A spinout during a qualifying lap. Two speeding penalties on pit road in the same race. A spin during practice that forced him into a backup car. Ill-fated decisions by the team. Only 28 laps led in the first six races.
Sound like rookie mistakes?
How about the woes of a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion?
On Sunday, Jimmie Johnson shook up the Etch A Sketch board with the list of his problems. He won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
But Johnson didn't merely win a race. He and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team sent a shiver through the rest of NASCAR. They regained confidence. They rallied from the final starting position on the grid. They earned a spot in the playoffs.
"Vintage 48," Chad Knaus, Johnson's crew chief, called it.
Mostly, they reminded us that the notion of an eight-time NASCAR champion isn't nearly so preposterous. Much can happen in the fall, but right now you have to give Johnson better odds than anyone to win the championship. Again.
His team typically peaks in the playoffs, preparing for that by using the regular season almost as if it's the preseason. Hendrick has the brainpower and resources to enter the playoffs in a better position than almost anyone.
"I think we've just been trying too hard," Johnson said after the win. "You know, we won the championship, obviously, last year and feel like we have good cars and want to come out and be aggressive. To dial in right at 100 percent is just tough to do.
"Pit road speeding violations, spinning out, crashes, all those things, just not executing cleanly as a group put us where we were, and then to come out today and really face a lot of adversity, starting last But we executed top to bottom today, and that's what we needed to do."
Said Knaus: "It seems as though we have in times of turmoil and distress managed to get some pretty solid finishes with the 48 car, and I think that's a true testament to Jimmie and his ability to not waver. He doesn't get spooked. He doesn't get too crazy. He keeps his calm. He's very calm in nature, as we all know. We love a challenge. Sometimes we do it to ourselves starting last is not what we wanted to do, but it definitely showed up OK."
As Johnson climbed from his car Sunday, he told a TV interviewer, "I guess I remembered how to drive."
And anybody who forgets about Johnson as a contender does so at his own peril.
- Last race: Johnson's biggest challenge may have come from dehydration. The system providing him fluids malfunctioned, and he had to make an infield care center stop before going to the media center after winning. Usually, drivers will tell you, it's the media center stop that makes them ill.
- Next race: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is off this weekend for Easter but will return April 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Pit notes: Fox Sports reported that teams may have a choice in tire compound next year, with the option of a faster, softer tire that won't have the durability. Several teams tested at Daytona International Speedway this week while working on an aerodynamics package that will minimize the possibility of cars going airborne. The All-Star Race on May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been shortened to a 70-lap format, with four stages that set up a 10-lap shootout. The field includes race winners from 2016 and 2017, as well as former champions and All-Star winners who are competing full-time.
- Fast Five: 1. Brad Keselowski, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Joey Logano, 4. Martin Truex Jr., 5. Chase Elliott.
- What they're saying: "We talked about trying to run races without running into each other so we can get back to drinking beer together." - Dale Earnhardt Jr. on patching up his differences with Ryan Blaney
Contact Mark McCarter at markfmccarter@gmail.com.