Jimmie Johnson has overcome failure and tragedy in a stunning rally he can cap this weekend.
By BRANT JAMES
Published November 18, 2004
Jimmie Johnson could have sulked, cursed his rotten luck and cruised through the final six races of a season gone foul.
But he bore down.
When several of his friends and co-workers were killed when a Hendrick Motorsports team plane crashed the afternoon he won at Martinsville, he could have withdrawn into his grief.
But he bore down. In a teary tribute to those who died, including four members of the Hendrick family, it was Johnson who spoke through the pain when everyone, including the team's recognized leader, Jeff Gordon, struggled with his emotions.
Then he bore down harder, winning the next race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in a moment that will be referenced time and again if he goes on to win the championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Championship. A ridiculous thought after Johnson's season appeared to crash with his No. 48 Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway four races into the playoffs. After leading the standings for nine weeks in the regular season, he was suddenly 247 points out, done. But the 8-year-old kid who had his dad lash his broken leg to his bike so he could win a motocross title has grown even more determined at 29.
After winning four of the past five races, including at Darlington on Sunday, Johnson stands just 18 points behind leader Kurt Busch and three ahead of Gordon with one race remaining. But Johnson is hardly standing. He's coming on fast.
"It's absolutely amazing," Gordon said.
Johnson said his team's motivation and focus have not increased since the Hendrick crash. Both had to be remarkably strong already or the team never could have performed as it did at Atlanta.
"I think there's definitely different emotions that have been brought up since the accident with our airplane," said Johnson, who leads the series with eight wins. "But I wouldn't say that it's changed the desire. Our race team, all the race teams, at Hendrick Motorsports are extremely dedicated and the desire is always there.
"I think that our hearts are heavier. We now want to win the championship for a different reason. I think we're racing with heavy hearts and looking forward to possibly having a chance of dedicating this championship to our friends that we lost on that airplane."
Busch has been a paragon of consistency during his six-week run atop the points standings. He won the first race of the Chase at New Hampshire, and his eight top 10s in nine races has allowed him to maintain a lead, albeit a dwindling one. Busch acknowledges the dangerous quality of a team racing with everything to gain.
"One key element that I believe has propelled them to this position is that they had the feeling they were eliminated," Busch said after finishing sixth at Darlington. "They were down so far after the first two or three races, maybe Kansas was the pivotal point for them. That strikes a different type of feeling within a team.
"I've been in the same position back in 2002. We didn't quite have the season we deserved, so let's just throw everything we have at the race cars; not worry about a thing. We're either going to win or we're going to put it on the trailer early, and he's done a phenomenal job to stay focused through this. ... Right now they're on top of their game."
As he was this summer when he led the standings for eight consecutive weeks, until three consecutive engine failures and finishes of 36th or worse dropped him to second by the start of the 10-race playoffs. An overheating problem at Talladega dropped him from fourth to ninth in the standings, and a late crash at Kansas sank him 247 points behind Busch and seemingly into oblivion.
"I think mentally when we had our points lead earlier in the season, trying to hang on to the lead for that five-point advantage into the offseason, I think we kind of took on the mentality of defending and playing some defense," Johnson said. "I don't think that our team performs to its best with that mindset."
Johnson rattled off wins at Charlotte, Martinsville and Atlanta, becoming the first to win three straight in a Cup season since Gordon won four in 1998. As other contenders began to experience problems, he flourished. The Atlanta win, and a 42nd-place finish by Busch, propelled him to second place, 59 points behind. A sixth-place finish at Phoenix dropped Johnson to fourth, but within 48 points of Busch. In taking the race lead with eight laps left and going on to win at Darlington, he cozied up even closer.
Now he has a chance to reclaim his season, retake the lead for the one and only time it matters.
"We've had some fortunate breaks; some other teams have had some trouble," he said. "We just have to keep racing hard. If we do our job Sunday afternoon, and race to the best of our ability, we may be the champion."
