Crew chief Matt Borland and the No. 12 crew try to get Ryan Newman and his Dodge back out on the track. Credit: Autostock

Kansas dashes hopes of Johnson, Newman

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Chad Knaus stood outside the No. 48 hauler Sunday afternoon, sporting a gray T-shirt that said, "We Set the Pace."

Unfortunately for Knaus and his driver, Jimmie Johnson, that's no longer the case.

Banquet 400 Victory Lane Nemechek celebrates the weekend sweep at Kansas Final laps Joe Nemechek takes the checkered flag at Kansas Speedway Chase Reaction Chase contenders review their runs at Kansas Hard hit Title hopes of Newman and Johnson take a hit at Kansas Minor setback Mark Martin avoids disaster after cutting a tire on Lap 141 Early Caution Sterling Marlin encounters clutch problems on Lap 4 •   Results •   Standings

A couple haulers over, Ryan Newman's team had taped a target that was riddled with holes from a shooting trip to Whiteman Air Force Base.

Newman and his team probably feel like the target.

Within minutes of one another, Newman and Johnson limped into the Kansas Speedway garage, victims of their own mistakes in the Banquet 400.

And while both returned to the track, both saw their already slim Nextel Cup title hopes slip away even further.

Johnson came into Sunday's race 172 points out of the lead, but after a 32nd-place finish, he's 247 behind with six races to go. Newman, who was 159 out, slipped to 232 behind leader Kurt Busch after a 33rd-place finish.

The trouble began for the two of Chase contenders on lap 210, when Newman slipped in Turn 4 and slid into the SAFER barrier. He spun across the track and into the grass, seemingly slipping in oil or debris.

But that wasn't the case, Newman admitted.

"I wish I could say that," Newman said. "That would've been a good story if I did."

What happened?

"Just got loose," Newman said. "That's all there was to it. Just got out from underneath me, and that was it."

Jimmie Johnson settled for a 32nd-place finish at Kansas. Credit: Autostock

Newman's No. 12 Dodge had heavy damage, snapping the driveshaft. His Penske Racing team had to take the rear ear out of the car and dropped the trailing arms to make repairs.

Moments later, Johnson's battered Chevrolet crawled into the garage after spinning and hitting the wall in Turn 2. The Hendrick Motorsports crew ripped off the hood, most of the front fenders and the radiator, making repairs quicker than Newman's team.

By lap 230, 16 laps after he spun, Johnson returned to the track. Nineteen laps after that, Newman sped out of the garage.

Neither driver spoke until after the race, and Johnson wasn't in a talking mood.

"Spun out," Johnson said as he walked briskly out of the garage area. "Spun out."

"Crashed" was Knaus' answer.

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Johnson had led the points standings nine weeks this season, but after finishes of 11th, 10th, 37th and 32nd, his championship dreams are all but gone.

"Nothing to think about," Knaus said. "You just go out there and race. We haven't changed our thoughts all year long. We don't change anything. If you change stuff, that's when you go wrong.

"Maybe we need to change something. I don't know."

Newman said his team would dig in, too.

"We'll just go to every race and try to win it," Newman said. "Just like we were trying to do today. We just didn't do it.

"We took a double-barrel shotgun and shot ourselves in the foot. We can fight back. We've done it before."