We all knew Jimmie Johnson had an excellent chance to earn his 8th career Dover victory on Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t a matter of if Johnson had the car, but more of what could happen next. Johnson didn’t let those thoughts consume him as he scored a record-breaking 8th career win at the Dover International Speedway, breaking a tie with the King Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. It marked the 5th win of the season and the 65th victory of his career for Johnson.
As far as we know, Johnson should have snagged this record earlier in the season, but jumped the last restart which resulted in a pass-through penalty, thus giving the win to another Hendrick-related driver in Tony Stewart. Johnson can deny it all altogether as he has numerous times, but it was abundantly clear that he not only beat Juan Pablo Montoya to the line, but he also was just a nose ahead of the 42 in both restart boxes. It doesn’t matter anymore because Johnson has earned the record and no active driver is remotely close to achieving what the 48 has done here at Dover. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin have four wins here a piece, but their careers will soon some to a close.
What does this mean for the remaining races? It’s going to be a nail-biting finish between Hendrick and Joe Gibbs Racing. Next week, we are the Kansas Speedway. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth each have a pair of victories here, but it is Kenseth who has been on a roll with two consecutive victories with both Roush Fenway Racing and his current race team. Kenseth’s lowest finish in the past four events here has been an astounding 4th. That doesn’t mean that Johnson doesn’t have a shot. You can never leave the 48 out of any event and not consider him a threat to win. NASCAR fans used to look forward to restrictor plate races just to get a break from the 48 winning, but as proven from his sweep at Daytona this season, Johnson has put that behind him.
Kansas is a lot like the Las Vegas Motor Speedway which brings up another point. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth have had moments where they were completely dominating races there. Johnson won three consecutive events (05, 06, 07), and Kenseth won back-to-back events (03, 04). This is absolutely nerve-racking for fantasy players because one position could alter your prize winnings by a lot if you are wrong on one little thing. I’m riding high with confidence following my pick at Dover, but that wasn’t too difficult. I’m picking Matt Kenseth to win at Kansas, but watch out for the 5 of Kasey Kahne. This has been a real up-and down season for that man and what would feel better than defeating his rival for the first time this season? His luck has been utterly horrible at times this season, or he simply just loses control of the car and backs it into the fence. Kahne needs to focus and get back to racing. He isn’t out of the championship just yet mathematically, but he is certainly in danger. My dark horse pick will be the 56 of Martin Truex Jr. His avg finish at Kansas in the past two events has been 3rd. A win would certainly lift the spirits of Truex and the entire MWR organization after the fallout of the controversy at Richmond.
The late caution saved Jimmie Johnson. Fuel mileage races have not been Johnson’s forte, but I believe that Jeff Gordon had played that particular strategy out perfectly in case it came down to that scenario, but it didn’t happen for him. Gordon spun his tires on the final restart which caused Kenseth to get squirmy and that killed their momentum. Jimmie Johnson deserves all the credit for yet another record-breaking day this season and for this champ’s career. Who are you guys pulling for at Kansas? Let me know! I hope you all enjoyed the race.
