Drivers Ponder Speedometer in Cars

Unlike a driver nabbed going 70 mph in a 55 zone, Juan Pablo Montoya couldn’t talk his way out his speeding ticket.

Not when NASCAR‘s the traffic cop.

Busted at the Brickyard for speeding on the final pit stop, the penalty cost Montoya his shot at winning on the historic track.

Perhaps the result would have been different if Montoya had a speedometer instead of relying on a tachometer that monitors engine RPMs. Or maybe he would finished 11th anyway.

Still, some drivers would like a speedometer added to their cars, or have NASCAR’s electronic timing system that records the pit row speeds refined to cut down on possible error.

“I have wondered why we don’t have speedometers,” veteran driver Mark Martin said Friday. “The tachs are not quite as accurate as a speedometer might be. But the system works. It’s just really devastating when you have one of the races of your life slip through your fingers.”

Montoya led 116 laps and was on the brink of his first Indy stock car victory to go with his Indianapolis 500 win when he was flagged for speeding. NASCAR allows a 5 mph cushion on pit road, where the speed limit Sunday was 55 mph.

Montoya was caught driving 60.06 mph in one spot and 60.11 in another.

“We checked ourselves after the race. It seemed OK, and everything seemed to be in the right place,” Montoya said. “For some reason, they said we were speeding, and that’s what it is.”

Could NASCAR make the switch from RPM to mph on the dash? Not so fast.

Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said the tachometer was the most reliable factor in determining pit row speeds.

“They get multiple usages out of a tachometer as an engine meter as well, without having to bother with the expense and the troubles of adding another piece of equipment to the car,” Darby said at Pocono Raceway. “The tachometers today are so sophisticated that teams can actually program their pit road speed into the tachometer.”

Most teams have even added a lighting system to the tachometer. A green light means a driver’s speed is in the clear, yellow signifies he is pushing the limit and red means the speed is over the limit.

“In NASCAR’s defense, the system that they have, you can’t dispute it,” four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. “I would dispute the person that feels like they’re in the wrong, because their system is very accurate.”

There have been 75 speeding violations in 20 Cup races this season, Darby said. NASCAR does not warn teams when they’re on the edge of speeding or give them a chance to plead their case. Speed once coming in or out of the pits, and a penalty is instantly assessed.

“The teams know exactly where they’re supposed to be,” Darby said. “They know where the threshold is.”

Darby also said there are no plans to reveal pit road speeds to fans or the rest of the field during a race.

“If you have put your combination together and you’re real confident in your driver and you’ve got him set to where you think he can run 3½ miles over all day long without getting caught, that’s their business,” he said. “We shouldn’t display that to the other 42 competitors to let them figure out how they did it.”

NASCAR switched from a stopwatch system to electric timing in 2005 to provide a more legitimate way of assessing pit road speeders.

“It’s way better than it has been, way better than guys up there with stopwatches,” Carl Edwards said. “There’s enough moving parts there and potential for error that can be improved, and I think NASCAR will improve it.”

Montoya’s penalty baffled some of the top 12 drivers in the points standings who wondered why he risked a penalty when he had such a commanding lead.

“There’s no sense of pushing it that close if you have that big a cushion on the track,” Kurt Busch said.

Gordon, who was punished for speeding once earlier this season, said he trusted NASCAR makes the right call.

“What they’ve got is very accurate. What we’ve got is 90 percent accurate,” Gordon said. “It would be nice for us to find something that works a little better. As long as the gas pedal is our control unit, it’s going to be consistent.”

Montoya, 10th in the race for the Chase for the championship, is done griping about his lost victory.

“Who cares? I moved on,” he said.

MY WORD: It’s about time you whining, sniveling little bitch.

Chase Spots Still Up For Grabs

As the cutoff to set the field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup nears, the pressure is ratcheting up on drivers and teams to crack the top 12.

Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway will be the 21st of 26 races in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup regular season, with the Chase participants locked in after race No. 26 at Richmond International Raceway in September.

Here’s how the top 12 breaks down heading into Pocono:

1. SURE THINGS — Barring a catastrophic collapse, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch are all locks to make the Chase. Busch, the fourth-place driver in points, has a 247-point lead over 13th-place David Reutimann. For him to fall out of the Chase would probably require three to four DNFs over the next six races, and the odds of that happening are virtually nil.

And given that Stewart, Johnson and Gordon have even bigger cushions, the top four are in great shape to contend for the championship.

Busch said that he wants to concentrate on race victories over the final weeks of the regular season to try and amass bonus points for the Chase.

“What we’re hoping to do is have a big enough points buffer built on 13th after Watkins Glen (on Aug. 8th) that we can really go after the wins – and the important bonus points for the Chase – in those four races,” said Busch, driver of the No. 2 Penske Championship Racing Dodge Charger. “It would be a great position to be in, using fuel mileage and pit strategy – whatever it takes — in going after wins and bonus points.”

2. SOLID — Carl Edwards (195 points ahead of 13th place), Denny Hamlin (+157) and Ryan Newman (+145) are by no means locks for the Chase, but they are each in excellent position. Realistically, all they have to do over the final six races of NASCAR’s regular season is average finishes of 15th or better and they’ll probably be fine.

Newman said he knows it’s show time.

“I guess I kind of look at it as having two races that we are attacking right now, each weekend, as we get closer to the Chase,” said Newman, who is enjoying an excellent first season with Stewart-Haas Racing. “Our No. 1 goal is to win the race we are at that weekend. Our No. 2 goal is to put ourselves in the position to be in the top-12 so we can be in the Chase for the Championship. Hopefully, one of these will take care of the other, meaning that a win or even a good finish will bolster us in points and help us to solidify our position in the Chase for the Championship. In the end, our ultimate goal is to win the championship and you can only do that by being in the top-12 at the end of the first 26 races. So, that being said, we just have to stay focused on that and put ourselves in a position to capitalize on those last 10.”

3. UP FOR GRABS — Here’s where it gets interesting. Eighth-place Kasey Kahne is just 121 points ahead of 13th-place Reutimann. Behind Kahne are Mark Martin (+110), Juan Pablo Montoya(+100), Greg Biffle (+84), and Matt Kenseth (+68). None of these five drivers can afford any mistakes or DNFs over the next six races, but one or more probably will slip up.

“We’re still growing,” said Martin, who leads the Sprint Cup Series with four victories and finished second in last week’s Brickyard 400. “I feel more momentum now than I did in the first five races. I feel like we’ve really got some forward momentum in understanding what we need to do to get these cars from a top-10 team to a contender. It seems like we’ve been real successful at that over the past few weeks.”

4. KNOCKING ON THE DOOR — David Reutimann (13th place, -68 points from 12th) and Kyle Busch (-82) are outside the top 12 right now, but they still have plenty of time to make it back in. Both have won races this year, both have fast cars, but both have been erratic. Brian Vickers (-120) remains a decided long shot, though he still could make it if he gets hot.

Busch, who has had a hugely disappointing season despite three victories, said it’s time for change.

“For me, we need to try something different,” he said. “ … The bad races aren’t just bad, they’re horrible. Whether that’s my fault or not, you need a common denominator. There’s no common denominator as to why a bad day goes bad and gets worse. If it was me who kept my head in the game and stayed focused, which I feel like I’ve done, but maybe I give up a little bit and don’t tell my team exactly what we need on fixing the car.”

5. STICK A FORK IN ‘EM — Richard Childress Racing teammates Clint Bowyer (-151) and Jeff Burton (-228) both made the Chase in 2007 and ’08, with Burton also making it in ’06. But barring an incredible hot streak by Bowyer or a miracle by Burton, they will not make it this year. If either one of them finishes outside the top five at Pocono, you canconsider them out of the Chase for 2009.

Conspiracy Theories

Okay folks its time for a reality check.

NASCAR is not in evil league with Hendrick. The UN is not sending the black helicopters after us. NASCAR does not have a “TARGET” painted on Juan Pablo Montoya. The government was not responsible for 9/11. NASCAR is not engaging in a witch hunt of Mayfield.

The last few days, the blogs have been littered with half baked conspiracy theories involving NASCAR, HMS, and Montoya. Most of them aren’t thought through very well, and some have zero basis in reality.

Nobody wants to take responsibility-or place it where it belongs-anymore.

Your favorite driver doesn’t do well? It can’t be his fault! Blame NASCAR! They have to be out to get him. A Hendrick team wins again? It can’t be because of their skills or hard work. Because that would mean that they would be responsible for their own actions. No, NASCAR has to be helping them out somehow. And Juan, no he couldn’t be speeding! He was winning the race! NASCAR was up to their old tricks again.

People, if you really believe that NASCAR is doing all of this stuff, please, please, find another sport to watch and blog about. The true fans Of NASCAR are here for the competition, the racing, the sportsmanship. We are not here to rant about imagined wrongs from the evil empire. So take off the tin foil hats and talk racing.

Jimmie Johnson puts another brick in the wall

While Jimmie Johnson celebrates a third Brickyard win, Darrell Waltrip thinks it might signal a fourth straight Sprint Cup title.

4 GONE CONCLUSION

By Darrell Waltrip

You know folks, the results that came out of Sunday’s race at Indianapolis got me thinking, so I looked back at the other 15 previous races. What’s interesting is out of the 16 races run there, 14 of them have been won by champions. The only two races not won by champions were won by Ricky Rudd and Kevin Harvick. That’s pretty impressive.

To take that a step further, seven times the winner of the Brickyard race has gone on to win the Sprint Cup championship. I think it’s the importance and stature that race has in our sport now. Drivers will tell you that next to the Daytona 500, racing at the Brickyard every summer is our second-biggest race of the year.

I think that’s why a championship-caliber driver and team rise to the occasion with a race of this magnitude. Lots of people run well there, like Juan Pablo Montoya on Sunday, but as history has proven out, it’s our champions that rise to the occasion.

Speaking of Juan, I felt so bad for him. Man, what a heartbreaker for him. He could have written his name in the record books by winning Sunday because he has also won the Indy 500. That would have been an amazing feat. He started on the outside pole and really never looked back all day long. He had a dominating car and led 116 laps. He really was in a league of his own. Unfortunately Juan broke one of my golden rules — “don’t beat yourself.”

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why a guy like Juan with a five-second lead on the field, not being pressured by anyone and gets caught speeding on pit road. Only thing I can think is it had to be a miscalculation on his tach. Juan was the only car the entire day caught speeding on entry. A few other cars got nabbed for speeding on exit which is common.

I really was pulling for Juan with his retro paint scheme. He also was my dark horse pick to make the Chase. I think he’ll make the Chase alright but winning Sunday could have gone a long way in guaranteeing it.

I agree with what Chad Knaus mentioned after the race. The teams have timing and scoring for cars on the track, but they don’t have it for when the cars come on pit road. If that information is available and if you are going to nab people for speeding on pit road, quite honestly, the teams need to have access to it. To me it seems like it would make it a lot easier for the teams to regulate their speeds on pit road if in fact they could see the speeds they were running up and down pit road. What’s wrong with giving the teams the information to do a better job?

Also, while I was thinking about how it always seems that our champions win at Indy, it got me thinking of driver/crew chief combinations and the chemistry they have. There’s no question in my mind that Jimmie and Chad are at the head of the class when it comes to chemistry.

In my mind, they are also right up there with the greatest driver/crew chief combinations in the history of our sport. Think back to the Petty/Inman era. David Pearson/Leonard Wood, me and Jeff Hammond, Earnhardt and Kirk Shelmerdine, Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham … and the list goes on and on.

There really have been some amazing pairings across the history of NASCAR, but I have never seen a combination and team like the No. 48 bunch that is so well put together from top to bottom. They lack nothing. That’s why they win the big races and that’s why they are going for a history-making fourth consecutive championship. Certainly on Sunday Jimmie and Chad put another brick in the wall towards No. 4.

This team knows how to peak at just the right time. It truly is phenomenal to watch. Jimmie gives excellent feedback. Chad takes that and he and the team make the right adjustments at the right time. They did it again Sunday and showed why across the board in NASCAR, they are the team to beat.

Everybody’s been making a fuss over these double-file restarts. Listen, for the most part, all the restarts until you get cars laps down have been double-file restarts. The difference now is they mean something. You are racing people for position now more then ever before. This new rule certainly has added another twist and added excitement. It’s just another element that has been added to the race and I don’t see a thing wrong with it. I am a big fan of them.

What’s interesting to note is the use of the outside groove since the rule change. It’s being used more than ever before because it seems to be the faster line. There seems to be a little more grip and more traction there. You are seeing with this new car that when you go down in the corner and if there is a car on your outside, it pins you down, gets you loose and the car on the outside drives off and leaves you.

So we now have six races to go until the Chase: Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond. Kyle Busch has just had a terrible run of luck. I know you think I am wild about Kyle Busch. I am wild about the way he drives. I am not a big fan of how he treats the media and fans when he loses.

If you remember last year, I talked about that it is consistency that makes a champion. This year has been more realistic than last year when he was winning everything in sight until the Chase started. He’s won three races this year in the Cup car, but he isn’t having the luck he had last year. He’s winning consistently in the Nationwide series and running pretty good in the truck series.

I don’t think he is out of the Chase yet. He and that team are capable of racing their way back in. However, they simply can’t afford, again with only six races left, to have any more bad weekends. You have to admit, when Kyle has a car that is capable of winning, he sure is fun to watch.

On the plus side, Kyle even seems to be working on his attitude. He even admitted that this weekend during an interview. If he can get his arms around that area and gets a handle on his emotions, then look out because he could be a contender. We will just have to wait and see.

Juan “Hot Sauce” Montoya vs. NASCAR and their Conspiracy

I have toured the comments sections of racing websites and I’m here to tell you many, many fans have gone Jim Garrison (if you don’t know the significance of this reference and or person Wikipedia him) over Sunday’s Brickyard race vis a vis Juan Pablo Montoya.

I have seen the idiotic blogs coming from the ill tempered NASCAR Fans, its range knows no bounds. Their saying NASCAR screwed the Colombian driver by slapping him with a late-race speeding penalty which probably cost him the victory.

I have seen/read everything from conspiracies to you guessed it racism and everything in between. So before I tear these apart and or debunk them I decided to take this one step further, let’s have some fun. Here is what really happened at the Allstate Brickyard 400.

My Conspiracy List

NASCAR favors any driver that is or was a champion; therefore all other drivers are not even qualified to run on the same track.

I watched as several cars were getting in the way of my driver, therefore NASCAR allowed them to try and deter my driver (Jimmie Johnson) from winning.

I also watched as each Driver that was announced shake the hand of the Sprint Girl, she was actually slipping them some magic beans that made Jimmie and his team win.

The flag man was holding way too many flags, and was waving them in an un-ordinary fashion, which created chaos with in the other teams, that did not win.

Someone slipped a mickey into Jr.‘s gas tank, which made his engine blow up.

All the fans actually had Mark Martin on a bungy cord which they only gave him just enough cord to almost win.

If Martin was still driving the Viagra car, he might have gotten his front end acrosss the line before Jimmie.

24+24 equals 48…that’s it! Johnson has two Jeff Gordon’s racing with him, Montoya had only two 21`s

NASCAR lowered the speed on pit row for Juan because he was too good.

Jr took a dive, blew his motor so that he could put oil on the track….which Juan picked up on his tires , thus preventing him from catching back up and winning instead of Jimmie, who just happens to be Jr’s team mate! JR probably got quite the little bonus for that “DIVERSION”

If you take the letters that spell INDIANAPOLIS you have: Indian OIL PS. And everybody knows that PS is short for Pit Strategy. The oil was at the entrance to pit road! See! See! I knew it! Way to go JR, you clever boy helping Jimmie win.

The announcers were in on it too; they had to have something to do with it. Rusty Wallace even said it was Jr’s oil on Juan’s tires! UH OH! Rusty almost blew it for Rick! Gees, Rusty hasn’t anybody told you loose lips sink ships, button it next time.

The most incredible part nobody caught was that IMS was set up with dual grandstands to confuse the young guns. They couldn’t find their pits or knew which way to turn.

FACT: anybody can make up incredible crap, I just did it. It doesn’t make it true. ALL YOU CONSPIRACY THEORY THINKING FANS….NO MORE SOUP FOR YOU!!!!

Now let’s get down to real business shall we and pick apart some items I will show that fans did write.

Here’s our first little gem from one fan: I hope NASCAR sale’s drop because they screwed Juan because if it’s not Jimmie or Jeff or JR in first then they make up there own rules just so one of them can win.

My Answer:

Where have you been all year? There have been other drivers other than Hendrick drivers to win in 2009. NASCAR has only let Jimmie, JR, or Jeff win races this year. What have you been watching, JR hasn’t even won a race this year, JR hasn’t even won a race since, oh never mind.

Let’s see the following drivers have won this year: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon (2), Kyle Busch (4), Matt Kenseth (2), Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, David Reutimann, Joey Logano, Mark Martin (4), Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart (2 + the All Star Race), Jimmie Johnson (3), and Sam Hornish Jr.

So my next question for you is, would you care to retract your statement? You really must not be too big of a Nascar fan to hope that sales drop. Come on, think about it.

Here’s our next little gem, concerning the speeding issue: NASCAR knew no one could catch JPM, so they black flagged him saying he was speeding. Juan was robbed. They don’t black flag other drivers. It’s a conspiracy. He even swore he didn’t on his wife and kids.

My Answer:

Guess what a cop can stop me on the road and say I was speeding, just because I swear on my mother, brother, sister, kids, wife, father, grandparents, my dogs, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Pope, and the bible doesn’t mean I wasn’t speeding.

You’re right, it must be a conspiracy. Let’s get the x-files pair in here to investigate. Better yet let me help dawn light on marbled head.

Maybe you forgotten how Kyle Busch, Jimmie, Harvick, Burton, Bowyer have gotten penalties this year. Along with JR and Gordon, JR earned his share at Daytona. Even Carl Edwards, hell Carl got three; in one race and two of them were back to back – One penalty issued while serving the first penalty! All were penalized, or have you conveniently forgotten those?

NASCAR checked the system and he was speeding. JPM got caught speeding in 2 segments on pit road, so take your lumps like everyone else. It was his race to win or lose and unfortunately he lost. Has anyone read his interview in Scene magazine? He claims that he is a asshole and doesn’t care if the fans or anyone else likes him. Got to question his priorities and if he knows how he actually gets paid. No fans, no dollars. I have never really cared one way or the other about him, but his own comments just solidified my opinion. Sometimes it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Memo to JP: you have a 5MPH error-window… you need to fire whoever set your gear to be right-at the max-error. If you had your gear set to play by the rules and eat the second-extra that the error allowed for YOU STILL WOULD’VE HAD A 4-SECOND LEAD! Jesus your team was stupid still-maxing-out your pit-speed when you should’ve been dialed-in right-at the speed. Your team screwed you along with yourself!

One final thought before we move on. What happens to the wife an kids, since Montoya swore on them he was not speeding, maybe someone in the Latin nation could shed some light on what happens when you swear on your family and are wrong? Does he get a divorce and give the children up for adoption? I really want to know and I think we the NASCAR Nation are OWED an answer!

This next one really PISSES me off and burns my ASS!

Here’s the best gem out of all of the bullshit flying our there: I email Allstate about scam NASCAR pulled on them on Sunday and the fans….and so did a bunch of my NASCAR friends! Looks like Allstate 400 is no more; is pulling out! They have their reasons being political correct…lets see who the next suckers will be for their sponsorship will be? Maybe it was ESPN’s doing? Never heard the Allstate 400 once, does anyone remember what ESPN called it? When you steal a win from someone you better make sure your right. A lot of angry Latinos out there who saw the ugly side of NASCAR and so did Allstate Insurance! Good day Gil.

Good day indeed! This bastard out and out lied about the reason Allstate has decided not to sponsor this race any more. I have the real scoop which I have already posted, you can read it here:

Allstate not renewing Brickyard title sponsorship.

I encourage you to read that blog and find out the REAL reason and issue behind the decision. Now to tear this bastard a new asshole!

MY ANSWER!

So according to you Nascar or ESPN made up the fact that JPM was speeding. Are you saying NASCAR has to let Latino drivers speed on pit road? You need to get over it, he was speeding. Show me your evidence. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart the list goes on and on were caught speeding earlier in the year so should all white people throw a fit because NASCAR is cheating against whites, or is it possible they both were speeding on pit road.

The thing with pit road speed limits is if the speed limit is 50 MPH drivers can go 54.9 MPH without getting in trouble, why did Juan even push the limit to begin with? He should have been going 52-53 and kept his 5 or so second lead, he made the mistake. Let’s not turn this into any racial thing. So quit playing your LATINO and or RACE card!

But, the verdict on NASCAR here is: Innocent on all counts.

Don’t like the fact well look at this.

I like the way crew chief Brian Pattie put it post race.

“It’s electronic,” Pattie said. “It’s not like there is a lot to discuss. It’s not like the old days where everybody is doing handheld (stopwatches). It’s black and white. It is what it is. They did their job. Now we go back and do ours.”

Pattie said that at some point, he will see the graphic proof of the infraction, but, he said he is pretty sure what he will see is Montoya speeding.

However I’m not done with Mr. Montoya just yet. You all want to chase shades, ghosts, and conspiracies but you’re avoiding the one solid, hard and true fact.

Juan Pablo Montoya’s Comment

Sunday during the race, JPM made a comment while serving his pass through penalty. He said, “If they do this to me, I am going to kill them.”

I was shocked, surprised, and appalled by him and that comment. I was also greatly concerned from everyone on pit road as he drove down its length, especially the officials that are down there. At that point I believe NASCAR should have red flagged the race until both he and his car were removed from the track. I think NASCAR should also fine him and the owner as well as suspend Montoya from the rest of this year’s series to include placing him on probation for the first four months of next year’s (2010) series.

If he made any kind of threatening comment to anyone during said time NASCAR would then ban him for life. I may sound harsh however I couldn’t care less how it sounds. Threatening to kill someone is a big time no-no, as well as against the law in every state, disgusting, and kids heard that, so what did those kids just learn, you tell me that?

I think I’m being soft, because as far as I’m now concerned Montoya is now nothing more than a terrorist driving an extremely fast and powerful machine ready to kill anyone for anything. I would have banned him for life right then and there if it had been my choice.

THAT’S A FACT & THE BOTTOM LINE!

JOHNSON STILL THE MAN TO BEAT!

Jimmie Johnson is gunning for his fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Give Jimmie Johnson credit for honesty.

Asked if felt at all sorry for Juan Pablo Montoya, who dominated Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, but lost it on a late-race speeding penalty, Johnson showed a rare bit of candor and insight into a racer’s personality.

“No,” said the three-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, laughing audibly in the process. “We’re all so selfish. I could say if you want, I would have gone to Victory Lane to congratulate him. I would have been proud of him.”

And then he added, “I’m sure happy I got the trophy.”

Johnson passed his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin on a late-race restart with 24 laps to go to take his first and only lead of the race, holding on to defeat Martin by 0.400 seconds. That gave Johnson his third Brickyard 400 victory in the last four years and made him the only driver to win it twice in a row.

The untold storyline, however, is it also was clear evidence that Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the rest of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team are ready to pursue a fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup title, something no one has ever managed since the series began racing 60 years ago.

Quietly, Johnson has begun to round into championship form. In his last eight races, he’s earned two victories, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes. During that time he has led a total of 626 laps. The only race he didn’t finish in the top 10 came at Michigan International Speedway, where he led 146 of 200 laps, only to run out of gas on the last lap of the race.

Yes, Tony Stewart still leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup points standings with a margin of 192 points over Johnson. And Stewart’s third-place finish at the Brickyard shows he’s not going anywhere, but there’s no question that Johnson is rounding into title form.

And without doubt, Johnson has become a dominant closer, a clutch performer who finishes races the way John Elway used to finish football games for the Denver Broncos and Mariano Rivera picked up saves for the New York Yankees. Like Michael Jordan in the final minute of an NBA game, Johnson and Co. function at their absolute best when the race is on the line. Johnson showed that much when he out dueled Martin in the closing laps.

“It was cool to see,” Johnson said of the victory, his third of the season and 43rd of his career. “It’s what the 48 is known for. I’m glad we were able to win today because it gives us the confidence in our approach to the race, what we need to do coming up into the Chase (for the Sprint Cup). I feel very good about the way things are going and where we’re headed.”

The surprising part of all this, perhaps, is that more people aren’t talking about Johnson’s pursuit of history. Then again, that suits the El Cajon, Calif., native just fine.

“I mean, it has been quiet,” he said. “That is good because it allows us to focus and not get caught up in all the energy around winning races and leading the points. But we know it’s coming. We know the Chase is coming up. Our guys are trying to treat each race leading into the Chase like we are in the Chase.”

And for the last three seasons, the Chase has been the No. 48 team’s time to shine. Johnson thinks it could be again this year.

“We’re buckled down and ready,” he said. And after his Brickyard triumph, no one could doubt he means business.

Johnson Kisses The Bricks Again At Indy

It’s not easy to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. In fact, it can be downright difficult.

While three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson picked up his third Allstate 400 at the Brickyard victory Sunday afternoon before a sun-baked crowd of 180,000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Juan Pablo Montoya learned the hard way just how tough these victories are to come by. Montoya, who won the 2000 Indianapolis 500, was bidding to make history on Sunday and become the first driver to win both the 500 and the Brickyard 400. For the first 124 laps, Montoya looked like he had the field covered, leading a whopping 116 laps. But, Montoya was caught speeding entering pit road on lap 125 and had to serve a pass-through penalty, thus virtually eliminating any chance he had for the win.

While that was a tough pill for the fiery Colombian to swallow, NASCAR monitors pit road speed every race weekend and had already handed out 74 pit road speeding penalties heading into this race – that averages out to almost four pit road speeding penalties per race thus far. Montoya was clearly found to be speeding over two of the nine loops along pit road and he’ll have to try again next year to add a Brickyard 400 victory to his racing resume.

Johnson capitalized on Montoya’s penalty and led the final 23 laps of the race, holding off teammate Mark Martin for his 43rd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. Toss in the fact that seven of the last 11 series champions have won this race and gone on to claim the title, and it bodes well for Johnson to make history in 2009 and earn a record fourth straight crown.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of America’s sport’s landmarks. When you walk along pit road during pre-race festivities and look down at the sea of humanity on both sides of the front stretch, your heart starts pounding. Combine that with the names of the legendary drivers who have “kissed the bricks” and the chill bumps continue.

For Jimmie Johnson, it was another feather in his cap – a cap that is becoming increasingly covered up in significant achievements in this sport.

Johnson Earns 3rd Victory at The Brickyard

Jimmie Johnson does a burnout for the fans after winning the Allstate 400 for the second consecutive time.

Jimmie Johnson grabbed his second consecutive win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by taking the checkered flag in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event.

Johnson has won three of the past four races at the 2.5-mile track and is the first driver to win in consecutive years in 16 NASCAR races at Indy.

“It’s pretty special,” said Johnson, who now sits second in the driver point standings. “This track has been so tough on me over the years and to be able to win here now three times means the world to me. I wanted to race Indy cars as a kid growing up and some day hoped to race here and now to take three trophies out of here and go kiss the bricks is awfully special.”

Juan Pablo Montoya dominated the majority of the race, leading 116 of 160 laps before being penalized for speeding on pit road with fewer than 35 laps remaining. He served a penalty and dropped back in the field, opening the door for Johnson and other drivers to vie for the victory.

Johnson’s teammate Mark Martin quickly took the lead and led 10 laps before Johnson made a pass on Lap 137.  Johnson held off a hard charging Martin in the final 10 laps and led the field to the checkered flag.

“That was unbelievable,” said Johnson, who now has three wins this season. “I hope the fans enjoyed that race. I can’t say enough about this race team and all of Hendrick Motorsports. It was a fun battle with my teammate Mark Martin. Damn is he fast. For an old guy he had me pretty worried.

“Those last 15-20 laps we had to drive it so hard to stay ahead of the five. I was better in (turns) three and four than he was and he had me beat in (turns) one and two and it was kind of a give and take thing that was going on. Luckily we held him off. It’s great to work with him and work with Alan (Gustafson) and work with all my teammates at Hendrick Motorsports to get this Kobalt Tools Impala in victory lane.”

Johnson is 192 points behind Stewart in the driver standings. Jeff Gordon is now third with Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards rounding out the top five.

The next race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule is at Pocono Raceway. The race will be broadcast live on Sunday, Aug. 2 on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET.

Team No. 48 kisses the bricks after another Allstate 400 win at the Brickyard!

Brickyard History for Johnson

Johnson scored his 43rd career win.

Jimmie Johnson became the first driver to score back-to-back Allstate 400 at the Brickyard victories on Sunday when he held off Mark Martin for his third career win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Johnson didn’t take the lead until lap 137, but stayed ahead of the field the rest of the way to notch his third win of the Sprint Cup Series season.

Johnson’s lead was inherited when disaster struck Juan Pablo Montoya, who dominated the race and led 116 laps nearly making history by becoming the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.

But Montoya was caught speeding on pit road on lap 125 during what would have been his final regular stop of the day for fuel and tires, ending his quest to make the record books.

“If they do this to me, I’m going to kill them,” Montoya said on his radio. “There’s no way. I was on the green. Thank you NASCAR for screwing my day. We had it in the bag and they screwed us because I was not speeding. I swear on my children and my wife”

But NASCAR’s rule stood and Montoya was shuffled back to the 12th spot on the impending restart, out of contention for the win.

That left Johnson and Martin to fight for the victory at the front of the field. When the green flag flew, Johnson was able to nose his Lowe’s Chevrolet ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and despite a couple of runs in the final two laps from Martin was able to easily take the record-breaking checkered flag.

“That was unbelievable,” Johnson said. “I hope the fans enjoyed that race.”

Although Martin closed to within two-tenths of a second in the waning laps, he was unable to get alongside the race leader.

“For an old guy, he had me pretty worried,” Johnson joked. “Those last 15 or 20 laps, we had to drive so hard to stay ahead of him.”

Martin was shooting for his fifth win of the season but was forced to settle for the runnerup spot.

“He was better than I was off of 4, I was better than he was off 2,” Martin said. “I asked for a chance to be in the fray and [the team] gave me a chance. That’s all I asked for.”

Two-time race winner Tony Stewart was third with Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers rounding out the top five.

Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, David Reutimann, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth completed the first ten finishers.

It was a tough day for a group of drivers battling for a spot in the Chase. Denny Hamlin had a transmission issue early and was credited with an 34th place finish. Kurt Busch suffered a tire problem and limped home 27th.

And Kyle Busch suffered a cut tire to finish 38th, that dropped him to 14th in th standings with only six races to go to set the field.

The tire problems that plagued last year’s race were never a factor, as Goodyear made good on its promise to find the right compound for one of the biggest races of the season.

Goodyear tires last year couldn’t make it longer than 10-to-12 laps, and the tiremaker spent 11 months diligently correcting the problem, with drivers and teams giving the manufacturer high marks this weekend.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now heads to Pocono Raceway on Sunday, August 2nd.

MY WORD: If Juan Pablo Montoya is going to make a comment like he did which is threatening towards the officials at NASCAR, I believe the sanctioning body of NASCAR ought to show Mr. Montoya the “door” (suspend) him for the rest of the season.

I don’t care how upset you are, who or whom or upset with, and or what driver it is and or you are there is no excuse for making threats like that. Montoya would not only be out of the rest of this season if it were up to me, but he’d be paying a fine that was so steep and or heavy he’d still be paying it by the begining of the 2010 season.

Jimmie Johnson in a good spot for title No. 4

Three time consecutive Champion: Jimmie Johnson

With just eight races remaining before the start of the Chase For The Sprint Cup, there is still considerable doubt over who will earn some of the coveted spots in the top 12 in the point standings.

It would appear that the drivers among the top 10 in points are going to make it, but there is some concern for others.

Kasey Kahne is currently 12th after his involvement in the last-lap crash at Daytona relegated him to 15th-place in the race. He’s 21 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya, who, in turn, is 14 points behind Matt Kenseth, 10th in the standings.

Kenseth is 14 points behind ninth-place Greg Biffle. That means the spread between 12th and ninth place is 49 points – certainly not an insurmountable sum over eight races.

I could go on with the math here, but I trust you get the point. Among a handful of competitors, the “chase” for the Chase is still being
hotly contested.

But it would appear other drivers don’t have a lot to worry about. Unless they unravel competitively, they should be atop the standings when the Chase begins.

Tony Stewart ranks No. 1 and has to be perhaps the biggest surprise of the season. When he became a co-owner of Stewart Haas Racing, few, if anyone, gave him much of a chance to make the Chase, given how owner-driver teams have fared in the past.

But Stewart, with help from Hendrick Motorsports technology, is No. 1 in points with two wins, including Saturday night’s race at Daytona, 10 top-five finishes and 14 among the top 10.

He’s 180 points ahead of Jeff Gordon, whose involvement in a 13-car pileup at Daytona caused him to tumble to 28th place in the race and allowed Stewart to increase his points lead.

Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson escaped the last-lap crash at Daytona to come home second, his best finish at the 2.5-mile track since he won the 2006 Daytona 500.

He’s (Johnson)  third in points, just 14 points behind Gordon.

Johnson is making a bid for a record-setting fourth consecutive championship.

I like his chances.

Johnson has two wins, eight top-five finishes and 12 among the top 10 this season. Gordon has one win and one more top-five finish that Johnson.

Stewart also has two wins, and his record shows two more top-five and top-10 finishes than Johnson.

Perhaps the biggest statistical difference among the three drivers is that Johnson has failed to finish one race while Stewart and Gordon have no DNFs.

Still, Johnson is doing what he needs to do to gain the opportunity to win title No. 4 – and he’s doing it efficiently and quietly.

Since his 22nd-place run at Michigan in June – which was preceded by a win at Dover and a seventh-place at Pocono – Johnson hasn’t finished out of the top 10.

He was fourth at Infineon, ninth at Loudon and now second at Daytona.

Johnson is in a very comfortable position. He doesn’t have to fret making the Chase – which seems a certainty unless the roof caves in – and while other drivers haven’t got much to worry about either, Johnson is reaching for a higher goal.

For Johnson, it’s about more than making the Chase; it’s about making history.

It’s likely he’ll tell you he’s not thinking about that right now.

But when the Chase begins, he will be.

I like his chances.