Jimmie Johnson Turning to Mind Games and Experience as Chase Approaches
Jimmie Johnson doesn’t really care what Kyle Busch or Brad Keselowski have done recently. Or what any driver has done in the first 26 races that maybe he hasn’t, like win a few races and go on hot streaks.
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[/media-credit]That’s because Johnson knows when it comes time for the Chase he’s the man that everyone will be watching. He also knows that when the Chase starts the first half of the year doesn’t mean a thing.
“I don’t fault anyone for looking at the last five [races] and saying [this] driver has been hot,” said Johnson in Atlanta. “They’ve been qualifying well, they’ve been winning races. It’s the obvious. Absolutely they are doing the right things there. That momentum is very, very, very helpful for the driver, for the team. It helps build confidence, everything is going the right direction.”
But says Johnson, “I guess this is where this phrase came from that I mentioned a few times, the final ten is its own environment. It’s its own world. What you did in the first 26, yeah there are some small things mentally, emotionally and even with some setups, I guess you that you carry into the Chase. You start over and when you start over it’s a while new world and everybody is a threat at that point.”
Johnson believes that mentally strong teams can overcome bad races they may have leading up to the Chase. For others, just because things are going good now doesn’t mean they’ll stay that way.
The reigning five-time and defending Sprint Cup Series champion has been doing a lot of Chase talking lately. After believing that he got in Denny Hamlin’s head last year during the Chase, Johnson started chided Keselowski about it two weeks ago. Attempting to get a head start getting in the head of one of the hottest drivers on the circuit.
When he’s not playing mind games though, Johnson isn’t afraid to let his competition know he has the experience of past Chases and he’s ready to use it. It’s experience that helps with his emotions and what he says keeps him from riding a roller coaster.
“I’m not going to let the highs take me too high and I’m not going to let the lows take me too low,” Johnson said. “I know what I need to do and I know what my team needs to do to win a sixth championship. Fortunately we have a road map that’s worked in years past. And we’ve had to fall on our experience, especially last year, to win the championship. And hopefully we’ll be able to do that again this year.”
This year, unlike the years past that Johnson talks about, things have been different. While he’s tied for the point lead he’s only been to victory lane once this season, Talladega in April. He’s been shutout at tracks he normally dominates like Martinsville and Phoenix.
Instead of focusing on his lack of bonus points or who the current favorites are, Johnson’s using his words to get one up on the competition. Letting them know now that come the Chase they’re going to hear voices in their heads and there will be pressure that they’ve never felt before, and that it does weird things to drivers in and out of the car. Johnson though, will be immune to it.
“Experience helped me and the team focus on the right things,” Johnson says about his past championships. “You can focus in a lot of areas and during the Chase and especially as it winds down, the brain starts thinking up a lot of stuff; experience over the years has helped me focus in the right areas.”
Focus Johnson will be relying on to beat the likes of Keselowski and Busch during the Chase.
NASCAR in Perspective Thanks to Hurricane Irene
This past weekend, while the stars of NASCAR battled in the Coliseum at Bristol, many on the east coast battled the effects of Hurricane Irene. And for many NASCAR fans, from the Jersey Shore to New England, this weekend’s race was the first one missed in many years because of being in the eye of the storm.
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[/media-credit]While NASCAR traditionally is the focal point of every weekend for hardcore fans, this past weekend for many was consumed instead by long lines at the gas station, even longer lines at the grocery store, and securing as much as possible so that it would not become a flying weapon in the howling wind.
When the storm began in earnest, roaring up the east coast, the race coverage was overpowered instead by hurricane coverage, taking shelter, and hunkering down for safety. The power of Hurricane Irene pre-empted all, putting the real meaning of racing in its proper perspective.
For so many, the driver introduction song of Cup driver Scott Speed, ‘Power’ by Kayne West, took on a whole new meaning thanks to Hurricane Irene. For those in the storm, the loss of power consumed many, not only during the height of the storm but also in its wake.
While Second Lieutenant Trint R. Callison from the Tennessee Army National Guard led the Bristol race crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Guard and other law enforcement personnel all along the path of the hurricane gave the command instead to evacuate and seek safety in local shelters.
The beating and banging that traditionally happens at Bristol was replaced by the beating down of the rain and the banging of the tree limbs and trees themselves as they fell as a result of the hurricane strength wind.
While the Irwin Tools Night Race at the ‘World’s Fastest Half Mile’ had relatively few cautions, the yellow flag was out all over the east coast for roadways that had eroded, dams that did not hold, and bridges that literally washed away from the force of the storm.
NASCAR four-time champion Jeff Gordon may have thought he had challenges on pit road during his run at Bristol, but he faced nothing like the challenges that folks who had to ride buses on the congested roads leading out of Atlantic City to seek shelter in schools and arenas further inland in New Jersey.
And in spite of the many decisions that every crew chief made atop their respective pit boxes, those paled in comparison to the life and death decisions that were made every second on the fly during the storm by the staff of the Office of Emergency Management as they coordinated the critical response to the constantly changing weather conditions.
At the end of the Bristol race, Brad Keselowski was not the only one turning in another ‘Iron Man’ performance yet again. There were countless men and women throughout the hurricane affected area who turned in courageous efforts, saving lives and pulling people from the rising flood waters and the raging streams and rivers.
Unlike NASCAR, which is now in the throes of setting the Chase field to run for the coveted Cup championship, the majority of those impacted by Hurricane Irene are in the throes of trying to clean up, shoveling out their basements filled with muck and mud as they try to pick up the pieces of their lives.
And while the top ten drivers from last year determine if their schedules will allow them to be honored by the President at the White House, those who lived through the storm instead await a visit from the President, in hopes of learning more about the federal assistance from FEMA and help from other entities that may be available to them.
Thankfully, no NASCAR tracks were severely impacted by Hurricane Irene. Richmond International Raceway did lose power, as well as having some trees down, with leaves and debris littering the track.
“Our operations guys were so busy, trying to get generators up and running,” Aimee Turner, RIR director of public relations, said. “We fared well compared to what the State has fared.”
Similar situations occurred at both New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the ‘Monster Mile’ at Dover, however, again the damage was minimal.
“Unfortunately, many of our fans within the New England area were hit worse and our thoughts are with them,” Kristen Costa, NHMS director of communications said.
One nearby race track took matters into its own hands, providing hope to many affected by Hurricane Irene. Pocono Raceway, in cooperation with the American Red Cross of the Poconos, raised over $8,000 through their Hurricane Irene Disaster Relief Ride.
“Hurricane Irene was the latest natural disaster to have taxed the resources of the Red Cross and Pocono Raceway was proud to help in the disaster relief effort,” Brandon Igdalsky, Pocono Raceway President and CEO, said. “Pocono Raceway would like to thank everyone who participated in the ride for their time and generosity, even though some individuals suffered property damage and were still without electricity days after the storm.”
That perhaps is the best perspective on the Bristol race weekend that was pre-empted for many by Hurricane Irene. For truly it is about NASCAR fans helping fellow fans and neighbors helping neighbors in need.
And while setting the field for the Chase may seem all-consuming and important, all should remember that helping those recover from this storm warrant their continued attention, prayer and support.
