Having taken eight races to work himself back into top spot in the Nextel Cup standings, Jimmie Johnson isn't about to give it up easily, and is confident that this weekend's Checker Auto Parts 500 in Phoenix will allow his to strengthen his grip on the competition.
The #48 Lowe's Chevrolet driver leads the Chase by 17 points after his second consecutive runners-up finish at Texas last weekend, and appears to be hitting consistency at just the right time. He is the only driver to post seven top ten starts in the eight Chase races this year, and the only Chase driver with four top five finishes in 2006. He has led in six of the eight Chase races, the most of any driver, and can count 40 lap leader bonus points among his season's tally. Johnson may still be looking for his first win at PIR, but still counts it as a positive venue for his team.
"It's always been a good track for me," the long-time regular season points leader said, "Our short track and mile programmes have been getting stronger and stronger, so I carry a lot of confidence going in [to Phoenix].
"In the race, turns three and four have a second lane at times. Turns one and two definitely have outside lanes, so you can work on someone and try passing him. I would love another lane or two at that race track - if there was progressive banking in three and four, it would really help.
"But I still think that, for a mile race track, it puts on a great race. It's more competitive than what we have at Loudon and I'm excited to go there. I think we'll perform well. Every race track has it's own area that you've got to focus on so, I still end up giving 100 per cent if it's Darlington or Martinsville or Talladega or Phoenix - they're all different disciplines, but you've really got to focus hard on the right things."
For the second time in this year's Chase, all ten drivers changed positions in Texas, with Johnson becoming the fourth different pilot to lead the field. Things weren't looking as bright for him early in the post-season, and Johnson considered his championship hopes dashed after falling to eighth in the standings, 156 points behind then-leader Jeff Burton after four Chase races. The fightback, however, gained pace with four consecutive finishes in the top five, including a win at Martinsville and runners-up finishes in another three races. During that stretch, Johnson gained 173 points, climbing from eighth to first.
"We've been through the ups and downs of the seasons, with the disappointment of not winning the championship and all the different trying things that really try relationships in our sport," he said, paying tribute to Rick Hendrick's team for their part in his resurgence, "We've stuck by each other's sides and found a way through it.
"Believe me, there were times when it was tough to work through it, but Rick is so good at that and he is a great people person. That's one of his biggest assets. Through the discussions he has had with myself and [crew chief] Chad [Knaus], we were really able to focus on the right things and take a lot of the pressure we were putting on ourselves off and have a great season.
"Rick is great you know, if you look at what he's done with Kyle Busch and bringing Jeff Gordon in and getting him his start and all the different characters he's had at HMS along the way. He's made winners out of all of them."
