NASCAR: The Stage Is Set For Jimmie Johnson’s Greatness
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team, Kansas Speedway was about as bad as it could have been. Sure Johnson’s wreck and subsequent 40th place finish could have technically been worse; I mean Johnson could have finished 41st, 42nd or even 43rd. However, the 40th place finish puts Johnson at the back of the pack when it comes to the chase standings and now the No. 48 team has a sizeable hole to climb out of moving forward.
Johnson will enter Charlotte on Saturday night 27 points behind 8th place driver Jeff Gordon. Not only does he trail Gordon (and 8th place) by 27 points but he also has three drivers ahead of him that will also be fighting to get into the top-8 before the checkered flag waves at Talladega in two weeks.
For many of the members of Johnson Nation Sunday evening and Monday morning have been filled with doom and gloom. The facts are that Johnson has a lot to overcome but the reality of the situation is that the stage has been set for Johnson’s greatness to shine through.
Johnson ran 12th, 5th and 3rd in the opening round of the chase, not too shabby. In the four races leading up to the chase he had finishes of 9th, 4th, 4th and 8th. While it goes without question that Johnson hit a rough patch after winning his third race of the year, his finishes prove that he has since come out of that patch. Johnson has also won seven times in his career at Charlotte Motor Speedway where in 26 starts he has 13 top-five finishes. Also, let’s not forget that Johnson is a six-time NASCAR Champion with his most recent title coming just last year.
2014 has been filled with adversity for the No. 48 team because for the first time in a long time they simply don’t appear to be the team to beat. That being said, this could also make Johnson more dangerous. Following his wreck at Kansas teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about how the pressure was off now and the next two weeks they just have to get what they can get. Johnson and the No. 48 team are in the same boat. The pressure and stress of worrying about a bad finish or a mistake are gone because it’s already happened. For the next two weeks Johnson is going to go out there and get everything that he can get. If he happens to win one of the next two races he will obviously move onto the next round of the chase, if he runs well who knows where he might end up.
The bottom line here is that most of the NASCAR world had written off the No. 48 team this season. Whether it was in the first 11 races of the season when he didn’t win, the slump following his third win or Sunday after his wreck in Kansas. In my opinion writing off a six-time champion before he is officially knocked out is simply a poor decision. I’m not going to proclaim Johnson will win his seventh championship this season, I won’t even predict that he will bonce back after Kansas. What I will do though is give him the respect that a six-time champion deserves and I will acknowledge that the stage has been set for his greatness to shine.
The only question is whether or not he and his team will be up to the task over the next two weeks.
Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.