NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson’s shot at the playoffs is coming down to the wire
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson finds himself hovering right around the playoff cut line with just four regular season races remaining. Can he string enough quality finishes together to qualify for the playoffs and go for championship number eight?
After a 19th place finish in the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International and a stern taking to with Ryan Blaney after the race, Jimmie Johnson finds himself tied for the 16th and final place in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture with Ryan Newman. Johnson currently has the tiebreaker over Newman by recording a better top finish (third vs. fifth).
Johnson was working on a quality finish that would have certainly helped his playoff case in Sunday’s race before Blaney got into the back of him and spun him out of the way.
After the race, Johnson had a fairly animated conversation, at least by his standards, with Blaney about the incident. Johnson seemed to think that Blaney took him out on purpose, while Blaney made sure to inform the media that he did not spin Johnson out intentionally.
If I put myself in Johnson’s shoes, I would leave everything that happened Watkins Glen in the rearview mirror.
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Johnson simply cannot afford to dwell on his disappointing finish, and he most certainly cannot afford to go out of his way to go after Blaney if he is indeed still mad at him. He needs to focus on every race like it is an elimination race, because for him, it really could be. One bad result, and he may be in a position to kiss his playoff chances goodbye.
Looking forward for Johnson, the remaining four races before the playoffs have met him with varying success. The next race on the schedule is the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Johnson has not had a top 10 finish at the track since the June race in 2017. In 35 races there, he has only earned one victory, which he earned in 2014, and he has recorded an average finish of 16.71.
The next race after the Consumers Energy 400 is the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Johnson has had a little more success at Bristol Motor Speedway than he has had at Michigan International Speedway. In his last 10 races at the track, he has recorded eight top 10 finishes, including a win in the April race in 2017. In 35 races there, he has earned two victories and recorded an average finish of 13.11.
After the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race comes the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Of all the remaining tracks on the regular season schedule, Darlington Raceway has treated Johnson the kindest. He has earned three victories and recorded an average finish of 11.90 through 20 races at the track. But he has not recorded a top 10 finish there since 2014. He will look to change his recent luck and record a good finish this year.
The last race before the playoffs begin is the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard. There could be a lot on the line for multiple drivers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year, including Johnson. He has earned four victories at the track in his career, but the most recent one came all the way back in 2012. His average finish in 17 races there is 15.41.
Things look to be very difficult for the seven-time champion, as the regular season is quickly coming to a close, and with new crew chief Cliff Daniels, it’s not going to get any easier for Johnson. He needs to look to score some quality finishes in the final four races before the playoffs begin if he wants to solidify a spot in the playoffs and a chance to win championship number eight.
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Make sure to tune in this Sunday, August 11 to the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway to see if Jimmie Johnson can record a quality finish or maybe even win to lock himself into the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.