Benton: Despite bad race, Johnson not giving up

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The math looks bad, but Jimmie Johnson declared Tuesday he shouldn't be counted out of the Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship.

Sunday at New Hampshire, in the first of the 10 Chase races, Johnson had problems with a plug wire, then was involved in an accident.

As a result, he fell from second to ninth in the points standings, 139 behind leader Kevin Harvick.

In the first two years of the Chase, no driver has been able to overcome a triple-digit deficit after one race and finish higher than third.

"I think we have it in us," Johnson said on NASCAR's weekly teleconference. "We were 247 points down in '04 with six races remaining and only lost by eight points. My guys have done the math. We need to outscore (Harvick) by 15.4 points from this point on to end up in the points lead."

One bad race can have more of an impact in the Chase than a bunch of good finishes, but Johnson is hoping to change all of that.

"All we can do is control our own destiny, show up and give a hundred percent," he said. "We need to score points, a lot of points, every race. I don't know if guys are going to have troubles. Frankly, I'm not going to live in a world where I'm hoping for someone to have trouble. I'm going to live in a world where I need to go out and score points.

"I have all the confidence in my team, in myself, and I know we're capable of winning this championship still."

Johnson, who has four victories this season, will compete Sunday at Dover International Speedway, where, in nine career starts, he has won three races, including the 2005 Dover 400, and recorded four other top-10 finishes.

"I think the whole scheme of things in the Chase, there are a lot of good tracks for the (No.) 48 team," Johnson said. "I feel like there's a lot of good chances for me to score points."

Stewart backs separate Chase races

The shoe, as the saying goes, is on the other foot this season for defending Cup champion Tony Stewart, who failed to make the Chase.

"It is kind of frustrating, and now I know what Jeff (Gordon) and Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) and those guys that were outside the Chase went through last year," Stewart said. "It is real frustrating when you are racing those guys that are in the top 10 in points. You are just so cautious around them, and it is hard to race real hard and be around those guys and worry about getting into them."

Stewart finished second last Sunday at New Hampshire but created headlines when he suggested Chase contenders should have a separate points system and, perhaps, even separate races.

"I'm in favor of it," Stewart said. " . . . If I had my way and could change NASCAR for a day, I would have had the guys that didn't make the Chase, from 11th on back, run our own 200-mile race, no holds barred on that. Then the top 10 guys in points could have run their own 200-mile race after that.

"At least that way they are racing each other for their points. You don't have teams that didn't make the playoffs playing against teams that did make the playoffs in the playoffs."

Pit stops

• NASCAR and Richard Childress Racing rebuffed a report by Speed TV's Bob Dillner that NASCAR found "doctored" wheel rims on the cars of Harvick and Jeff Burton after the New Hampshire race. Burton expressed his anger about the story Tuesday, but the network backed Dillner. "Speed reporter Bob Dillner has a strong record of solid reporting from the NASCAR garage," executive producer Chris Long said. "So there is no rational reason for us to consider that the events and conversations he released to Speed viewers are anything other than the truth."

• Qualifying will be important at Dover because pit road is tight and makes pit selection important. The fastest qualifiers earn early pit selections. Six of the past seven races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position.

• Harvick, who got hot at the right time, is leading the points standings for the first time in his career. He has won three of the past six races, including consecutive wins at Richmond and New Hampshire. He has scored 1,585 points in the past 10 races, 118 more than Denny Hamlin, who is in second place. Harvick has recorded five top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at Dover.

• The 146 points by which 10th-place Kyle Busch, Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, trails is the most any Chase driver has been behind after one race in three years.

• Chevrolet has clinched the 2006 Manufacturers' Championship. The title is the 30th since 1952 for Chevy and the 26th in the modern era (since 1972). Chevrolet drivers have won 16 of the 27 races this season.

• Kenny Wallace didn't qualify the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet for last week's race at New Hampshire, and crew chief Joe Garone blamed the car's brakes. "Unfortunately, we didn't locate the problem until practice was over," Garone said. "This kept us from running a good lap for qualifying." Before heading to Dover, the Furniture Row team will test this week in Kentucky, with driver Max Papis filling in for Wallace.

bentonj@RockyMountainNews.com