NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Johnson: Remember Me?
Not like anyone really forgot, but Johnson’s Kansas win reminded everyone of his dominance during the Chase, especially at 1.5-mile tracks such as Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A few notes of interest from Johnson’s second win of the 2011 season.
- It was his 55th career win, moving him into a tie for eighth all-time with Rusty Wallace.
- It was his 20th Chase victory, far and away the most of any driver (second-best is eight wins).
- He has now won at least one race in all eight editions of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the only driver to do so.
- It was Hendrick Motorsports’ 199th victory.
Beyond those historical nuggets, the max-points victory moved him to third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, four points behind leader Carl Edwards with six races remaining.
Don’t count on him slowing down. After a runner-up finish at Dover and the win at Kansas, a similar outcome seems likely at Charlotte on Saturday night. Johnson boasts six wins at Charlotte, tied for most all-time with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison and Hall of Fame nominee Darrell Waltrip.
Some optimism for his competitors: He finished 28th in May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte because of engine problems.
Keselowski Continues To Surprise
Though no longer a surprise, Brad Keselowski continues to impress.
Keselowski entered the Chase as the perfect dark horse championship candidate. He was white hot, coming into the Chase with three wins and top-10 finishes in six of seven races. He tacked on another two top fives to open the Chase – at Chicagoland and New Hampshire – before a 20th at Dover.
But Keselowski recovered nicely at Kansas a third-place finish this past Sunday.
The finish moved the 27-year-old to fourth in the standings, 11 points out of the points lead.
Though he finished just 19th in May’s Charlotte race, Keselowski earned a strong Driver Rating of 96.4 in the event.
Edwards Shows Championship Mettle
Patience, determination, talent – and a little bit of luck.
All those attributes were needed from Carl Edwards for a fifth-place finish at Kansas, and even that doesn’t come close to explaining how it happened.
Edwards, the only driver in the top five who scored a sub-100 Driver Rating, battled back from a bevy of issues to score the unlikely finish.
Afterward, Edwards likened the finish to a win.
The non-win win gave him his first points lead since early August, and most importantly put him at the top of the list of "Drivers Who Can Dethrone Jimmie."
Still Anyone’s Championship As Chase Closes In On Halfway
The first four Chase races have whittled down the championship contenders to an eight-driver field.
Those drivers are the top eight: Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch.
Just 20 points separate eighth-place Kyle Busch and points leader Edwards.
Will We See An Unlikely Hero?
Of the 74 Chase races, only 13 of them have been won by a non-Chase driver.
The last one? Charlotte, last year. Jamie McMurray won that one, the only non-Chase driver to win one of the final 10 races last season.
Could there be a repeat? It’s certainly possible, with Kasey Kahne as the prime candidate. Kahne has been the top finishing non-Chase driver in each of the last two races, and has three wins at Charlotte, including a sweep there in 2006.
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