NASCAR Jimmie Johnson

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Championship 4 Drivers are Tightly Bunched at Homestead; Harvick Wins Pole

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo - Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson’s rueful rhetorical question told the story of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“What’s a championship race without a little drama?” Johnson asked after earning the 14th starting position during a session fraught with difficulty for the No. 48 team.

Kevin Harvick, who was eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last Sunday at Phoenix, won the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship 4 race on NBC at 2:30 pm ET, touring the 1.5-mile track in 30.399 seconds (177.637 mph) during the money round. Continue reading →

Jimmie Johnson Embraces the Prospect of Seven Championships

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MIAMI BEACH, FL - NOVEMBER 17: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowes Chevrolet, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
MIAMI BEACH, FL – NOVEMBER 17: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowes Chevrolet, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

You might think Jimmie Johnson would try to put the prospect of a record-tying seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title out of his mind—at least until the Ford EcoBoost 400 Nov. 20 on NBC at 2:30 pm ET concludes on Sunday night.

You’d be wrong.

But that doesn’t mean Johnson’s focus won’t be on the matters at hand as he tries to equal the iconic mark set by NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Continue reading →

Falling Short in 2011 Gives Carl Edwards Motivation for Title Run

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MIAMI BEACH, FL - NOVEMBER 17: Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Arris Surfboard Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
MIAMI BEACH, FL – NOVEMBER 17: Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Arris Surfboard Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Five years have passed since Carl Edwards got his last shot at a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

And earlier this week, he got a painful-if-instructive reminder.

In 2011, Edwards came to Homestead-Miami Speedway with a three-point lead over Tony Stewart in what had evolved into a two-man battle for the series title.

Stewart won the race, and Edwards ran second, leaving the drivers tied for the points lead at the end of the Chase. But Stewart claimed the championship via tiebreaker, having won an unprecedented five of the Chase races. Continue reading →

Johnson, Knaus Can Cement Names atop NASCAR Record Books

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Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson has been there before – more than any other driver in the past two decades.

But this trip to Homestead-Miami Speedway for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at 2:30 pm ET is different. In the first place, Johnson has his first opportunity to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship under the 16-driver elimination format introduced by the sanctioning body in 2014.

Beyond that, in what is the transcendent story of this year’s Chase, Johnson has a chance to win a seventh series title, one that would tie him for the all-time lead with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Continue reading →