Jimmie Johnson Wins Again!
Johnson Is In The Zone, Montoya Is Making Enemies
We are six races into the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season and Jimmie Johnson has won half of them.
Jimmie Johnson held off his teammate and mentor Jeff Gordon en route to his 26th win of his career.
Whenever the Chicago Bulls were within striking distance in the fourth quarter, you just had that feeling that somehow Michael Jordan was going to hit the game-winning shot. It is the same thing with Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR. If he is anywhere in the top ten with less than 100 laps remaining, chances are that he is somehow going to get out in front and win the race. Johnson is in the zone, and has been since 2004.
Johnson was by no means the fastest car on Sunday at Martinsville, yet pit strategy got him out in front when it counted and he was able to hold off the faster Jeff Gordon. Despite Gordon’s unrelenting bumping over the final laps, Johnson never backed down.
"I'm speechless. I've looked up to him my whole career, before I even was back here racing. I've looked up to him and knew how good he was at Martinsville…That was probably the hardest driving I've ever done," Johnson said.
Gordon’s disappointment was evident, and it seems as if the current dominance of his younger teammate may be causing a slight strain on their relationship.
"The only way I could get by him was to wreck him, but he's my teammate and I tell you what, there's going to be some interesting racing going forward because he blocked me really bad.”
Gordon became keen on the idea of being NASCAR’s top dog, but he has fallen behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart over the past few years. It would be surprising if Gordon did not bump Johnson out of the way if this situation were to transpire again in the near future.
Juan Pablo Montoya has continued to make enemies since joining the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. Last year as a Busch Series part-timer, he was overly critical of several of the Busch Series regulars. So far this season, Montoya has had issues with Carl Edwards, Scott Pruett (his own teammate), Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Ryan Newman, and now Tony Raines.
Raines clearly passed Montoya as clean as you can pass someone at Martinsville. However, Montoya abruptly crossed over to the inside of Raines heading into the turn, driving right into the back of him. Raines, driving for a single-car operation, was having his best race of the season before he was dumped by the much-heralded rookie. He did not restrain from criticizing the former CART Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner after he climbed out of his damaged Chevrolet.
"I don't know how he's thinking, or what his thinking is," Raines said. “(Montoya’s fans) are always going to think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread and I ain't s***, but I don't come out here to wreck people. I didn't wreck him; he shouldn't have wrecked me."
Montoya and Ryan Newman have already had issues dating back to Homestead last November, and it may have escalated a bit at Martinsville. Montoya inadvertently ran into one of Newman’s crewmembers on pit road during the first round of pit stops. But that was just the beginning. Throughout the day, Newman and Montoya traded paint, and it appeared as if Montoya drove into Newman on the straightaway, which did not sit well with the 12-time NASCAR Nextel Cup winner.
In fact, Newman brazenly confronted Montoya after the race and the two engaged in a heated discussion.
"I just wanted to ask him a question. I wanted to know if he had turned down on me on the straightaway and he said he didn't," Newman said after the confrontation.
Top Five NASCAR Nextel Cup Standings
1. Jeff Gordon, 966
2. Jeff Burton, 938
3. Jimmie Johnson, 906
4. Matt Kenseth, 836
5. Kyle Busch, 804
Quote of the week
Tony Raines on Juan Pablo Montoya
"If he's so good, he should be able to not run into the back of somebody."
