November 16, 2009
By Ron Felix
I'm pretty sure I heard a collective changing of television channels with about 100 laps to go in the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday -- and Jimmie Johnson was leading.
Was there any doubt after Johnson crashed last week and finished 38th, he would come back and dominate this race?
Johnson has won the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 three years running and four of the last five events. It was Johnson's seventh victory this year. Johnson now has a total of 47 wins over a 290 race career.
CIA Stock Photos
|
Johnson Celebrates Seventh Victory
|
|
"Chad (Knaus) and I, the conversations we've had, the team meeting, everything was, "we need to show what we're made of, we need to get this done today," said Johnson. "We knew we had to come out today and run well. We knew this was going to be a great track for the 5 (car) and also for the 24 (car). The only way to get any points on 'em would be to lead the most laps and win the race. We did it.
"I'm very proud of the fact we looked each other in the eyes, knew what we had to do, and delivered. It wasn't easy. You know, there was a lot of pressure on us to do this. All week long, thinking about this race, wondering if we could come back and step up like we did today, there were just a lot of thoughts that go through the brain. I'm very, very proud of how we delivered and rose to the occasion."
Johnson drove cautiously but picked it up when he needed to.
"It's not easy to win races. It's not easy to score points. Think of the first half of the Chase, how I was running, Mark was running. You know, you couldn't give up an inch," Johnson said. "In your bad races, you needed to be in the top five, whatever it was. In that respect, grinding it out, not from a negative point that it's been all that tough, things like that, it's just that you can't give an inch. You've got to fight for every single inch around this track, every lap, to win a Chase, to be competitive in the championship.
"With that in mind going to Homestead, we need to show up, blinders on, focused, qualifying trim, get all that we can. We have to practice, make sure I have that car as comfortable as possible and as fast as possible, so if a caution comes out at the wrong time, we're down a lap, I can work my way back. That's the part where we just can't coast. We can't chill out. We have to stay focused and keep our heads down on the job at hand."
Jeff Burton finished second and Denny Hamlin was third.
"Turn four is harder than I remember it being," said Burton. "It's hard to get the car to turn in the middle of the corner. It's hard to make enough rear grip on the exit of the corner. I just could make more time if I was buzzing the right rear tire. It just seem like I could point the car better if I had the car loose. I was afraid it would burn the right rear tire off but it never did. So that just made us better."
Mark Martin took the fourth spot followed by Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon and David Reutimann to round out the top ten.
Martin gave it all he had in the race, a good finish but still behind the points leader Johnson.
"It was a good car and a great effort by this race team and we gave it everything we had today," Martin said. "The car was a little vulnerable on the restarts and we lost some spots and had to battle back from that. Our car was very, very good on the long run. In fact I really thought we could get to Jimmie with 35 to go as good as our car was going and then it just got tight. I got up to Denny (Hamlin) and I got tight and kind of fizzled out. It was a strong car and a great effort by this team."
Johnson leads in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings by 108 over Mark Martin and 160 over Jeff Gordon with one race to go. That virtually eliminates everyone but Martin. Johnson needs only to finish 25th or better at Homestead- Miami Speedway next week to win his fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship.
"That's a great position to be in," Johnson continued. "We finished 38th last week so I can't put my guard down. Anything and everything that could go wrong last week did. Going into this next week we just need to show up and race smart and do our thing."
Joey Logano posted a 21st-place finish and took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the 25th time this season.
“We’re going to keep fighting and keep digging to get these things better and better," Logano said. "This race was a lot different than the first race. The track was quite a bit different, too, because the sun was out. That’s a little different for me.”
All three Raybestos Rookies that started today’s race were running at the finish.
There were four cautions for a total of 23 laps. There were four lead changes among nine different drivers.
The Sprint Cup Series moves to Homestead-Miami Speedway in Miami, Florida -- next Sunday, November 22nd, for the Ford 400, the final race in the Chase for the Championship.
The race will also be broadcast live on MRN Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.
For Full Final Race Results...
(Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Sprint Cup drivers points...
(Insider Racing News)
You can contact us at .. Insider Racing News
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
