Johnson loses ground again in points race

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson's bid to become NASCAR's first rookie champion may have effectively come to a close Sunday during the Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway.

	The No. 48 team has endured two disappointing weeks in a row. Credit: Autostock

On the second green-flag pit stop, the lug nuts on the right rear wheel on Johnson's Chevrolet weren't fully tightened. The resulting damaged wheel studs disallowed the team from properly tightening the right rear wheel onto the hub.

The vibration from the loose wheel forced Johnson to pit out of sequence twice during the first half of the 393-lap event. Unable to remedy the problem, Johnson pulled the car behind the wall on lap 259.

"We knew we had a wheel loose, and when it was loose it destroyed the studs and we could never tighten the wheel back up," Johnson said. "So we had to come in and change the whole hub assembly."

The team replaced the hampered hub and sent Johnson back into the fray, some 12 laps down in 41st position. Though his car was tight for the remainder of the event, he managed to wrestle it to a 37th-place finish. That ties his worst finish of the year.

"I'm disappointed," Johnson said. "We had a good car and were going to have a solid day. (Stewart) was struggling. (Mark Martin) had a great day, but we would have definitely made up some ground. It's just one of them deals."

According to fifth-place finisher Jeff Gordon, Johnson had a stout ride.

"At one time he was better than me, and we came in to pit under green and I never saw him again," said Gordon, part-owner of Johnson's car.

Pop Secret 400 Johnny Benson passes Mark Martin and holds on for his first WC win. Play video Tony Stewart has some choice words for his car at The Rock. Play video  •  More Video  •  Martin's car fails inspection  •  Benson gets first victory  •  Stewart struggles  •  Official Standings  •  Official Results  •  EA SPORTS Photo Gallery

While Johnson struggled, Martin finished second to race-winner Johnny Benson and Stewart came home 14th. Entering the weekend, Stewart led Martin by 146 points. With two races remaining, the gap is 87.

Martin faces a possible penalty after his car failed post-race inspection. Any penalty -- if one is given out -- will be distrubuted Monday by NASCAR.

Though Martin made up 59 points in the championship chase, Stewart is to be commended on his effort. Ninety-two laps into the event, he was a lap down. At one point, he had fallen outside the top 30.

Never one to discuss the points situation, Martin was indifferent.

"That's good," he said.

Not so for Johnson. His misfortune marked the second consecutive week he lost substantial ground to Stewart and Martin. Last week at Atlanta, he spun twice, finished 22nd and lost 68 points to Stewart. After Sunday's event, he stands 219 points out of the lead, but still ranks third in the overall standings.

"You know, in this deal everybody says luck plays a role, but you know what, there's really no such thing as luck," said crew chief Chad Knaus. "You make your own luck. Anybody that's had mechanical problems or had problems on the racetrack, that's all been due to something else.

"We've made a lot of our own luck here this year with some of the things we've done and the decisions and choices we've made, and we've just got to deal with it.

"If we weren't running in the top five in points and doing good, nobody would even care. So at least everyone's still talking to us. I guess we're doing something right."