With two races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Jimmie Johnson leads the standings by 73 points over second-place Mark Martin and 112 points over third-place Jeff Gordon.

With the standings tight as the season comes to a close, everyone wants to know what Johnson has to do to clinch the title.

For Johnson to clinch at Phoenix International Raceway, he will need to lead by 195 points after the race. Currently up 73 points, he’ll need to gain 122 points by the race’s end. If he does that, he will clinch no matter what any other driver does.

Continue reading “Clinch Scenarios for Jimmie Johnson”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 11, 2009) – NASCAR announced today that two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams have been fined and penalized due to rule violations discovered during this past weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway.

Jason Ratcliff, crew chief of the No. 18 Toyota driven by Kyle Busch, has been fined $5,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2009 for violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20A-2.3A (improperly attached weight) of the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series rule book.

Continue reading “Points Leader Gets Penalties”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 10, 2009) – The site awaits, the schedule is set.

All that’s required is a champion.

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season nears conclusion – the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway just a few weeks away – 2009 Champion’s Week celebrations have taken shape.

Las Vegas, Nev., is the host city for this year’s Champion’s Week festivities, which culminates on Friday, Dec. 4 with the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas.

Continue reading “Champions Week in Las Vegas”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Only two races are left in the 2009 season as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads west to Phoenix International Raceway for the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.

The standings are tight after Jimmie Johnson’s (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) accident on Lap 3 last Sunday that relegated him to a 38th-place finish. Mark Martin (No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet) and Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) were able to gain ground on Johnson by finishing fourth and 13th respectively. Martin is 73 points behind and Gordon is 112 points behind Johnson.

Continue reading “Can Martin or Gordon catch the 48?”

The No. 48 team faced its first dose of adversity during the Chase last Sunday at Texas when Johnson was in an accident on Lap 3 that sent the entire team scrambling to salvage the day. Johnson ended up finishing 38th and the point lead the No. 48 team had accumulated going into Texas had shrunk to 73 points.

“It was definitely not the day we wanted,” Johnson said. “We did not want to lose points like that. Luckily we had a big margin. We’ve been saying all along that anything can happen, but we’re going to two great tracks (Phoenix and Homestead-Miami) for us and we’ll just keep racing.”

Calling Phoenix a “great track for us” is an understatement. Johnson leads the series in wins at Phoenix International Raceway with three. He dominated last season’s Chase event at Phoenix starting on the pole and leading 217 laps for the win.

Continue reading “Johnson/Knaus hope to bounce back at Phoenix”