping the final four ended Sunday.
Most likely to miss the final? Carl Edwards, who had a tire problem and finished 36th at Martinsville – lowest of the eight Chase drivers. Also in trouble: Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, who finished 20th and 22nd.
Brad Keselowski, eliminated from the Chase last week , finished second and was irritated by a lengthy caution earlier in the race when NASCAR struggled to figure out the running order. Had those laps not been wasted under yellow, Keselowski absolutely believed he could have beat Johnson.
“We don’t need to run 100 laps under yellow with the field, not trying to figure out where they’re at, and it probably cost us the race,” Keselowski said.
The caution took 29 laps.
JGR finished third, fourth and fifth as Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch are inside the top four as the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway.
Formula One
Lewis Hamilton is in top form and winning races again. His problem is that he’s running out of time to win another Formula One championship.
Hamilton survived a nervous start to win the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City, his second victory in a row in a desperate chase to catch Mercedes teammate and rival Nico Rosberg for the season title.
He’s pressing Rosberg as much as he can and cut his deficit to 19 points. But with just two races left, in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Rosberg is still in pole position for his first career title, one that would match the championship won by his father, Keke Rosberg, in 1982.
Rosberg finished second Sunday and can clinch the season title if he wins in Brazil in two weeks. And even if Hamilton wins both races, a second- and third-place finish would crown Rosberg champion.
Daniel Ricciardo finished third after his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel were both penalized after the race in a wild series of events.
NHRA
John Force beat daughter Courtney Force in the Funny Car final at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas, and Antron Brown wrapped up his third Top Fuel season title.
John Force powered his Chevrolet Camaro to a 3.884-second pass at 327.19 mph in the final. It was his 147th career victory, fourth of the season and sixth at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Brown ended the title chase when he beat Wayne Newby in the quarterfinals. He also won season titles in 2012 and last year.