November 5, 2007
By Ron Felix

Third Straight Victory For Johnson * CIA Stock Photo

Can anyone stop Jimmie Johnson from rolling to his second consecutive NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship? It sure doesn't look like it -- his season mirrors some of his races where he falls behind due to an accident, a miscue in the pits or just plain bad luck. Then at the end of the race you look up and Johnson is in the lead and you wonder where he came from. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus does this better than anyone on the Cup circuit.

Johnson only led eight laps on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway but one was all he needed. He took the lead from Matt Kenseth with two to go in the Dickies 500 and won pulling away. On the final stop Kenseth took two tires and Johnson took four. And still it was not an easy task getting by Kenseth.

"I knew it was going to be a battle to the end," said Johnson, referring to the last 25 lap battle with Kenseth. "I didn't think his two tires would last that long or he'd be that good. There wasn't much time to get it done."

The win is the 32nd in Johnson's short career, the third straight victory, he also won last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the previous Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. This is the ninth victory for Johnson in 2007 and his first win ever at Texas Motor Speedway.

Johnson now leads in the Nextel Cup standings by 30 points over teammate and car owner Jeff Gordon. With two races remaining on the 2007 schedule, Johnson still has to be careful though, he has never won at Phoenix or Homestead, the site of the final two races. Johnson chose his words carefully when asked if the victory was any indication of a repeat championship.

"I doubt it, it's so hard from year to year to have things repeat," Johnson said. "I do know we're racing for a championship and now that we have control, I'm tickled to death." All drivers from seventh through 12th in the chase have been eliminated.

Kenseth held on to finish second with pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. in tow for third. The two tires were Kenseth's downfall.

"I'm glad I didn't wreck and I'm really glad I didn't wreck Jimmie, I was so sideways," said Kenseth. He had four tires and he had the grip he needed. I didn't have the grip I needed, I was just holding on for all I could. I tried to make it rough on him but I just didn't have enough to hold on. I knew it was a matter of time, he was just playing with me and watching me wear down."

Kyle Busch led a season high 153 laps but it was only good enough for fourth.

Ryan Newman finished fifth ahead of Jeff Burton (sixth) and Jeff Gordon in seventh. Gordon is facing the fact that Johnson's team may be better than his and losing a shot at a fifth championship.

"It was a great fight but we're just having to fight too hard for these wins," said Gordon. "We weren't good right from the start. We weren't very good yesterday (Happy Hour) practice, but I thought we could adjust on it but there at the end, we made the most of what we had. We just flat out got beat."

Kurt Busch was eighth followed by Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick to round out the top-ten.

Johnson's victory was the 25th win of the season for Chevrolet, tying the all-time record set for the Bowtie Brand back in 1958.

"This has been an incredible and exciting year for Chevrolet in NASCAR Nextel Cup competition," said Alba Colon, NNCS program manager for GM Racing. "To score 25 wins in one season is a mark that we at GM Racing and Chevrolet could only have hoped to achieve.

"We are proud of each of our teams and drivers for their efforts this season to achieve this monumental feat. Competition in the NNCS is at an all-time high and we know the bar will continue to rise. Hendrick Motorsports is having an awesome year with 17 wins to date. Congratulations to Jimmie, Chad and everyone associated with the No. 48 team for their victory at Texas, and for the nine wins they have scored so far this season."

Juan Pablo Montoya finished 25th and took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the 15th time this season. Montoya led Sunday’s race once for 10 laps and he was the only Raybestos Rookie to lead the Dickies 500. Montoya was also the top Raybestos Rookie in the April 15 Samsung 500 at Texas, scoring an eighth-place finish.

There were 25 lead changes among 12 different drivers. The race was slowed by 12 caution periods for a total of 52 laps.

The Nextel Cup Series moves to Phoenix International Raceway next Sunday November 11th, 2007, for the Checker Auto Parts 500. The race is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on ABC. Phoenix will be the 35th of a 36 race season.



For full final race results...     (Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Nextel Cup drivers points...     (Insider Racing News)