Saturday Michigan Notebook
Notebook Items:
- Is Jimmie Johnson ready to make a charge in the Chase?
- Speeds pick up in second run with new rules package
- Short Strokes
August 27, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
IS JIMMIE JOHNSON READY TO MAKE A CHARGE IN THE CHASE?
BROOKLYN,
Mich. – Jimmie Johnson was looking for a glimmer of hope, and he found
it in Friday afternoon’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying
session at Michigan International Speedway.
No,
Johnson didn’t win the pole for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (2 p.m. ET
on NBCSN). That distinction went to Joey Logano. But Johnson
ran second in the knockout session, and what’s more important, the
six-time champion and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates outshined the
entries from Joe Gibbs Racing, the dominant organization in the series
this year.
“I
do believe we’re showing signs (of improvement),” Johnson said. “And
I’m living it, so I guess I’m looking for those little signs
and rays of light and maybe others don’t see it. And I really try hard
not to BS you guys when you ask the questions.
“But
I could say in the last couple of months, we have seen some bright
spots. We just need a little more consistency with it; and then
most importantly, stop making mistakes. I’m part of that as well.”
Johnson
won twice in the first five events of the season, at Atlanta and
Fontana, but since then he has posted only four top-five finishes.
Then again, racing in the summer hasn’t been one of Johnson’s strong
suits.
"I’ve
been able to win championships having a slow summer, which most of my
summers have been slow,” Johnson said. “And then there’s
a few where we were quick through them.
“When
you think of the tracks that we race on during the summer months,
although they are very challenging and aerodynamics do come
into play, they’re not your traditional 1.5-miles and they’re really
not a lot like the tracks we race on during the Chase. And, they’re not
my best tracks. My best tracks really are during those final 10 events.”
Though one qualifying session doesn’t establish a trend, it was enough to give Johnson’s confidence a significant boost.
“Past history shows when you get hot, you can stay hot,” he said. “We hope we’re heating up and on the verge of getting hot.”
SPEEDS PICK UP IN SECOND RUN WITH NEW RULES PACKAGE
For
the first time since NASCAR began testing a prospective lower-downforce
competition package for 2017, the Sprint Cup Series is returning
to a speedway for the second time with the new configuration.
Predictability, crew chiefs have learned quite a bit since the package debuted at Michigan International Speedway in June.
“I
think everyone is running a little faster – about a half a second
faster than what they did with this package last time, which tells
me teams are getting smarter,” said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny
Hamlin, who qualified third for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.
“It
doesn’t take long. Once you take downforce away, these teams start to
adjust, get their balance better and you see faster speeds.
These are pretty quick speeds for this spoiler that’s on it. I think
we’ll see how it all pans out in the race – I know it was tough to
really pass in the race (in June). Hopefully, that’s a little better
this time as well.”
That
Hamlin claimed the third starting spot for Sunday’s race is no
surprise. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has started
from the top 12 for every race this season, with an average qualifying
position of 6.2.
But
Hamlin had a problem during Happy Hour on Saturday afternoon. Early in
the practice session, his car broke traction in Turn 4 and
spun into the infield grass on the frontstretch.
“That came out of nowhere,” said Hamlin, who had posted the fastest speed in the session to that point (197.878 mph).
SHORT STROKES
On
a cool track, Tony Stewart topped the speed chart in Saturday morning’s
first NASCAR Sprint Cup practice session at 202.122 mph—faster
than Joey Logano’s pole speed of 201.698 from Friday afternoon. Rookie
Ryan Blaney was second fastest on Saturday morning at 201.427 mph. ... A
different rookie was second quickest behind Hamlin in final Sprint Cup
practice. Chase Elliott, who leads the Sunoco
Rookie of the Year standings by 48 points over Blaney, ran 197.786 mph
before nearby lightning brought a premature halt to the session.
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