After Sunday’s race at Phoenix, Jimmie Johnson heads to the final race of the season with a 28-point lead over second place Matt Kenseth.
Since Chicago, Johnson has been on a steady climb to the top of the standings and after taking the points lead at Talladega, he has been virtually unstoppable. Yes, Matt Kenseth has been right there on his heals but Johnson has been just as competitive and more importantly, consistent. Today’s race all but sealed the Championship for Jimmie Johnson. After Kenseth’s disappointing finish, it’s Johnson’s title to lose. Here is how close Johnson is to clinching the title, regardless of any other driver’s finish, Johnson will clinch his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with:
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For the sixth time this season, and his second in the Chase, Jimmie Johnson took his No.48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to Victory Lane.
Leading 255 of the scheduled 335 laps, Johnson was clearly the dominate car at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite some slow pit stops, Johnson was able to stay ahead of the pack and hold of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win. “We came here and tested and did an awesome job of understanding what I needed in the car and what was going to create speed,” Johnson said after the race. “We came back and had a very smooth qualifying session and practice sessions, and just kept putting more and more speed in the car. “It paid off today. Obviously, we need a lot of speed in the car and a win to get any points because Matt is there in the top five. Nice to gain just a few points on him. But just a dominant day for this Lowe’s team.” Last season, Johnson was competing for the Championship with Brad Keselowski. After winning at Texas in 2012, Johnson held a seven point lead over Keselowski heading into the final two races. Brad Keselowski went on to win the Championship. Jimmie Johnson currently holds a seven point lead over Matt Kenseth. Will history repeat itself? Johnson is confident that he can win his sixth title, but he knows it won’t come easy. “I’ve been watching a lot of MMA fighting lately, and you’ll fall into a rhythm and think that somebody has got the fight won, and it doesn’t end that way,” he said. “That’s how this is going to be. Matt didn’t have maybe the best day and still finished fourth. This thing is going to go to the last lap at Homestead, and it is going to come down to mistakes. Matt Kenseth rallied back to finish forth after a pit road speeding penalty left him mid-pack and close to going a lap down. A series of well-timed cautions and a fast car allowed him to work his way up through the field, but he couldn’t quite catch Johnson. Jeff Gordon went from a win and possible Championship contender to sixth in the standings and 69 points back. After slapping the wall hard on lap 74, Gordon had to take his Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet to the garage for lengthy repairs. He went on to finish 38th. “Just had a left front tire go down, not really sure why yet, trying to figure that out, but that’s a shame,” Gordon said from his garage. “I don’t know if I ran over something or we just had a failure. I felt it go down and even had time to go on the radio and say, ‘Oh you-know-what’ because I knew I was getting ready to hit the wall hard. It’s a shame. This team has worked so hard to get ourselves in this position and we can’t have things like this happen. This is going to hurt.” Is the Championship down to two drivers? Yes. Kevin Harvick sits just 40 points back from the top spot but with just two races to go, it will take a miracle for him to take the top spot. Is it possible? Of course, but for that to happen, both Johnson and Kenseth will have to have two very bad races. The Championship is going to some down to the final laps at Homestead and who will be holding the Cup high? That is really anybody’s guess. Original Post: Click Here For the sixth time this season, Brad Keselowski went to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. His first at Texas, Keselowski was determined to get that cowboy hat at the end of the race.
Leading 105 out of the scheduled 200 laps, Keselowski battled hard with Denny Hamlin for the last 30 laps before he reclaimed the lead for the final time and took the checkered flag. Sam Hornish Jr fought back to finish third after a pit road penalty left him a lap down to the leaders early in the race. He hit the cone on his first pit stop, which is a commitment line violation. He served a pass-through penalty and came out 17th and one lap down, although he gained that lap back on the first caution of the day (Lap 70) by not pitting. His third place finish gained him two points on series leader and now sits six points behind Austin Dillon. Kyle Busch wrecked on lap 110 after he blew a right rear tire and smacked the outside wall. He ran in the top 5 before the incident but finished 26th. Top 10 Finishers: No.22 Brad Keselowski No.20 Denny Hamlin No.12 Sam Hornish Jr No.18 Matt Kenseth No.3 Austin Dillon No.7 Regan Smith No.11 Elliott Sadler No.2 Brian Scott No.32 Kyle Larson No.5 Brad Sweet Original Post: Click Here Once again, this was one of the worst kept secrets in NASCAR but it was officially announced this morning at Texas Motor Speedway that Martin Truex Jr will be piloting the NO.78 Chevrolet for Furniture Row Racing starting in 2014.
The dominoes fell at a high rate after the incident in Richmond with Michael Waltrip Racing and it seemed like no driver was hurt worse then Truex. Losing his sponsor and then his ride, he was left searching late in the season for a place to go in 2014. With Kurt Busch moving to Stewart-Haas Racing, Furniture Row Racing had a vacant seat and found the perfect driver in Truex. “I’m definitely excited to be here today,” Truex Jr. said during the press conference. “This is a big deal for me, and I’m very, very excited about the opportunity to drive for Furniture Row. I’ve really been impressed with this organization and what they’ve accomplished this year being a single-car team.” In his eighth full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Truex has one win this season and six top-5 finishes. Furniture Row Racing debuted in 2005 and has seen victory lane once with Regan Smith in 2011 at Darlington. Original Post: Click Here |
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