Jimmie Johnson: "This team has all the potential in the world. We had a little bit of bad luck, and today the driver made a mistake." Credit: Autostock

Johnson saddled with second DNF in a row

Jimmie Johnson could have clinched a spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup with a good finish in Sunday's Sirius at the Glen at Watkins Glen International.

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So much for that.

For the second race in a row, Johnson's day ended early with his No. 48 Chevrolet in the team's transporter with a broken engine. This time, Johnson blamed himself, saying he broke the transmission with a missed shift, which overreved and blew the engine.

Jimmie Johnson

Johnson also broke an engine last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What was a 232-point lead two weeks ago is down to 40. And the only reason Johnson held on to the top spot was because second-place Jeff Gordon had transmission troubles, too.

"It's a terrible deal," Johnson said. "I have nowhere to look but in the mirror and made my own mistake. Broke the tranny and ended up breaking the engine."

Suddenly, one of the most vocal critics of NASCAR's new system of determining the champion may be one of its biggest benefactors. Only the top 10 advance to the Chase for the Nextel Cup, so where Johnson stands in the points right now doesn't really matter.

"I've been the slowest one to conform to this new points system and to see the positives in it," Johnson said. "But days like today, you have that cushion to fall back on."

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Still, Johnson knows the days of experimenting are over. Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports team used a new type of transmission in Sunday's road course race, but it may have backfired.

VIDEO Johnson Out J. Johnson out early for second straight week

"When we've been up on top of the pile, we've been able to do that," Johnson said. "With four more to go, we'll probably go back to more conventional stuff.

"We just got into a few weeks of where we were trying some stuff that didn't work."

But Johnson remains confident. He and crew chief Chad Knaus shared a smile and a handshake as the car was loaded on to the team's hauler, perhaps signaling better things to come.

"We'll do what we can and make sure that we get things cleaned up and in order for that final 10," Johnson said. "This team has all the potential in the world. We had a little bit of bad luck, and today the driver made a mistake.

"We'll come to Michigan and come out with our normal style and have a great race."