CUP: Four Key Moments To Johnson Winning Fourth

Sprint Cup

CUP: Four Key Moments To Johnson Winning Fourth

The four moments in the 2009 season that took Jimmie Johnson to the top, again...

Lee Montgomery | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted December 04, 2009 Las Vegas, NV

Jimmie Johnson (Right) and Chad Knaus (Left) celebrate after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, March 29 2009. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Not long after Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson had wrapped up his record-setting fourth consecutive NASCAR championship, he was asked about turning points during the 2009 Sprint Cup season.

2009 Hendrick Motorsports Victories

Used to having things go right for him most of the time, Johnson could only remember the race at Texas Motor Speedway in early November where he lost 111 points after crashing early in the event.

“I just can't remember,” Johnson said. “I'm just so focused on what happened at Texas.”

The race at Texas provided one of the important moments of the season for Johnson, for the following week at Phoenix International Raceway, Johnson and the No. 48 team bounced back with a victory.

Of course, that wasn’t the only key moment in Johnson’s season. He won seven times, including four in the Chase For The Sprint Cup. But here are four of the top moments for Johnson in 2009:

Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500, Martinsville Speedway, March 29: Johnson started slowly in 2009, finished 31st in Daytona, ninth in California and 24th in Las Vegas. After three races, he was 19th in the points standings.

Johnson then finished ninth at Atlanta and third at Bristol before winning at Martinsville. The win vaulted him to fourth in points and helped make sure his competitors didn’t forget him as a title contender.

“We're in a great position this year,” Johnson said at the time. “Last year, we had to fight all season long to catch up. Fortunately we did in time for the Chase. This year we've had very fast race cars and have been making mistakes. I've made mistakes. The team has made mistakes. The last two or three weeks we've really not made any big mistakes and have hit our stride and got to victory lane.”

Johnson won the race with an aggressive move on Denny Hamlin late in the event for his fifth victory in the last five Martinsville races. He also won it on the 25th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ initial Cup win.

“You know, you can't take things for granted,” Johnson said. “We're very relieved to get the first one of the season. Hopefully there are many more to come. I think it's a huge confidence booster for the new guys that are on our race team. It's a confidence booster for Chad and I.”

AAA 400, Dover International Speedway, Sept. 27: Johnson finished fourth in the first Chase race, but he then dominated the Dover race, leading 271 of the 400 laps to shake up some of other title contenders.

“I'm excited to see that we've gapped some of the other Chase contenders,” Johnson said. “Might not be exciting for the fans and everybody else, but the bigger gap we can put between us and those guys to single out the cars, the easier my job is. That's what I hope we can keep doing.

“But as far as sending a message, I hope it does. I hope people talk about it. I hope people are worried. I hope people are talking about the fact that we tire tested and it's wrong. All these people can get wound up about stuff that really doesn't matter.

“We'll keep our heads down. Keep our blinders on, and we'll go to work. At the end of the day, all the talk means nothing. You've still got to show up in Kansas and run that race. That's what we do a good job of staying focused on doing.”

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Lee Montgomery

SceneDaily.com

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