Is Jimmie Johnson NASCAR’s LeBron James?
I don’t think there is any doubt that the best team in NASCAR’s top series is the No. 48 car at Hendrick Motorsports. Recent races seem to verify this, and Jimmie Johnson has many fans, but after watching the NBA finals tonight, I couldn’t help to draw an analogy between not only the Miami Heat and the Lowe’s Chevrolet team, but to LeBron James and Jimmie Johnson. Stay with me here. It’s all about domination and how we deal with it. It’s not a pretty picture for some.
You win too much and people begin to just root for anyone else but you. The New York Yankees know this well and so do the Big Red Machine. Folks like a lot of variety and that rarely is the way it is in sports. The Yankees inspired a play called “Damn Yankees.” The 1970-1976 Cincinnati Reds team had people rooting against them. Jeff Gordon was maligned by fans when he was at the top of his game. Many hated the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. It’s just the way it is. So it is with Jimmie Johnson’s Lowes No. 48 Chevrolet team. They used to say “anybody but Gordon” and “anybody but the Yankees.” Today it’s “anybody but Johnson.”
Tuesday night, I’ve never seen so much wailing and gnashing of teeth after a game. LeBron James must have been the antichrist. The Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs tonight in game five of the NBA playoffs, and all fans harped about was James and the Heat. Maybe it has a lot to do with confidence and maybe just a little arrogance. James, when he was changing teams from Cleveland to Miami, made boast about championships and during the season talking about domination. And then going out and doing it.
All the vitriol is aimed at Johnson in NASCAR, but a lot of it falls on Chad Knaus, the crew chief of the five-time championship team. Knaus is so calculated he seems like a character from some science fiction movie where the brilliant scientist is so smart that he seems not of this earth. Johnson doesn’t help when he calls every loss, “the one that got away.” The result is that many fans just root for anyone to win the race. Maybe I should change that to anyone but Kyle Busch, but that’s another story.
Greg Biffle won Sunday’s race at Michigan, but television and media in general spent little time with Biffle, a guy who led the points going into the Chase last year, and has a solid career in Camping World Trucks, Nationwide Series races and Cup. It seemed it was all about Johnson, Junior, Kahne, Jeff Gordon, and this week, Tony Stewart. Meanwhile Biffle was the lap leader and winner, but it’s like everyone knows when the final races comes along, Johnson is going to be there, just like last year and most every year for the last seven or eight years. He may not win every year, but he’s always in the background and he is ready to take the title.
This year, despite a couple of devastating races, he’s nearly an entire race ahead of anyone else in the points and many are rooting for anyone else to win at the end, just like those who would never be San Antonia Spurs fans are sitting with clenched fists to win the NBA title. Its normal and the way it’s been as long as I’ve lived (too long to tell you). Just like at Dover and Michigan, someone else won, but at Pocono, all the things moved into place.
Racing is a strange sport. Just as someone or some team seemed to be in control, another unlikely team comes out of nowhere to win. Witness the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, the Cincinnati Reds in 1990, and the New York Giants in 2011. Nothing is a sure thing, but many will be rooting against Johnson and Knaus, just like they did Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Elliott, Lorenzen, Waltrip, and Earnhardt. In the end, the cream will rise to the top. And that bothers some, but that’s sports.
Honda Indy Toronto: Trophies Unveiled, Justin Wilson discusses double header
On Monday, Honda Indy Toronto President Charlie Johnstone was at William-Ashley’s flagship location in Toronto, Ontario to unveil the trophies for this year’s Honda Indy Toronto. It marks the third straight year that William-Ashley has been part of the trophy designing.
The trophies, once again designed by Waterford Crystal, are crystal shaped bowls, varying in size and depth of design, depending on the winner. The main winner’s trophy features two IndyCars on the front of the bowl, cut into the glass carefully, with the Toronto skyline along the back of the bowl. They’ve also incorporated the Honda Indy Toronto logo as the bottom of the stem. Up-close photos of the trophies can be viewed in the Speedway Media Photo Gallery.
For the first time, Toronto will host two races over the course of the weekend. The first race will be on July 13th, with the second race on July 14th. Its part of the new double-header weekend format that IndyCar has developed for some of the road courses this year.
With that said, Johnstone discussed that he wants to expand the event further out to be able to have the whole family it. They’ll be food tasting, beer tasting, activities for the kids, as well as other things to keep the whole family entertained over the course of the three day weekend. It’s all about creating that perfect atmosphere.
2005 Honda Indy Toronto winner Justin Wilson echoed those thoughts saying the race is cool, but you got to have that entertainment package.
“You have to have something to entertain the wife and kids because I know from my experience, if I don’t entertain them, it’s not good,” he commented. “But I enjoy it. It’s a good track, very challenging. ”
Wilson was on hand for the unveiling and sat and spoke to the media about a number of topics, including driver training. With there being two races in one weekend, it makes that level of training extra important. Training is important because as Wilson mentions, each time you get on brake pedal, it’s like doing a full leg press and you’re doing that five times a minute. Wilson says training is also important because you don’t want your body to be your limit.
“All the races you go to – you don’t want your body to be the limit of how far you can drive the car,” he said. “The cars have advanced and become harder to drive, the gap between the cars is getting closer. So five years ago, you were five tenths off, you were fifth. Now if you are five tenths off, you’re 18th or 19th. You have to perform the maximum every single lap. It’s tough.”
Wilson’s training consists of cycling, swimming and going to the gym to lift weights.
“Just trying to do everything that I got the core strength, the upper body strength and then I’ve got the endurance,” he said. “The fitter you are during the race, the more you can deal with driving the car.”
With a normal street race, it can take drivers four to five days for their body’s to fully recover.
“Our cars don’t have a lot of suspension movement,” he commented. “I describe it as being put in a trash can and shaken around. When you get out, you’re covered in bumps and bruises and it just aches. On top of that, you’re fighting the car so your muscles ache.”
So come race weekend, the training that a driver has done before the weekend is going to be important. Another important aspect is nutrition to make sure you’re hydrated, as well as getting enough carbohydrates and protein for your muscles to recover.
“Hydration, that is the first thing that will get you every time,” he explained. “You got to make sure you’re drinking the right fluids, the right amount at the right time, so that you don’t lose concentration and that’s important. Also, a massage helps.
“Anything you can do to help recover and come back to run well. You want to come back and be at the same level on day two that you were on day one.”
The drivers have experienced the double header once this year already – Detroit – and Wilson commented that he noticed drivers were cautious on day one, while overly aggressive on day two.
“I think that could be the same thing again in Toronto,” he commented. “It’s going to be interesting.”
Wilson went on to say that he is looking forward to Toronto and remembers watching the race while in England racing go-karts as a kid.
“This is a big deal and watching this race as a kid back in England, this is a nice street race,” he said. “When you get here, you realize it’s more of a street fight. There’s a lot of action on track.”
The course, constructed at Exhibition Place, is a tight street course that Wilson says it gives it that cannon feeling for the straightaway. It also has a special unique feature to it. While the track is mainly asphalt, there are concrete patches in some of the corners, which adds another trick to it.
“The grip level changes,” Wilson explained. “You hit the concrete, the whole car slides and you kind of have a moment there. Right before you hit the wall there, the grip picks back up at the end of the turn. You just got to work at it, pick up more speed each time and sometimes you hit it wrong, hence why I hit the wall there (in 2011).”
Wilson was running in second late in the race trying to catch Will Power in 2011, and hit the patch the wrong way in turn eight, causing him to hit the wall.
“That’s the fun part of street racing and why this track is so challenging, yet so rewarding when you get it right,” he said.
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Jimmie Johnson: While in pursuit of Greg Biffle in the lead, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevy cut a tire and slammed hard into the wall at Turn 2. Biffle went on to win, while Johnson finished 28th, one lap down. He remained the points leader, and holds a 31-point cushion over Carl Edwards.
“I’ll let Biffle enjoy the moment,” Johnson said. “He tastes victory. I drink it.”
2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan, posting his fourth consecutive top-10 result. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 62 out of first.
“Sunday was my first Father’s Day as a father,” Harvick said, “and I finished runner-up to Greg Biffle. I always like to say, ‘I’m a daddy first, and a driver second.’”
3. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished eighth at Michigan, falling victim to an untimely caution, while Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle took the win. Edwards remained second in the point standings and trails Jimmie Johnson by 31.
“Biffle refused to help me get some debris off my grill,” Edwards said. “But I’ve got no problem ‘trashing’ him. I guess my current teammate is a lot like my former teammate, Matt Kenseth, in that neither ‘favors’ me.”
4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth came home sixth at Michigan, collecting his eighth top 10 of the year. He improved one spot in the point standings to fifth and is now 82 out of first.
“Toyota Racing Development is boosting the power of their engines,” Kenseth said. “That likely means Toyota cars will be going faster….when their engines blow.”
5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: A promising day for Earnhardt at Michigan turned sour when his engine blew on lap 131 after he had led 34 laps on the day. He finished 38th and tumbled three places in the point standings to seventh, 91 out of first.
“We’re close to signing a sponsor that will be new to NASCAR,” Earnhardt said, “and it will be a big deal for both parties. In other words, it’s a ‘win-win’ situation, which doubles my number of victories over the last year.”
6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer posted his eight top-10 finish of the year with a seventh in the Quicken Loans 400. He remained third in the point standings and trails Jimmie Johnson by 49.
“The No. 15 5-Hour Energy car took a beating,” Bowyer said. “Of course, it’s taken a ‘beating’ all year, because I haven’t won a single race. That may change. I won last year at Sonoma’s road course, so I’m confident things will make a ‘turn’ for the better.”
7. Kyle Busch: Busch led the way for Joe Gibbs Racing with a fourth in the Quicken Loans 400. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 86 out of first.
“Michigan is a fast track,” Busch said. “It carries more speed than the Mayfield’s. That speed is probably why I was penalized for passing on pit road. And that reminds of the title of my upcoming autobiography, ‘Black Flags And Blue Lights.’”
8. Greg Biffle: Biffle held off Jimmie Johnson at Michigan to give Ford its 1,000th victory in NASCAR. Biffle inherited the lead on a fortunate pit stop on lap 167, and kept Johnson at bay before the No. 48 blew a tire with two laps to go.
“I stared down Johnson,” Biffle said, “and he blinked. Or maybe he just winked. In any case, he saw me. For once, I can say I had the ‘look’ of a champion.
9. Kasey Kahne: Kahne blew a tire while leading on lap 104 at Michigan on a tough day for Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne finished 38th, while Jimmie Johnson was the highest Hendrick finisher in 28th.
“Tire issues meant it wasn’t a good day for Hendrick,” Kahne said. “You want to know why? Because it was a Goodyear.”
10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 12th in the Quicken Laons 400 at Michigan on a historic day for Ford, as Greg Biffle gave the auto maker it’s 1,000th win.
“If you don’t think this is a big deal for Ford,” Keselowski said, “then you’ve been misinformed. Biffle celebrated in Victory Lane with Miss Sprint Cup. Me? I got stuck with ‘Miss Informed.’”
Crunching The Numbers: Sonoma & Road America
That time of the year has come again when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series head for the first road courses of the season in Sonoma, CA and Elkhart Lake, WI, respectively. Many of the road course races in recent memory have turned into races that resemble short track races than the follow the leader races of old and this weekend’s events should be more of the same beating and banging all the way to the finish. Add in the addition of so called “road course ringers” and the road courses make for very entertaining races.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma
This weekend marks the annual trip to California Wine Country and Sonoma Raceway’s lone Sprint Cup date. With the advent of double file restarts, this race has become a must see event due to the narrow course that these drivers are trying to navigate while running two wide. That factor often leads to cars being spun off course and tempers flaring among the drivers. In addition to that, the Sprint Cup Series will debut group based qualifying this weekend and this will also be the Sonoma debut for the Gen6 car, which throws more uncertainty into this race that has not seen a repeat winner in the past eight races.
| Driver | Races | Win | Top 5 | Top 10 | Pole | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| Jeff Gordon | 20 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 450 | 7.4 | 8.6 |
| Clint Bowyer | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 73 | 17.1 | 9.7 |
| Tony Stewart | 14 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 82 | 11.1 | 10.9 |
| Marcos Ambrose | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 46 | 5.0 | 12.8 |
| Ryan Newman | 11 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 10.8 | 12.9 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 18.8 | 13.2 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 85 | 16.0 | 13.8 |
| Greg Biffle | 10 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 16.4 | 14.9 |
| Kevin Harvick | 12 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 16.7 | 16.1 |
| Joey Logano | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 11.8 | 17.0 |
Who To Watch: Four-time Sprint Cup champion, Jeff Gordon, has proven himself to be one of the best on road courses, especially at Sonoma, with five wins, 12 top fives, 16 top tens, five poles, 450 laps led, and an average finish of 8.6 in 20 races.
2012 winner, Clint Bowyer, has also proven his mettle at Sonoma with one win, four top fives, five top tens, 73 laps led, and an average finish of 9.7 in seven races.
Others who run well on the road course include: Tony Stewart, with two wins, five top fives, nine top tens, one pole, 82 laps led, and an average finish of 10.9 in 14 races; Road course ace Marcos Ambrose who has yet to win at Sonoma, but has two top fives, four top tens, one pole, 46 laps led, and an average finish of 12.8 in five races; Ryan Newman, with two top fives, five top tens, 11 laps led, and an average finish of 12.9 in 11 races; 2007 winner, Juan Pablo Montoya, with one win, one top five, four top tens, nine laps led, and an average finish of 13.2 in six races; and Jimmie Johnson, with one win, four top fives, six top tens, 85 laps led, and an average finish of 13.8 in 11 starts.
NASCAR Nationwide Series – Johnsonville Sausage 200 at Road America
For just the fourth time, the Nationwide Series will be making the trek to Wisconsin to take on the daunting 4.048 mile road course, the longest on the circuit. The field will be full of drivers who have never raced at the track or only have one start, leaving the field wide open for a new winner. With none of the Sprint Cup regulars attempting the double and a few “ringers” joining the field, the odds are high that one of the Nationwide regulars will find themselves in Victory Lane for the third race in a row.
| Driver | Races | Win | Top 5 | Top 10 | Pole | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| Nelson Piquet, Jr. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Reed Sorenson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 | 1.0 |
| Brendan Gaughan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Owen Kelly | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
| Sam Hornish, Jr. | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8.0 | 5.0 |
| Cole Whitt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 | 9.0 |
| Elliott Sadler | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| Brian Scott | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 13.3 | 12.0 |
| Max Papis | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 | 13.5 |
| Blake Koch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 14.0 |
Who To Watch: With a win and a pole in his only race at the track last season, Nelson Piquet, Jr. is at the top of the list statistically of the drivers who have competed at Road America. Piquet led 19 laps en route to victory last season and is looking to become the first repeat winner at the track in the short history that the Nationwide Series has there.
The only other driver in the field with a win is Reed Sorenson, who along with his one win has one top five, one top ten, one lap led and an average finish of 1.0 in one start.
Others who run well at Road America, but have yet to win include: Brendan Gaughan, with a third place finish in his lone start; Owen Kelly, piloting Kyle Busch’s No. 54, with a fifth place finish in one start; Sam Hornish, Jr., currently sitting second in points, with a fifth place finish in one start; Cole Whitt, who recently returned to the Nationwide Series, with a ninth place finish in one start; and Elliott Sadler, who is the highest ranking driver with more than one start and has one top five and one top ten in his two starts at the track.
The Least Popular Banner in NASCAR
If you’ve been watching the last two races at Pocono and Michigan on TV, then you’ve probably noticed TNT’s new addition this season. The sponsor banner. Covering a whole line on the top of the screen is this large banner which advertises for multiple companies over the course of the race. It has been a nuisance to fans, because it tends to cover up a good portion of the live race. TNT is always trying to slide these little things in during their Summer Series of racing and once again this year, their new aspect to the race broadcast has fans up in arms.
Through twitter, fans have voiced their opinions against the banner. TNT likely was handed a lot of negative feedback after Pocono regarding the banner, so they downsized it before the Michigan race. In my opinion, it shouldn’t be on the broadcast in the first place, but it was much less of an annoyance during the Michigan race.
The cost of the banner this season has come at the fans expense however. With less room to watch the action on their television screens, they feel as if they are being robbed of the racing that feeds into their living rooms every Sunday and TNT is not a first time offender.
There have been issues regarding TNT’s NASCAR coverage in past years. Most notably was last June at Kentucky where commercials overhauled the actual race. It seemed as every five minutes, fans were being informed of a battle within of a family of which side to have from KFC, mashed potatoes and gravy or mac and cheese? That was TNT’s first stir of the NASCAR fans’ temper and with the new sponsor banner this season, they rekindled that fire. Except this time, it isn’t tied to one race; it’s likely to affect all 6 since the marketing levels in NASCAR continue to rise.
Most everyone is aware of the fact that NASCAR has turned into a marketers dream land. Getting your product advertised to millions of race fans can be cost worthy, but it is worth it. With that, many companies take advantage and it is rewarding to the television companies, but not race fans. Fans now have to sit through an abundance of commercials during each race and every season, television companies are finding new ways to add to the marketing-frenzy.
The sponsor banner just happens to be this season’s version of the sneaky marketing going on behind the camera. What could come next and what could it cost race fans? Losing even more race time would not sit well at all. The simple answer to this problem would be for television producers to put a limit on the amount of marketing going on during the race, but that would cost the television companies lots of money. If the world of NASCAR marketing has come to this, it may start to get ugly when the backlash from fans increases.
Not many people are a fan of the sponsor banner, so TNT should recognize that and move the ad to somewhere else on the running order display. Fans do not want to keep seeing these advertisements overhauling the race broadcast and some believe that TNT is on the verge of crossing the line with it all and they should just stop before they end up costing themselves. Don’t expect any changes in the four remaining races TNT has this season, but NASCAR should start to consider what the fans are thinking of these race broadcasts before signing the million dollar TV contracts. Fans just want to be able to watch the races without being attacked by companies trying to advertise their product, so is it too much to ask for NASCAR to step-in and fix the situation?
