Jimmie Johnson is 900 green flag laps away from possibly making NASCAR history with a 4th consecutive championship. Possibly.
In the era of parity where NASCAR has modified cars and rules to even out the field, the one team that has stayed on top of the their game throughout and making all the right adjustments has been the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet with Chad Knaus as the Crew Chief and Jimmie Johnson as the driver. It’s a team thing, and the whole team deserves the kudos, but these two sit in the cockpit of this “airliner” called the No.48 Lowe’s Chevy.
Going into Phoenix, if I were the No. 48 Lowe’s team, my only worries would be parts and other cars. I say that because Johnson owns this track in statistics, followed by Mark Martin.
Homestead, on the other hand might be a challenge for Johnson.
Johnson’s finished 15th, 7th, 9th, 40th & 2nd if you look at his 2008 to 2004 finishing positions. It’s not a bad track for him, but it’s definitely not a shoe in either.
If he only has 70 or 80 points as a buffer going into Homestead, he can’t finish much more outside of 15th if Mark Martin or Jeff Gordon perform well there.
This isn’t the optimal level of drama that NASCAR wants, but it’s good enough for some excitement of concerns headed into Homestead. And that, is what it’s all about. The generated level of excitement and drama focused on the possibilities.
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| RANK | +/- | DRIVER | PTS | BEHIND | ST | POLES | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Jimmie Johnson | 6297 | Leader | 34 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 22 |
| 2 | – | Mark Martin | 6224 | -73 | 34 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 20 |
| 3 | – | Jeff Gordon | 6185 | -112 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 23 |
| 4 | +2 | Kurt Busch | 6126 | -171 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 19 |
| 5 | – | Tony Stewart | 6119 | -178 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 23 |
