Jimmie was kind of upstaged by Mark at the Champion's Week ceremony

Mark stepped to the stage and let his charisma and understanding of life and NASCAR come out in words that sparked energy in the crowd and stole the show from Jimmie Johnson. Listening to Mark’s words had me a little misty around the eyes and made me think of other racers who hadn’t quite been able to win it all during their racing careers.

The week long celebration begins on Monday as Jimmie Johnson and his wife Chandra will handing out about $1 million in donations to various schools around California, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and giving something back to their fans.

On Tuesday Jimmie will show up at the Auto Club Speedway to have breakfast with and answer and ask a few questions with about 700 fans and friends.

Wednesday Jimmie is scheduled to take part in a photo shoot as he travels around to various spots along the Las Vegas strip. Jimmie will then spend a little quality time with the other racers he was competing against during the year and I bet he can expect a little fun pay back for his four years of making them second best.

On Thursday Champion’s Week heads to the real celebration and the official crowning of Jimmie Johnson as a four time Sprint Cup Series Champion. They’ll be having a parade where Jimmie’s fans can watch him come down the street and wave as he heads toward a strip where they’ll be a few burn outs planned, before they head over to have lunch.

On Friday they’ll bring the affair to its pinnacle with the annual Sprint Cup Series awards show at the Wynn Las Vegas and this is when the party will reach its peak and they’ll start to head off to their private parties.

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Jimmie Johnson at Champion’s Week

Denny Hamlin is expecting to have a better year in 2010

Every body is feeling sorry for Mark Martin, but they should be praising him for being able to keep his mental focus and not to take the second place finishes in the Sprint Cup Series as a personal thing. He finished his first full year in the Sprint Cup Series a shade behind one of the greatest Sprint Cup racers ever to slip behind the wheel and he has lots to be proud of. He finished the year with five wins and seven pole position starts, which in itself is an amazing feat when you think about the level of competition on the track.

Is it possible to finish third in the Sprint Cup Series and still feel like you left lots on the track and didn’t meet your own and team expectations for the season. This is probably how Jeff Gordon feels after a less than stellar year that has left him wondering what could have been. Jeff was expected to win more than once in 2009 and 2010 is going to be a watershed year for him and he needs to rise to the occasion and give Jimmie another challenger to the title. Jeff Gordon will also be seeking his fifth Sprint Cup Series title in 2010 and he’s probably tired on running second to Jimmie, which is going to make the 2010 Sprint Cup season a real barn burner.

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2009 Sprint Cup: The Bottom Line

Mark is sitting and wondering about 2010

Mark Martin and team tried their hardest to put together ten races during the Chase that would give them their first Sprint Cup Series Championship, but in the end they found themselves brides maids once again and looking in as Jimmie enjoyed all the accolades. Mark Martin just didn’t appear to have a strong enough car to allow him to catch Jimmie, but he kept his hands on the wheel and foot on the gas pedal and gave it his best try through ten of the hardest races of his career. The adjustments they made in the pits during the race didn’t seem to provide the change in performance and handling they needed to win, and Mark found himself trying to keep his car straight and fast, rather than actually being able to race with Jimmie.

The 2010 Sprint Cup Series is going to be interesting as we can certainly expect Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the boys will be out to win it all. Mark can win it all, next year I believe, as can a few of the other racers, but Jimmie will still be the one to beat. In the end the racer with the most consistent car will probably win and take home the Sprint Cup Series title. Hopefully we’ll get to see another barn raising affair that will leave us wanting more.

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Mark Martin Left Wondering at the Line

Jimmie Johnson kicks open the doors of NASCAR's hall of fame

Jimmie Johnson is one racer who started his NASCAR career with realistic expectations. He was maybe hoping to win a few racers, have a chance to compete against the best in the business, but he certainly wasn’t expecting to be a four time Sprint Cup Series Champion.

Mark Martin certainly looked to be every bit the racers that Jimmie Johnson is when he first appeared on a NASCAR track and five runner up finishes later, he’s still trying to catch the racer in front of him. In fact, Martin is one of the best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to never win a title, but you would never know it by his reactions to coming second again.

Jimmie Johnson just wasn’t available for him to catch after a certain point in the Sprint Cup Series season and he needed help from the gods and other racers to become the 2009 Sprint Cup Series Champion. Jimmie was once again consistent and fast on the track and came home fifth Sunday on Homestead-Miami Speedway and became the only racer to win his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Series Championship. This punches Jimmie Johnson’s ticket to the hall of fame when the day comes for him to walk up the steps and should put him in the same part of the hall as drivers like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and his friend and teammate Jeff Gordon as the only racers to win more than three championships.

Job well done Jimmie and enjoy your accomplishment. You deserve all the accolades and awards they throw upon your shoulders. We raise out glasses to you once again and acknowledge you’re the best of our generation.

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Jimmie Johnson Shoe-in for Hall of Fame

Kurt Busch grabs an extra reward for a hard fought race

The racers did a bit of manoeuvring in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday on the pavement of Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Martin had the best result of the top three on the day and pulled to within 73 points of Jimmie Johnson with a fourth place finish in the Dickies 500. Jimmie Johnson was involved in an accident early on, which took him out of contention as he and the team had to see if they could repair his car and get back out on the track. They did a great job of putting a car that wasn’t totalled, but it wasn’t looking very pretty, back into running condition and back into the race for a 38^th place finish. Kurt Busch was the winner of the Dickies 500, a great result for him and one that puts tremendous pressure on Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon in front of him in the Sprint Cup Series championship. Jeff Gordon finished 13^th in the Dickies 500 and he must feel that he let an opportunity get past him. He could have really pulled closer to Jimmie Johnson with a better result and he must be a little disappointed. To his credit his car didn’t look the fastest and appeared to be having trouble coming in and out of the corners and he did manage to stay out of trouble several times. Very little went well for Jeff on this day and yet he still managed to stay in the race and give it his best try.

The result in the Dickies 500 really turns the heat up in the race for the Chase and if anybody is thinking that Jimmie Johnson had this thing in the bag, they should have their head examined. In fact, we are just getting down to the part of the season with the highest level of anticipation and entertaining for the fans. The last few races are going to be the best events of the year and if you love racing and NASCAR, there’s no greater thrill than watching your hero go past you at 200 mph.

You can experience the thrill if you can make it to the Phoenix International Raceway by 2:30 pm on Sunday, November 15th as Jimmie Johnson and the boys will be out on the track for the Phoenix Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Look for the crazy guy who never sits down and it might be me!

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The Chase is Getting Up to Speed

Jimmie Johnson is still out front, but for how long

Jimmie Johnson is still the front runner, despite his precarious position at the center of every driver’s target, and he still has the best chance of winning. He needs to continue to believe and race fast and consistent in the next two races and he has a good chance of winning.

Mark Martin might be in the best position of all the racers, just behind the leader with only two races remaining and all the attention on the leader. He has played it pretty cool up till now, but don’t be fooled by his exterior, he wants this as bad as anybody. Mark has been racing for years and never achieved the ultimate goal for a NASCAR racer and he’ll probably never be this close again. He has nothing to loose and everybody probably considers him second best, which is great for him, because he’s as good as any on the track and he has the experience. Mark is my sleeper, who I expect to win, if Jimmie isn’t able to pull it off.

Jeff Gordon is 112 points behind Jimmie, with 398 points still available in the two remaining races, in a perfect NASCAR world he still has a good chance to win in the last two races. He needs to take command in the next two races and hope that the two racers in front of him don’t have their best days to win, but anything is possible on a Sprint Cup track.

Kurt Busch is 171 points behind Jimmie and looking forward at a challenge that’s going to be tough to achieve, but it’s still possible. Lady Luck is going to have to give him a hand for him to win and everything is going to have to roll perfect, but don’t count him out just yet.

Tony Stewart sits 178 points behind Jimmie Johnson, but still within reach of the Sprint Cup Series championship. Tony is a dark horse in this affair but still someone to watch in the last two races.

Juan Montoya is 236 points behind, just ahead of Greg Biffle by 11 points. They are still both within reach and can’t really be excluded just yet, maybe after the next race.

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Two Races Left in Sprint Cup Series Season

Expect the lead to change hands many times on Talladega today

Jimmie Johnson started on the pole for this race, due to qualifying for the Amp Energy 500 being rained out on Saturday morning and his closest rival for the Sprint Cup Series Championship, Mark Martin, will start next to him. In fact, due to the rules in place to set the positions for races when qualifying is rained out, the top twelve racers in the Chase started in the top twelve positions on the grid.

This will certainly make for an interesting race since this will give the top drivers in the Chase the opportunity to do a little maneuvering for points and position in the Chase. At present Jimmie Johnson leads Mark Martin by 118 points and Talladega is a tough track to win on, so I wouldn’t be surprised if both Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin finished out of the top twelve.

Keep an eye out for Brad Keselowski and Juan Montoya, who is my dark horse for this race and for the Sprint Cup Series Championship. He does have along way to come all the way back and into the lead for the Chase, but he’s been pushing hard lately and I like his attitude. Jimmie Johnson will probably be in the back of the pack once we get down to the final fifty laps or so and he’ll have to come back in order to finish good. He can still do it, anything is possible on a NASCAR track, especially Talladega, and it’s never over until the winner crosses the line. Expect Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon to also be contenders at the end of the Amp Energy 500, along with Montoya and a late charging Jimmie Johnson.

The race will probably come down to the start off the last restart as it does many times on a NASCAR track, but with the way Talladega is as a track, I expect over thirty drivers to be on the lead lap with twenty laps to go. Lots of lead changes should occur near the end of the race and this will make for some entertaining racing and this is what we all show up for.

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Amp Energy 500 Runs Today

Jimmie Johnson will be trying to extend his lead over Mark Martin in today's Banking 500

Jimmie is chasing history and his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship in a row, while Mark Martin is just trying to do his best and win his first Sprint Cup Championship, which would probably be a nice cherry on a notable, if not spectacular racing career.

If you look at the season statistics you’ll see that both drivers have similar records. They have both won five Sprint Cup races this year and they qualified on the front row together, although Jimmie Johnson will have the inside position. Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be hard for Mark Martin to beat Jimmie Johnson in today’s race and for the Sprint Cup Championship. It might come down to who wants it the most, since both competitors have talent and experience, although Martin has no experience closing the show on a season.

Can Mark Martin beat Jimmie Johnson? This is the question isn’t it? How badly does Mark Martin want to win compared to Jimmie Johnson? The best part is we get to find out today and over the remaining races of the Chase. I admit to being a bit sentimental toward the old man Mark Martin, since I am a little long in the tooth myself. Mark Martin has had a long NASCAR career and it would be great to see him finally succeed in taming the tiger he has had by the tail for so many years. On the other hand Jimmie Johnson has already won and is still young and full of energy, so we’ll be seeing lots of him in the years to come.

This situation in NACAR reminds me of the situation in MotoGP at the current moment. Valentino Rossi is battling his Fiat Yamaha team mate Lorenzo for the MotoGP Premier Class World Championship at present, with only a few races remaining. Rossi is chasing history and his eighth MotoGP World Premier Class Championship. The biggest difference of course is the switch in the age of the current champion and challenger in today’s Banking 500, as compared to Valentino and Lorenzo.

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Mark Martin is Hanging on for the Ride

Jimmie Johnson looked very fast, smooth and professional as he won and moved into the lead in the standings

It looked like Johnson might have an average day until the sun came out on Lap 66 and stayed, after that his car picked up pace and looked ready to challenge. He had to be patient through a series of restarts in order to keep his car in one piece and put himself into position to win and he did it like a real professional. Jimmie has really shown what it means to be a Sprint Cup Series Champion this year. His patience and skill has put him in the exact position he needed to be in to allow him to pull into the lead and now he just has to bring the curtain down on this affair. There are still six races left and lots of racing left to go, but things are starting to get tense and heated.

Jimmie Johnson needs to stay focused on being consistent and trying to finish as best as he can during each race while staying out of trouble. His car looks like it might be the fastest and certainly is one of the fastest on the track and his skill is second to none. Unless something happens in the next few races, like lightning striking his car or lady-luck being unkind to Johnson, it could be difficult to unseat him.

Jeff Gordon finished second in the Pepsi 500, Juan Montoya third, Mark Martin fourth, Tony Stewart fifth, and Carl Edwards sixth. David Ragan finished seventh, just ahead of Kurt Busch in eighth, Clint Bowyer in ninth and Kevin Harvick in tenth.

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Jimmie Johnson Moves into Position

Mark Martin is starting to feel the heat

This second place finish keeps Mark Martin in the series lead in the Chase after two races of the ten that are scheduled, and must have the team owner and the team as a whole feeling pretty confident that one of these drivers is going to be the champion.

The Chase is far from over though and any of the twelve racers can still win with a hot streak and a series of good races. Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin would have to have a little let down in the remaining races for this to happen, considering how well they have both raced this year, but then anything is possible in NASCAR.

Finishing in third place in the AAA 400 was Matt Kenseth; this is his best finish since winning the second race of the season at Fontana in February and certainly a welcome change to his results. Juan Montoya kept his 2009 Sprint Cup Championship hopes alive by coming in fourth in the AAA 400, his second consecutive top-five finish in the Chase, and a reason for him to still retain hope. His finish means Montoya climbs into third place in the standings, 65 points behind Martin and just 10 points ahead of Busch in the standings. On another note, Kurt Busch was able to keep his hopes for a second Sprint Cup Series Championship alive with a fifth-place finish.

Rounding out the top ten in the AAA 400 were Jeff Gordon, A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.

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Jimmie Johnson Closes the Gap