Johnson’s Rebound Has Hendrick Chasing Record
Jimmie Johnson’s recent, dramatic turnaround has placed him squarely into the middle of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
championship discussion, while also fueling yet another run of excellence for Hendrick Motorsports.
Rick
Hendrick’s drivers have won five consecutive races – Jeff Gordon (No.
24 Panasonic Chevrolet) at Kansas, Johnson
(No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) at Charlotte and Dover, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(No. 88 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet) at Pocono and Johnson again at
Michigan. That streak is one short of the “Modern Era” record of six
consecutive victories by an owner, set by Hendrick
during the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. That year, Gordon won
two in a row followed by a four-victory streak that carried Johnson to
his second-consecutive series championship.
(Note:
The Modern Era is considered to have begun in 1972, when the number of
races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
was drastically reduced, from 48 to 31. Since then, there have never
been more than 36 points-paying races in a season. The all-time record
for consecutive car owner victories is an incredible 16 by Carl
Kiekhafer in 1956. Kiekhafer was a Rick Hendrick prototype,
a multi-car team owner who dominated NASCAR’s top series in 1955-56.
Four different drivers won for Kiekhafer during his streak: Buck Baker,
Tim Flock, Herb Thomas and Speedy Thompson. There were 56 races in the
1956 season which actually started on Nov. 13,
1955, meaning the season lasted 371 days.)
“I'm thrilled on multiple levels,” Johnson said after his Michigan victory. “The success that we've had as a team, kind
of hitting our stride and getting to Victory Lane three times in the last four weeks …
“Our
teammates and their success, the company, and you look at our engines
in our cars and what they're able to do …
Rick gives us all the tools to go out there and do our jobs and to have
everything so fast and so good, you want it to last forever. We know
that it won't, but it's just a good time to sit back and reflect and
enjoy it.”
Added Hendrick: “Everybody is really putting out a lot of effort right now, and it's paying off.”
Hendrick
driver Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet) would enjoy coming up
with a record-tying victory on Sunday,
in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 road-course event at Sonoma Raceway. Kahne
is one of those “odd-man-out” drivers still looking for a first 2014
victory – and an all-but-assured berth in the newly expanded Chase. It
could happen. After all, it has happened. Kahne
won at Sonoma in 2009, making him part of a list of nine different
Sonoma winners over the last nine seasons.
Here’s the list:
2005 – Tony Stewart
2006 – Jeff Gordon
2007 – Juan Pablo Montoya
2008 – Kyle Busch
2006 – Jeff Gordon
2007 – Juan Pablo Montoya
2008 – Kyle Busch
2009 - Kasey Kahne
2010 – Jimmie Johnson
2010 – Jimmie Johnson
2011 – Kurt Busch
2012 – Clint Bowyer
2013 – Martin Truex Jr.
Notice
the three Hendrick drivers on that list: Kahne, Johnson and the
all-time road course king Jeff Gordon, who has
a record nine career road-course victories. Not on that list:
Earnhardt, whose current momentum could change a shaky Sonoma past. In
14 previous Sonoma starts, Earnhardt has yet to finish in the top 10.
The
Sonoma/Save-Mart 350 is part of NASCAR’s annual “road-course weekend”
for national series competition, with the NASCAR
Nationwide Series visiting the historic Road America facility in
Elkhart Lake, Wisc. for a Saturday afternoon event. (See Page 3). In
addition, also on Saturday, the K&N Pro Series West will race at
Sonoma with four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers slated
to compete – Justin Allgaier, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Ricky
Stenhouse Jr.
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