Mark Martin calls him “Superman.” One more than one occasion, this observer has called him “Mr. Opportunity.” For the record- Jimmie Johnson is called the winner of the Brickyard 400.
Give his team credit: on a track where passes are hard to come by, Johnson had a car that could move. He started 16th, but by the time the cars raced off of pit road after the race’s second caution, Johnson was in the top 5 after a steady progression through the field.
He was by no means the fastest car in the field. for much of the day, Juan Pablo Montoya displayed the dominant form that earned him a win in the 2000 Indianapolis 500. At times, the #42 from Earnhardt- Ganassi Racing had near 5-second lead over Mark Martin in second, and 16-second edge over 10th place at one point.
It looked like Montoya couldn’t lose. While Mark Martin, Johnson, Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle were running around the top five all day, no one had an answer for Montoya’s raw speed.
Maybe it was adrenaline, perhaps it was over-aggressiveness, Montoya
believes he got jobbed. Whatever the case, the record will reflect that the former open wheel ace was caught speeding on pit road, according to the computer monitor- handing the lead to Martin.
A blown engine on Earnhardt’s ride opened the door for a double file re-start, with Martin and Johnson out front. The venerable vet took the inside row, leaving Johnson to go outside.
Johnson quickly snatched the lead. For much of the final 13 laps, Martin put his best driving to work to try to catch Johnson, the 3-time defending champ did his best driving to hold off the newest member of the Hendrick Motorsports team.
On a weekend where he started with a mid-pack piece, on a day where he wasn’t the fastest- Jimmie Johnson claimed his second straight Brickyard victory and his third win of the 2009 season.
For Martin, his second place finish gives him separation between himself and the 13th
spot just outside the chase. Martin has risen from 11th to 9th in the season’s points. With a series leading for wins, if the chase started today, Mark Martin is the number one seed with Johnson in second and points leader Tony Stewart in third. Smoke finished a solid third and increased his lead over the second place Johnson, who overtakes Jeff Gordon (who finished 9th) in the standings.
Despite three wins on the season- Kyle Busch has fallen to 14th. A blown right front tire ruined Busch’s Brickyard quest. I want to also salute him for talking to the media after his wreck. You know he didn’t want to- who would in his position? Busch still answered questions and offered his insight on the wreck that took him out of contention for a 38th place finish.
Let’s flash back on Montoya for a moment. Not two years ago, the Colombian made headlines for his fiery temper and a perceived recklessness on the track. If you saw the race, you saw the contact between Montoya and Joey Logano as they battled for 11th. JPM kept his head, got an 11th place finish and still remains inside the top 12 with a good shot at contending in the next pair of races.
Conspiracy theorists won’t buy it- but remember this: pit road speeds aren’t monitored by a guy with a stop watch. They’re monitored by computer. Funny how the same people in 2007 were saying Montoya would be propped up by NASCAR in a drive for diversity are now saying the governing body robbed him of a win. It’s too bad, because with a 5-second lead, he didn’t have to push that hard.
Speaking of improvement, how about Joey Logano? He starts from the back of the field and steadily works his way through the field for a 12th-place finish- just ahead of Reed Sorenson.
Teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth needed good days to stay in chase contention. Biffle was a solid top five car and finished fourth. Kenseth took 10th, leaving him currently in 12th- about 50 points ahead of 13th place David Reutimann (Beak finished 8th). Biffle jumps from 13th in the points to 11th, just behind Montoya.
Brian Vickers finished the day with a solid top five run, keeping himself in the hunt should anyone stumble. Kevin Harvick shook off the distractions about where he’ll be in 2010 with a 6th place result. Kasey Kahne indicates he may be here to stay with a 7th place run.
No news is good news when it comes to the tires. In post race interviews, the outspoken Stewart was particularly effusive of the work that Goodyear and NASCAR put into making sure there wasn’t another caution-riddled debacle.
From here, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads east from the heartland. First to Pocono, then the road course at Watkins Glen.
PHOTO CREDITS- Johnson by Ezra Shaw/ Getty Images. Montoya car photo by Jamie Squire/ Getty Images. Johnson and Martin racing side-by-side by Geoff Burke/ Getty Images. Johnson pulling away from Martin by Jamie squire/ Getty Images.
{ 6 comments }
Montoya got me to watch nascar.. I was pulling for him so bad! such is life.
I didn’t think the race was very good. It was boring. Juan was leading the race at INDY (the most laps led) and he had a 6 second lead. It was a HUGE letdown when he was caught for speeding. I felt sick for him.
I’m not accusing Nascar of blowing the call. It would be nice if the pit road speed was posted (just like the track speed is shown). The technology is there and there is no excuse to not use it. It would benefit Nascar and show that they aren’t playing favorites.
I’m a HMS fan but their ‘celebration’ is sappy and appears somewhat fake and scriped at times. Today was one of those times. I think I saw Mr. Hendrick hug JJ 5 different times in 45 minutes. Going out to the track to hug him. Chad going out to tell him he was the greatest driver and ‘the man’. Mark going to Victory Lane then calling him ‘Superman’. Now JJ is calling Mark the Bionic Man. They are crossing the line into boasting and putting on a show for the TV cameras. The JJ celebrations are not spontaneous (in almost every single case) IMO.
When Jimmie said that he hoped the fans enjoyed the (great) show, I was wondering is he naive or trying to convince us that the race we saw wasn’t really as boring as it was.
@Stu. I felt bas for JPM too. He sure had a car.
@Susan. It would be intellectually dihonest for me to say I really enjoyed yesterday’s race because overall, I didn’t. My heart did pound as Martin
tried to reel in Johnson, but you knew it was near impossible. On days like this, I try to find something else positive to take away- such as no tire problems this time, or how my favorite drivers did. I liken it to a blowout football game where the champion pulls one out in spite of the other team playing better for much of the day.
I’m not a Montoya fan, but he and the team really could have used that one. I feel bad for him and the team. I agree with Susan, NASCAR has technology there are not using. If they don’t want fans to speculate, use the technology!
It was a very strange race that was actually decided by a car going too fast. Who would have thought that, certainly not me.
Juan Pablo speeding was huge chance for Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin.
So, others share in my sentiment, truth I am not yet crazy!
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