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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Two Weeks In, Johnson Shining
Jimmie Johnson started 2010 the way he ended last year, winning races...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted February 23, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Jimmie Johnson celebrates his 48th career win Sunday at Auto Club speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Purveyors of doom and gloom might point out that Jimmie Johnson already has won 50 percent of the races this season, has been the recipient of a boatload of luck and can succeed even when dressed inappropriately.
Jimmie Johnson celebrates his 48th career win Sunday at Auto Club speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Members of the Anybody But Jimmie clubs (and there reportedly are chapters in all 50 states and most of the territories) might turn to panic early in the year.

At this rate, Johnson might lock up a Chase spot by Easter. Despite the fact he finished 35th in the season-opening Daytona 500 and Jimmie Watchers saw hope at the end of the tunnel, his victory Sunday in Fontana, Calif. boosted him to 12th in the point standings. If they started the Chase today, Johnson would be in the not-so-dirty dozen and would be on the road toward a fifth straight championship.

Maybe he already is.

In post-race press conferences Sunday, second-place Kevin Harvick and third-place Jeff Burton were left trying to explain how Johnson won again despite the fact the RCR cars were super strong all day.

After acknowledging that Johnson’s team had an impressive Sunday, Harvick got down to basics. “They did a good job today in winning the race,” he said, “but they have a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass. I mean, there’s no way to get around that.”

Tell us how you really feel, Kevin.

Harvick’s somewhat colorful response was based on two concepts: 1. He could have won the race and didn’t. 2. Johnson did win the race, largely because he was able to roll out of the pits a second or two in front of Burton, then the leader, during a late-race caution period.

That move put Johnson in first place, a spot he didn’t relinquish the rest of the way. It was more than a touch of luck, as Johnson admitted.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. On Sunday, Johnson was both. Although the pit road/caution scenario certainly gave him the opening to the victory, he had one of the day’s best cars. He led a race-high 101 (of 250) laps and held onto the lead over the closing 24 despite Harvick’s aggressive pursuit.

Johnson has led the most laps in four of the past five races at Auto Club Speedway.

Burton, who faded late, said Harvick had the best shot to catch Johnson, but, in the end, as it so often seems in discussions about overcoming the Johnson-Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut, it was all about what might have been.

“Kevin, in retrospect, had a better chance to win than we did because he got up there and we didn’t,” Burton said. “If things would have been different, I don’t know. But they weren’t different. They were what they were.”

In other words, it is what it is, to use a favorite NASCAR phrase. Despite a sour Daytona, Johnson is back in the upfront mix.

What happens from here?

“You know, not to be corny, but we just need to keep winning,” Johnson said. “It’s great to win the big races. I’m here to win races. I love winning races. The only way you win championships is by winning races. If we’re winning races, we’re going to win a championship.”

As matters developed Sunday, Johnson’s only significant mistake was in the dress code. He wore an older uniform, a portion of which proclaimed him to be a “three-time champion.”

That should have been four.

And maybe five.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.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.


The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

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