Jimmie Johnson Wins the 2008 Camping World RV 400 at Kansas Speedway
Posted by GEORGE October 1, 2008 8:49:16 AM
What a finish! Carl Edwards almost stole the show as he used the track banking to dive under Jimmie Johnson a quarter of a mile from the finish, and took the lead on the final lap. Edwards said he knew the move would make him hit the wall, but it was his only chance. Hit the wall he did, and it slowed his car just enough for Jimmie to take the lead again and sail across the finish line to win The Camping World RV 400 presented by Coleman.
The win propelled Jimmie Johnson into first place in The Chase with seven races remaining, but Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are close behind, and it remains anyone's NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship to win among the three drivers.
It's turned into a Ford/Chevy competition with Joe Gibbs Racing's Toyotas sucking wind, mired in 10th, 11th, and 12th places. Engine failures and bad decisions have taken Toyota out of the championship run for 2008.
In Rick Hendrick's mind, Dale Earnhardt Jr's poor performances in the second half of the season have nothing to do with his ride or his pit crew. Let's see, that only leaves Dale Earnhardt Jr to blame, right? And that's exactly what Hendrick believes the problem to be. Lack of concentration on Junior's part is what Rick thinks is causing the number 88 car to drift back in the field after running well in the first half of each race. Rick Hendrick also conveyed to Dale Earnhardt Jr that he'd better stop blaming Tony Eury Jr for what's happening and start treating him better on the radio if he wants to keep him.
The driver or drivers who survive Talladega and Martinsville will have a leg up on the championship. Talladega is notorious for taking drivers out of the race, and Martinsville is good old "bump and run" driving, which always leads to bad tempers and paybacks. I still look for a tight race and multiple points lead changes among Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle, but each of these drivers must do well at Talladega and Martinsville to be there at the end.
All drivers whine at some point, and sometimes rightfully so. But as I listened to one particular driver/crew chief conversation last Sunday, it was apparent that the crew chief had heard enough. The crew chief delivered a message to the driver that was dead on as far as how he felt and what he thought the driver should do when he said, "Shut up and drive!" All the TV announcers loved it, with the possible exception of Dale Jarrett, the only driver in the bunch!
It’s going to be pretty tough to catch Jimmie Johnson at this stage of the game. Jimmie is a veteran and has the NASCAR smarts to drive hard and still stay out of trouble. Watch for him to win if it’s right there in front of him, but he’ll mostly concentrate on finishing well and maintaining the lead.
Posted by: George | 21 October 2008 at 11:35 AM
Jimmie Johnson is looking good on the track and it's great too see how much ground he was able to make up. It seemed like just a couple weeks ago Kyle Busch was leading this thing and looking pretty strong! I am happy to see the #48 do well and hope he pulls it out!
Posted by: Art @ National Wheels | 21 October 2008 at 12:26 AM