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Sprint Cup
CUP: Johnson Ready To Roll
Jimmie Johnson will be going for a sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in 2012...
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, puts on his helmet. (Photo: Getty Images)
After a year in which Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team often made the kinds of mistakes that normal teams make, the five-time champion is looking to rebound in a big way.
Of course, when you’re Johnson, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is a zero-sum game. Either you win the championship or you don’t. Last year, Johnson finished a career-worst sixth in points, which for most drivers would be a good season but for Johnson was a huge disappointment.
Still, Johnson said he sees a silver lining to the end of his remarkable run of five consecutive championships — he’s no longer burdened with trying to keep his record streak alive, and that has him more relaxed heading into the 2012 season.
“I really think it’s less pressure,” Johnson said. “I didn’t realize the weight of the streak until it was over after Phoenix. It was literally a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. But now that that’s gone, it’s just like starting over. Start over at square one and try to win another championship.”
With the competition deeper than ever at the top of the charts, winning No. 6 will be a formidable task. Guys like Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick figure prominently in the title mix for 2012, and Johnson’s own teammates Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne could make a lot of noise, too.
Although it may seem odd to some, Johnson’s 2012 confidence stems from the fact that the team could have won in 2011, but shot itself in the foot repeatedly.
“The way in which we lost this championship, I think, is more motivating than anything,” Johnson said. “We as a team made mistakes that kept us from winning a championship. I think early in the year the speed of our cars and our pit stops kept us from winning, but we corrected those issues. We need to learn from those mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future.”
Despite the occasional rumors that crew chief Chad Knaus would move to a management position at Hendrick, he will be back for an 11th season on top of the pit box for Johnson. The bulk of the crew will be, too.
“I think everybody’s returning,” Johnson said. “There’s always a couple of question marks in making sure that we have exactly what we need, but I’m 99 percent sure everybody is returning. When I look at what went on during the course of the year, we got our pit-road stuff situated. We found some speed in our cars — we still need some more.”
One thing that definitely has Johnson’s attention is the arrival of new teammate Kahne, who will be paired with Jeff Gordon in one of the Hendrick shops, with Johnson and Earnhardt in the other. Of particular interest to Johnson is Kahne’s crew chief, Kenny Francis, who will bring some new ideas to the team.
“Kenny Francis and Kasey Kahne coming in are going to be a great spark,” Johnson said. “Kenny goes about things a little differently. Kenny’s cars are designed and set up a little differently than what we’ve been doing, so there’s going to be some information going both directions there and we can refine our product, and the final product should be a better product for 2012. So I feel really good about moving forward.
“I want to look at ’11 and say it was a building year,” Johnson said. “We had a lot to overcome on pit road and the speed in our cars at the start of the year. And we got there, so I hope that we can come back real hungry and dedicated and get it done.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
Of course, when you’re Johnson, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is a zero-sum game. Either you win the championship or you don’t. Last year, Johnson finished a career-worst sixth in points, which for most drivers would be a good season but for Johnson was a huge disappointment.
Still, Johnson said he sees a silver lining to the end of his remarkable run of five consecutive championships — he’s no longer burdened with trying to keep his record streak alive, and that has him more relaxed heading into the 2012 season.
“I really think it’s less pressure,” Johnson said. “I didn’t realize the weight of the streak until it was over after Phoenix. It was literally a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. But now that that’s gone, it’s just like starting over. Start over at square one and try to win another championship.”
With the competition deeper than ever at the top of the charts, winning No. 6 will be a formidable task. Guys like Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick figure prominently in the title mix for 2012, and Johnson’s own teammates Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne could make a lot of noise, too.
Although it may seem odd to some, Johnson’s 2012 confidence stems from the fact that the team could have won in 2011, but shot itself in the foot repeatedly.
“The way in which we lost this championship, I think, is more motivating than anything,” Johnson said. “We as a team made mistakes that kept us from winning a championship. I think early in the year the speed of our cars and our pit stops kept us from winning, but we corrected those issues. We need to learn from those mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future.”
Despite the occasional rumors that crew chief Chad Knaus would move to a management position at Hendrick, he will be back for an 11th season on top of the pit box for Johnson. The bulk of the crew will be, too.
“I think everybody’s returning,” Johnson said. “There’s always a couple of question marks in making sure that we have exactly what we need, but I’m 99 percent sure everybody is returning. When I look at what went on during the course of the year, we got our pit-road stuff situated. We found some speed in our cars — we still need some more.”
One thing that definitely has Johnson’s attention is the arrival of new teammate Kahne, who will be paired with Jeff Gordon in one of the Hendrick shops, with Johnson and Earnhardt in the other. Of particular interest to Johnson is Kahne’s crew chief, Kenny Francis, who will bring some new ideas to the team.
“Kenny Francis and Kasey Kahne coming in are going to be a great spark,” Johnson said. “Kenny goes about things a little differently. Kenny’s cars are designed and set up a little differently than what we’ve been doing, so there’s going to be some information going both directions there and we can refine our product, and the final product should be a better product for 2012. So I feel really good about moving forward.
“I want to look at ’11 and say it was a building year,” Johnson said. “We had a lot to overcome on pit road and the speed in our cars at the start of the year. And we got there, so I hope that we can come back real hungry and dedicated and get it done.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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