 | | Jimmie Johnson spins out as Reed Sorenson drives by. Credit: AP |
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
September 11, 2006
12:22 PM EDT (16:22 GMT)
RICHMOND, Va. -- Jimmie Johnson won the season-opening Daytona 500, the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and led the points standings for 16 consecutive weeks and for 22 of the first 26 weeks. He won't lead going into the Chase for the Nextel Cup.  |  | | Jimmie Johnson Credit: Autostock |
| |
| Chase for the Nextel Cup |
| Standings |
| Pos. |
Driver |
Behind |
| 1. |
Matt Kenseth |
Leader |
| 2. |
Jimmie Johnson |
-5 |
| 3. |
Kevin Harvick |
-10 |
| 4. |
Kyle Busch |
-15 |
| 5. |
Denny Hamlin |
-20 |
| 6. |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
-25 |
| 7. |
Mark Martin |
-30 |
| 8. |
Jeff Burton |
-35 |
| 9. |
Jeff Gordon |
-40 |
| 10. |
Kasey Kahne |
-45 |
|
 |
Again. Johnson has led the standings more weeks -- 42 of 78 -- than any other driver during the first three years of the Chase, but he's never gone into NASCAR's 10-race playoff with the lead. That honor goes to Matt Kenseth this year. Johnson saw his chance to pass Kenseth all but end on Lap 81 of Saturday night's Nextel Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. That's when Carl Edwards spun him out in Turn 2, sending Johnson from 10th to 32nd place. That's when Kenseth took the lead coming out of pit stops. From then on there was little doubt that Kenseth, who had a nine-point lead on Johnson heading into the night, would be the leader heading into next weekend's Chase opener at New Hampshire International Speedway. "It feels good leading the points,'' said Kenseth, who is five points ahead of Johnson after the points were reshuffled. "It's five points, but it's five points. The main thing is to try and not give it back.'' Johnson's night went from bad to worse with 80 laps remaining when he was spun out by Reed Sorenson. The accident occurred in front of the leaders, putting him a lap down and leaving him with a 23rd-place finish. "This is a nightmare, isn't it?'' crew chief Chad Knaus said over the car radio. Replied a frustrated Johnson, "I've been run over twice tonight and haven't hit anybody back.'' "Don't worry about it,'' Knaus said. Johnson isn't worried, at least about his chance to win the title. Neither is Kenseth, who is seeking his second title since 2003. The two have been by far the most consistent during the season. Each has four wins, second to series leader Kasey Kahne with five. They have a combined 22 top-fives, with Kenseth leading the series with 13. They have a combined 34 top-10s, with Johnson's 18 a series-high. They have only one DNF (did not finish) between them -- Kenseth was in an accident at Martinsvlle. "[Saturday] we didn't really have it,'' said Kenseth, who finished eighth. "It was kind of one of our older cars, and we could never get it as good as the good guys, but we ran up front for a little while and kind of faded back. "But we still got a good finish out of it. I'm excited to go to [New Hampshire] with the points lead.'' Kenseth has been on a roll the past month, with two wins and four top-10s in the last five races. He hopes that momentum will help him become he second consecutive driver to win the title after entering the Chase with the lead. Tony Stewart, who missed this year's playoff, did it a year ago. Kurt Busch entered seventh in 2004, but won the first race and won the title by eight points over Johnson. "It's important,'' Kenseth said of having the lead. "Who knows how many points will decide the championship. It could be two and it could be 200.'' Johnson agreed, saying anybody in the top 10 is a threat. He's just glad to be one of them after another August-September fade. "It was a wild night,'' he said. "Anything that could go wrong did go wrong. The good news is we're only five back, so that puts a smile on my face.'' | 
