Johnson ‘smarter’ after last year’s Chase
Jimmie Johnson has been in this position before: heading into the second Pocono race in Long Pond, Pa., with a nice lead in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings.
Last year, he left the Pennsylvania 500 with a win and a commanding 232-point lead. Now, Johnson is again the points leader and hoping to avoid the hiccups down the stretch that cost him the championship last season.
He didn’t exactly get off to a rousing start in practice Friday for the Pennsylvania 500. Johnson’s Chevrolet got loose coming out of the first turn, spun and crashed into the wall during the first session.
Johnson was not hurt and simply shrugged off the accident.
“It’s no big deal,” he said. “You hate to lose a race car that was one of our best race cars, but all of our race cars are good.”
For that he credited crew chief Chad Knaus.
“Chad works really hard to build equal cars,” Johnson said. “We’ll be in great shape with this backup car. I’m not worried about it.”
Johnson, who swept Pocono last year and finished sixth here in June, has used eight top-five finishes and two wins (Las Vegas and Charlotte) to take a 77-point lead over Greg Biffle. There are seven events remaining before points are reset among the top drivers – probably 10 – for the 10-race title run.
All Johnson lost Friday was an hour of practice. He lost much more after Pocono last year, when his points lead evaporated after disastrous performances at Kansas and Talladega.
Not even four wins in five races could help him rebound, and he lost out to Kurt Busch.
“You’re always smarter after the fact,” Johnson said. “Last year, we tried things that we really felt were going to end up working and they didn’t. We got back up to speed midway through the Chase and did what we needed to do.
“We just kind of ran out of time and points at the end. But we’re smarter than we were last year.”
•Forget the backflip. Carl Edwards might have to bust out a gymnastics routine if he can pull off his second straight win at Pocono.
Last month, Edwards was a winner at Pocono and celebrated with his now-traditional backflip off his car. Winning will be a little tougher the second time around at Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500 when Edwards starts from the rear of the field because he’s skipping qualifying to race in the Busch series.
“It’s going to be tough,” he conceded.
Maybe, but history shows a sweep is possible. Edwards won the Pocono 500 from the 29th position, the farthest back that a race winner has ever started at the triangle. He was only the sixth driver in Pocono’s history to win from a starting spot worse than 15th.
“I know my car is good enough to win the race,” he said. “If we’re there in the end, we can do it.”
Edwards practiced, but Bobby Gerhart will qualify his Ford today. Edwards is set to race in the Busch series at Pikes Peak.
Six-time ARCA series champion Frank Kimmel was set to qualify for Edwards until he couldn’t fit into the custom-fitted seat.
Edwards needs all the strong finishes in the next few weeks he can get as he desperately tries to crack the top 10 in NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship. Edwards is only 54 points behind Dale Jarrett, who holds the 10th spot needed to qualify, and 33 behind Jamie McMurray.
Bowyer wins Busch Series pole
Clint Bowyer earned the second pole of his NASCAR Busch series career in qualifying at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo.
The 26-year-old driver qualified for the ITT Industries 250 at 133.610 mph in near-100-degree heat.
“The car was good and the ACDelco Chevrolet should race well tomorrow, so hopefully we can keep it in that No. 1 spot all day,” said Bowyer. “In our mock qualifying run, we were just way too tight, but the guys made some good changes and I was able to get the pole.”
The pole marked Bowyer’s fourth top-10 start in his last five races. His first career pole came last year at Talladega Superspeedway.
Johnny Sauter locked up the outside of the front row with a run at 133.205 in a Dodge. Bill Elliott, the former NASCAR Cup series champion was third in a Dodge at 133.180.
Martin Truex Jr., the reigning Busch series champion and points leader coming off a victory last Saturday in New Hampshire, will start sixth. His Chevy went 132.851.
Patrick doesn’t care about history
It seems like everybody is fixated on when Danica Patrick is going to make history.
Everybody except Patrick, that is.
The question comes up each time the Indy Racing League rookie phenom approaches a race: When will Patrick get that first win, becoming the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America?
“I get asked that question daily, often,” said IRL spokesman John Griffin as the subject of the conversation buzzed around the Milwaukee Mile during the opening practice for Sunday’s A.J. Foyt 225.
Just don’t ask Patrick, 23, who would much rather concentrate on what she considers the big learning curve. Just like any rookie, she’ll need to turn a lot of laps before she’s a weekly threat to win and a serious contender for the IRL championship.
“I’ll get that first win when everything falls into place and I deserve to win,” Patrick said. “It’s tough, though. The IRL public relations people did some research and most rookies don’t win their first year.”
FIA drops charges over tire fiasco
Formula One’s governing body in Paris dropped all guilty verdicts against the seven teams that refused to race in last month’s U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
FIA’s World Motor Sports Council voted overwhelmingly to accept a recommendation that the case be rescinded against BMW-Williams, Mercedes-McLaren, BAR-Honda, Toyota, Sauber, Red Bull and Renault.
The FIA’s senate made the recommendation last week.
The seven teams withdrew from the June 19 race after Michelin said its tires were unsafe for the Indianapolis circuit. Michelin wanted a series of turns installed to slow cars, but FIA refused.
•Kimi Raikkonen led race drivers in two practice sessions for this weekend’s German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. The only driver faster than Raikkonen was test teammate Alexander Wurz, who only drives in practice and won’t qualify today.
Raikkonen’s fastest lap came in the afternoon session, when he clocked 1 minute, 14.576 seconds on the 2.842-mile Hockenheim circuit.