| | | | | |  | | CIA Stock Photo | Jimmie Johnson practicing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He will defend his win there on Sunday. | | | | TO MAKE IT FOUR | Johnson takes aim on fourth straight Las Vegas triumph | |
| | By Lars Anderson / SportsIllustrated.com You hear the question being raised in every stall in the garage, one that's asked with a mixture of frustration, admiration and resignation: Can anyone beat Jimmie?
So far this season, two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has looked impressive, if not as dominant as 2007 when he closed out the season with four wins in the last five races. After taking the pole at Daytona, Johnson crashed late in the 500, wiping out a likely top-five finish. Then, last Monday at California Speedway, he came in second behind Carl Edwards, whose car blew away the field.
Two races into his quest to become the first driver to win three straight titles since Cale Yarborough turned the trick 30 years ago, Johnson is eighth in the standings -- a good-but-not-great start. But on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, JJ should be the driver to beat and it's no secret why: He's won the past three races at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval.
Johnson's car was so dominant in this event last season that he reached Victory Lane in spite of a pit road penalty and a brush with the wall. I spent an evening at the Bellagio sports book with Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus a little more than a year ago, and I remember Knaus acting like a guy who was holding a royal flush in a game of stud poker when he talked about racing in Vegas. Yes, the man has confidence but it's been borne out of success. Even though Sunday's UAW-Dodge 400 will mark the first time that the Car of Today will be used on the track, you still have to like this duo's chances of becoming the first to win four straight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
But Edwards, for one, senses a tectonic shift in the NASCAR landscape. He believes his strong showing last week at California, where he cruised by Johnson late with jarring ease, proves that Roush Fenway Racing has caught Hendrick Motorsports when it comes to racing in the Car of Today.
"I hope that this is a sign that we're up to their standards, to their level," Edwards said after taking the checkers in Fontana. "I believe we are. I know that last year I would not have traded my car in for one of theirs at any of the CoT races towards the end of the year. I thought we had the best car."
Sunday's race, in fact, could wind up being another duel between Johnson and Edwards. After all, Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway have combined to win nine of the 10 Cup races that have ever been held at the track.
| | Posted March 01, 2008 , 1:14 am EST
Last Updated March 01, 2008 , 1:14 am EST | | | | | | | | | | |
