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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Say It Ain’t So – Johnson In Ninth?
Jimmie Johnson fell to a new low in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted August 23, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Crew members work on the wrecked No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, driven by Jimmie Johnson, after an incident on track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Join NASCAR driver Kyle Busch Tonight on NASCAR Race Hub at 7 pm ET. Busch had a record-setting weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway capturing victories in the Camping World Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series.

Jimmie Johnson did something Saturday night that he hasn’t accomplished since the second race of the season.

He fell to ninth in the Sprint Cup Point standings.

Yes, ninth. It’s decidedly unfamiliar territory for Johnson, winner of the past four Cup championships and never a finisher below fifth in his eight full-time seasons.

This is no reason for panic, of course. Thanks to five wins this season, Johnson will be at or near the top when the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins in three weeks. Those who think he won’t have a solid shot at another championship are living in a dream world.

Still, thanks to Kevin Harvick's amazingly consistent season, Kurt Busch's recent outburst and Denny Hamlin's strong runs earlier in the year, Johnson’s armor has been dented.

He won’t be a prohibitive favorite entering the Chase, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing from the team’s perspective.

“I think if we’re a little bit of an underdog going in, it’s going to be a benefit for us,” said Mike Lingerfelt, the team’s front-tire changer. “I think it’s nice the attention is off us a little. It kind of gets us off the radar and lets us prepare a little better.”

Johnson absorbed a four-position drop in the point standings Saturday night because he was wrecked early at Bristol by Juan Pablo Montoya and finished 35th, his worst performance in 11 races.

The heart of summer has not been kind to Johnson. He hasn’t had a top five since winning back-to-back races at Sonoma and Loudon. In fact, his best finish in the past seven races is a 10th at Pocono.

Those numbers don’t ring true for Johnson, but some of his recent struggles can be tied to experimentation by the 48 team. Some of the teams who have been basically locked into the Chase for weeks have been running different setups to prepare for the “playoffs”.

“It’s a good point in the year where you can try some things and know if they work before you get to the Chase,” Lingerfelt said. “Then you don’t stub your toe when you get there.”

Despite Johnson’s less than stellar runs in recent weeks – whatever the cause, Lingerfelt said the team retains the confidence that has carried the 48 to four straight titles. The fifth title is as anticipated as the first, he said.
Mike Lingerfelt is the front-tire changer for the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team. (Photo: Mike Hembree SPEED.com)

“It’s one of those things that when you win one you want to win two, and when you win two you want to win three and so on,” he said. “At some point, it’s going to come to an end. We really hope it’s not this year.

“We think we have as good a shot as anybody, but you can have all the confidence in the world and go to Talladega and get wrapped up in a big one. Or cut a tire somewhere. If we don’t have a problem, I think we’ll be fine. It’s the things that are out of our control that worry us more than anything.”

Lingerfelt, a former dirt-track driver who has changed tires on championship teams with both Johnson and Tony Stewart, said the 48 crew tries to stay on an even keel from one race to the next, even when the Chase begins.

“We try to stay the same because if you do what got you there and don’t try to go any harder or be any better, you should be good,” he said. “Our pit crew is a lot better when we’re loose and having fun instead of being tense or on the edge. We’re all business all the time and always on our A game, but it works to stay loose and do the things you always do the way you always do them.”

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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