DW: Johnson rode in 'like a rhinestone cowboy,' took what he wanted
It definitely was an interesting race Sunday at Texas. It looked like Brad Keselowski was going to simply drive off into the sunset with the win and secure one of the three remaining spots for the winner-take-all race later this month at Homestead. The young man had everybody covered. He sat on the pole and led a record-setting 312 of 334 laps of the Texas race, only to lose to Jimmie Johnson.
I just didn't think he could be beat especially when you watched him on all the restarts, or even when someone got close to him. He would simply just pull away. Then all of sudden comes that rhinestone cowboy, Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie's win Sunday brings him to a total of 75, which is only one behind Dale Earnhardt.
This is hard to believe when I read it, but you have to go clear back to Dover in late May of this year to find the last time Jimmie has been in Victory Circle. We're talking 20 races since he won last. When it comes to Texas Motor Speedway though, like Dover, Jimmie pretty much has that joint figured out. It was his fifth win this year. It was also his sixth overall win at Texas, plus he's now won four consecutive fall Texas races.
Now granted, the man only led six laps but like we always say, when you boil a race down, it only matters who leads the last lap. Jimmie had the fastest car when he needed it and he stole some thunder away from those remaining eight Chase drivers.
I know Brad has to be disappointed about seeing his win slip away like that. We've seen it happen with Kevin Harvick the last couple years where he will have a dominant car all day long only to come up short at the end. I know because of the 20-race winless gap, Jimmie's win came as a surprise to some, but it shouldn't have been when you look at how he's dominated there.
I know there were a number of tire problems Sunday but I don't understand why NASCAR didn't let the Sprint Cup drivers have some practice time on Saturday after the XFINITY race. I know I would have let them and I think it might have eliminated some of the tire issues we saw on Sunday.
I know one driver who probably really wished they had let them practice Saturday was Joey Logano. They had only run a handful of laps at the start of the race and his left rear blew and now his only chance for making the championship race at Homestead is to win Sunday at Phoenix. Unfortunately I don't think it's a very good chance and I'll tell you why.
When you look at what Jimmie Johnson has done at Dover and Texas, the same can be said for what Kevin Harvick has done at Phoenix. The man is all but unbeatable at Phoenix. That No. 4 bunch has that joint figured out and I have said for a couple weeks now that my prediction is that Kevin will win at Phoenix, thus guaranteeing him a chance for back-to-back NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. Don't forget, Kevin's the defending winner of the Homestead race as well.
Even more impressive than his Phoenix record, has to be what Kevin and the team overcame Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. He had a couple tire issues, he had shifter issues, he had pit road issues and despite a day full of issues, he finished third. Think about that for a minute. All those issues and he still managed to lead 11 laps and finish third. That shows me how good that team really is right now.
For me, the final four drivers are shaping up to be Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. going for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship at Homestead in two weeks
Speaking of Jeff Gordon, just a quick couple of notes there and let's start with Friday. FOX Sports had me, Mike Joy and Jeff call the Camping World truck race that wasn't broadcast so that the three of us could get the chemistry going as we head to Daytona together in 2016. We had a great time and I really look forward to Jeff joining us in the FOX booth next year. What would really be special is if he joins us as a five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion. As you know, he's already locked into the championship race plus he finished ninth on Sunday at Texas.
The second thing I wanted to mention about Jeff was did you all see the present that track president Eddie Gossage gave Jeff as a retirement gift? Being ever the ace promoter he is, Eddie gave Jeff perhaps the most unique gifts that he had brought into the TMS media center â a pair of Shetland ponies for Jeff's kids, eight-year-old Ella and five-year-old Leo, to help their dad ride off into the sunset.
I asked Jeff what he was going to do with them and he said his Mom and step-father John Bickford seemed pretty fond of them, so maybe they would take them and there would be a place to keep them. Jeff's gotten some unique farewell gifts along the way this year, but those two ponies go to the head of the list in my book!
So we're two weeks away from the championship race and wrapping up the end of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. First comes Phoenix on Sunday and there are seven desperate drivers vying for only three remaining spots. Like I said earlier, I expect Kevin to lead the pack, but remember desperate times call for desperate measures and drivers like Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards are on the outside of the championship race looking in right now.
Isn't it interesting that going into the Chase the Joe Gibbs Toyota's had the hot hand winning everything in sight? Some folks were even predicting all four Gibbs cars in the final race at Homestead. Now the irony of all that is, despite all their success this year and depending on what happens at Phoenix, there might not be a single Gibbs car running for the championship.
Remember, right now there is only one driver locked into the championship race and he goes by the name of Jeff Gordon. We'll have to wait until the checkered flag Sunday to fill in the other three names.
