The 10 people who died in the Hendrick plane crash at Martinsville were remembered on the hood of Jimmie Johnson's No. 48. Credit: Autostock

Anniversary of crash won't stall Johnson

One year ago, Hendrick plane tragedy claimed 10 lives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It will be difficult for Jimmie Johnson to focus on racing this weekend, to not allow his mind to wander to the friends he lost one year ago.

When he drives through tiny Martinsville, Va., on his way to the race track, he and his teammates won't be able to avoid seeing the mountain that a Hendrick Motorsports plane slammed into last October, killing all 10 people on board.

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But Johnson is in the thick of a championship chase, and knows everyone on that plane would expect nothing less than for him to give it his all Sunday in pursuit of the Nextel Cup title.

Johnson knows this weekend won't be easy. In addition to the race, he'll be doing his best to be supportive of the victims' families and to offer comfort to teammate Brian Vickers, who lost close friend Ricky Hendrick -- the heir apparent at Hendrick Motorsports -- in the accident.

"It's going to be so tough for all of them and I know they all do different things to help the anniversary pass, and with as little pain as possible," Johnson said. "Another person I'm going to be thinking of is Brian Vickers. It's his birthday. The plane crash was on his birthday, of all things. So, as a teammate and friend, to be there for him as well as the other people that lost loved ones on the flight."

The crash last Oct. 24 could have devastated the Hendrick organization. In addition to Rick Hendrick's son, the accident claimed the lives of the company president, general manager and head engine builder. All were en route to the race that day.

After winning the race at Atlanta, the Hendrick stable honored Ricky Hendrick, top, by turning their hats backward. Credit: Autostock

Johnson went on to win the race, only to be told about the accident after he crossed the finish line.

After a week of mourning, it was on to Atlanta for another race. It was decided that keeping up the routine was the best medicine.

Johnson went on to win that race, too, for his third consecutive victory.

"We didn't even want to go to Atlanta. We had to, but we didn't want to go there," he said. "The race weekend wore on and the first day was tough and the second day was a little bit better and the weeks to follow were that way, too.

"But it did, at the end of the year, give us a lot of pride to know that we went out to Atlanta and we were able to win at Martinsville. That we honored our friends as a team and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports really performed."

So that's what Johnson will do again this weekend. He heads into Martinsville fresh off a victory last weekend in Charlotte that rocketed him up the standings into a tie with Tony Stewart for the lead in the Chase for the championship.

The race at Charlotte bunched the field dramatically and temporarily ended what was shaping up to be a runaway championship for Stewart. The co-leaders have an 11-point lead over Greg Biffle, and only 142 points separate them from 10th-place Kurt Busch.

"I'm shocked just like everybody else just how close the championship race is and I think that over the next five it's only going to be more interesting, more aggressive, more stress and pressure," Johnson said. "It's going to be right down to the very end, I think."

It went like that last season, the first year of the Chase format, when Johnson lost to Busch by eight points. It was the closest championship finish in NASCAR history, and Johnson put himself in contention by winning four of six Chase races.

Now he feels like his team is on the verge of putting together a similar run.

"We're kind of hitting our stride at the right time and hopefully we can rattle off a couple of wins," he said. "If not, top fives at this point. I still feel that it's about not losing the championship, versus winning it."

He'll still have to contend with Stewart, who had his first really bad race of the Chase at Charlotte. He cut a tire while leading and crashed hard into the wall, setting up a 25th-place finish. It wiped out his points lead and gave the Chase competitors hope of catching him.

Stewart accepts that everyone is watching him and his team to see how they respond this weekend.

"I don't think any of them are wishing us bad luck, but in the back of their mind if it happens, they're not going to be disappointed by it by any means," he said. "I doubt anybody shed any tears for us last week at Charlotte when we finished 25th after leading a bunch of laps and showing everybody that we had the best car.

"That's how competitive the Chase is right now."