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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: A Threepeat For Johnson?
Jimmie Johnson has won at Indy the last two years...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted July 24, 2010   Indianapolis, IN
Jimmie Johnson is typically stellar in the Chase. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
They said Jimmie Johnson couldn’t pull off what was once unimaginable – four straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championships.

He did it, of course, and seemingly without stressing a muscle.

Now comes the next big “in a row” challenge for Johnson – becoming the first driver to win three straight Brickyard 400s.

He’ll be among a handful of favorites when the green flag falls around 1 p.m. ET Sunday on the 17th running of the 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“When you win a race here, you’ve earned it,” Johnson said. “The Daytona 500 is an amazing event. But there are circumstances out of the team and driver’s control that can lead to you winning the race – somebody giving you a push or not pushing you in a certain situation. Here that doesn't take place.

“If you win this race, you’ve earned every inch of it for 400 miles and put yourself in a position to win.”

The more laps a driver logs at Indy, Johnson said, the better his shot at understanding what happens next.

“It’s so tough to win here,” he said. “I think experience really helps in the long run. You understand how important each lap is at the start of the weekend. You show up focused and ready on your qualifying practice, so that for qualifying you can start as close to the front as possible. I think that's really, really important here.

“Then the experience during the race. Knowing how to pass cars and set your car up to run in traffic. That is a very narrow racing lane all the way around the race track for us. Experience makes a big difference. I think that’s why you see so many repeat winners here.”
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In addition to winning the past two races here, Johnson also scored in 2006. He, teammate Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart are the race’s only multiple winners.

Seeing the Indianapolis 500 trophy and four-time winner Rick Mears’ positioning on it four times impressed Johnson.

“I was here with Rick Mears and to be able to look at the Warner Trophy with his four faces on it – the fact that he had won the 500 four times,” Johnson said. “Looking at our trophy with my face on it three times, that's really cool.

This track means a lot to motorsports in general. Doesn't matter what form of racing you came from.

“To win here is very, very special to me, and I hope to win again," Johnson said.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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