WATCH THAT 48 DOMINATE

“Wow” is all I have to say this week. The Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship seems to once again be morphing into the “Chase for Jimmie Johnson.” Same song, 4th verse? Seems like this is getting old. However, Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team played their cards correctly once again, and used quick pit work and a lightning quick final restart to secure yet another victory in 2009.



We had to expect this from the Lowe’s team, as they had won 3 previous times at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Now that he’s got win #4 in the bag, he continues to motor to a 4th championship. Plus he held on for the win with 4 laps to go. His car number is a multiple of 4. Each DIGIT on his car number is a multiple of 4. Something tells me this is foreshadowing a pretty bright future in this chase for JJ.

Despite an unusually high number of caution flags (7) including a huge wreck near the finish, lots of the chase drivers were able to lock in excellent finishes. Jeff Gordon ended up 2nd, Juan Pablo Montoya continues to impress with solid runs, finishing 3rd and FORMER points leader Mark Martin ending up 4th. Tony Stewart ended up 5th with Carl Edwards 6th and Kurt Busch ending up 8th to round out the chase drivers in the top 10. ABC continued to keep the viewers updated on all the chase drivers, however sometimes it was overload. The cookie cutter 2 mile tracks allow for the announcers to fill a lot of time, especially when the racing gets boring.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I have to give this broadcast a 7. It’s not so much the fault of ABC, but they consistently made a huge deal about how dominant Jimmie Johnson is. Every week, the announcers say the same things: “Jimmie Johnson is unstoppable.” “Somebody’s going to have to get up there and challenge that 48 car.” It’s just become a dull chase for fans of other drivers…and I feel that it’s been a dull chase with one car dominating everything.

Next week, another similar track awaits the NASCAR guys as they travel back across country to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. I will be incredibly surprised if Jimmie Johnson doesn’t win this race. He’s just too strong, especially at Lowe’s. However, Mark Martin needs to keep pace with his Hendrick teammate since Martin is now 2nd in points. Despite Martin’s 4th place finish, he’s now 12 points behind. Can someone stop the Lowe’s team at Lowe’s Motor Speedway? Until Saturday!!