I’ll let the photos do the talking, enjoy!
Priceless. 
A Jimmie Johnson fan meets her man Wednesday at Foley’s in New York City during Champions Week. (Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s team for winning their third consecutive Sprint Cup Championship.
I know in the weeks leading up to this past Sunday I was hoping for someone else to come along and take the Championship from Jimmie, but that was all for the sake of drama. I just wanted it to be more interesting and less boring. You have to admit that while it is a truly amazing, huge task to win any Championship three times in a row it is sort of boring to watch.
But never mind all that, Jimmie has proved that he is a phenomenal driver and Chad Knaus has proved that he’s a crazy smart crew chief. I just wonder how long they can keep themselves together.
For me the star of the post-race coverage was Jimmie’s dad, Gary. I think his reaction and the emotion on his face was priceless. I loved how he talked about having to learn how to text on his cell phone so that he could stay in contact with his super busy son. It was just a really sweet moment. I like seeing things like that — genuine emotions — instead of people trying to capture a moment in time that can’t possibly described. It was easier to understand what winning this Championship meant to Jimmie and his family from listening to his dad talk about remembering the time they used to watch the Ford 400 back home in Southern California.
In other news…
– Congratulations to Carl Edwards for making a valiant effort in challenging Jimmie for the Sprint Cup. Throughout this whole thing what I loved about Carl was his positive attitude and all of the energy he put towards extinguishing every option available to him during the Chase. His final post-race interview in victory lane at Homestead was, to be completely honest, very inspiring. I mean, let’s be real here, there are worse things than coming in second.
– I’ve never been the biggest Tony Stewart supporter but I was sad that he wasn’t able to come home with one more win for the No. 20 Home Depot team before they parted ways this year. It would have been a super emotional victory lane and it sucks that it wasn’t meant to be.
– Congratulations to Clint Bowyer for holding onto the Nationwide Series Championship this weekend! I’m happy for that guy, even if I couldn’t really tell if he was that happy about it. hehe. I know logically that he was but I haven’t quite gotten that guy figured out just yet.
– Congratulations to Johnny Benson for winning the Craftsman Truck Series Championship! The Nationwide and Craftsman Series should have received top billing this year because of how close the points standings were going into their final races.
– I can’t believe Jeff Gordon finished the year winless. That team has some serious splainin’ to do my friend.
Tony Stewart poses with crew chief Greg Zipadelli, team owners J.D. Gibbs and Joe Gibbs and crew members of his No. 20 Home Depot Toyota before his 356th and final start for Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart finished ninth, his 207th top-10 finish. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Tony Stewart greets fans during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, 2008 in Homestead, Florida. (Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship after the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, 2008 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, started 37th and finished fourth during Sundays season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports)
Johnny Benson, driver of the #23 Exide Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series after racing during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 14, 2008 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Clint Bowyer, driver of the #2 BB&T Chevrolet, poses after winning the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship after the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 15, 2008 in Homestead, Florida. (Getty Images for NASCAR)
Apparently the new “in” thing is to call for changes to the Chase format. Whatever. You can’t build in suspense, no matter what you do someone can always run away with it.
It was great that Carl Edwards won at Atlanta this weekend. What wasn’t great was that it didn’t really matter. I still have hope that something amazing will happen, but I can see the writing on the wall just like everybody else. It makes me want to puke.
But it didn’t keep me from wondering out loud to myself why Tony Eury Jr. can’t be more like Chad Knaus. Have you ever wondered what Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career would be like if he had Chad as his crew chief? Hmmm??
So here’s my suggestion on how to make the Chase better for next year: All of the race teams, that aren’t the 48, need to get BETTER!
Driver David Stremme checks out times during Friday’s practice at Memphis. (Photo Credit: Dak Dillon for NASCAR)
So cute!
Sam Hornish Jr. driver of the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge with his Daughter Addison before practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 24, 2008 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Marc Davis waits for his turn to qualify Saturday at Memphis Motorsports Park. Davis will start from the fourth position. (Photo Credit: Dak Dillon for NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, talks with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports)
Apparently it was beanie day for a couple of the Hendrick drivers.
Casey Mears, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet, started 22nd and finished 12th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports)
Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet, stands on the grid with wife Kim and daughter Paige, during the national anthem sung by “American Idol” alum and Atlanta resident Michael Johns Sunday before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
I have some homework for you and I recommend that you do it right now. Not because it’ll enhance your life but mostly because it’s super fun!
I’ve been playing with the ESPN Results Simulator for the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship for the past 2 hours and I love it. You get to try out different race result scenarios for the upcoming race.
I immediately dropped Jimmie Johnson way in the back in the 43rd position and set it up so that Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards finished first, second and third at this weekend’s race in Atlanta. With that finish in place it would push Jimmie back to second, 4 points behind Jeff Burton. Hehe. I looove it. And get this, when the race is on this weekend you can go into Live Race Mode and see how your predictions stack up in real time. I know my little race simulation isn’t super plausible but it makes me happy and that’s all that matters.
One really funny thing about the simulator is that when I picked up Jimmie and placed him in 43rd he said, “You’re a really negative person aren’t you?”
In other news…
– To prove that I’m not a negative person and that I do actually like Jimmie in general I’m posting this video from ESPN The Magazine’s “For Love Or The Game” feature. Let’s find out who knows Jimmie better: his wife Chandra or his crew chief Chad Knaus.
I’m watching ESPN’s coverage of NASCAR right now; basically it’s all about how the qualifying and Nationwide practice sessions have been rained out.
A little bit earlier Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett were interviewing crew chief Chad Knaus when I happened to see a NASCAR headline crawl across the bottom of my screen. It said that Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick got into an “altercation” in the garage at Lowe’s Motor Speedway today.
Get out! Gosh, I wish I could have been there to see that! Apparently the confrontation stemmed from the comments Harvick made last weekend at Talladega, something about him calling Edwards a “pansy.” I find this all very interesting. Is it just me or does it seem like Carl has been more, uhm, how do I say this, uh… assertive this year?
So the only question I have after watching the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard this weekend is this: If you know that the Brickyard is notorious for being really hard on tires and you have a new car that puts more weight on the right side tires why wouldn’t you schedule a testing session there??
Someone’s oversight was our craptastic and yet intriguing race. I’m sure everyone probably thought the race was boring but I thought it was fun (and Dale Jr. agreed with me, not in the exact same way, but still). It kept me watching, waiting for someone’s tire to blow. It never got old watching the pit stops and waiting for the shots of the used up tires to pop up. It made pit stops that much more important because at the end whoever got out of there first was pretty much sure to lead the race and ultimately win it.
And that’s what happened for Jimmie Johnson and the fact that it was he who won and not Kyle Busch pretty much left me on cloud nine. I was all set for a one woman riot if Kyle won again.
The thing that bugged me the most about the race came at the end when I had to wade through SportsCenter in order to get to some short interview clips and a shot of Jimmie & his team kissing the bricks. ESPN did a good job before the race with their taped interviews with Jeff Gordon and Richard Childress, but they missed the mark with their post race coverage.
I’m sorry but I don’t care about baseball scores or Brett Favre’s stilted comeback, at least not when it’s RIGHT after the NASCAR Cup race and I want to hear from the drivers and I want to see if the drivers faces are covered in rubber and dust like everybody said they would be.
But yea, I didn’t get that. I didn’t have enough patience to sit and wait and see if they would have more different coverage later on in the show. I just hope they don’t do this with every race.
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon congratulates Jimmie Johnson on his Allstate 400 at the Brickyard victory. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
(L-R): Crew chief Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson, Chandra Johnson and owner Rick Hendrick kiss the yard of bricks after winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Isn’t she cuuute?!
Six-year-old Lucille Nace of Farmerville, Ohio gets an autograph from Scott Riggs prior to practice for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. (Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
A view of a Goodyear tire with excessive wear after a competition caution during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27, 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Introducing “sexy” Tony!
Tony Stewart is all smiles in the garage after unveiling his new car number and sponsors at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
