This 'slumping' summer not like others for Johnson (cont'd)

"I don't know why we have this slow summer," Johnson said. "This year I think we've done a better job than years past and we continue to focus on that and getting it right. I don't know why we get off to a great start each year, then cool off a little bit, and surge back with a strong finish. You look at the No. 20 car [Tony Stewart], where he starts slow and then gets going midway through the end of the season. I have no idea why those trends are out there and why they work. Some of the tracks aren't good tracks for us during the summer months, but then some are better tracks like Chicago but we have trouble there from time to time. I don't know why it works out that way."

Johnson and company went to Pocono in June, still technically "spring" on the calendar, second in points, finished 42nd and fell to fourth in points. That was right in the middle of a five-race stretch that included just one top-10 finish and dropped him to fifth in the standings. The team started July with a bang: fifth at Loudon and 10th at Daytona before things fizzled ... 37th at Chicagoland and 39th on the bricks. Oh no, here they go again.

"Yeah, I was thinking that, maybe even a little before that because we've been losing some points," Johnson said. "We ran out of gas at Michigan and got behind. We had a crash in Texas running well. There have been a few different things that have come up where you think, 'Well, here's that summer stretch again.' You'd like to change it, but unfortunately we haven't really been able to get a hold of it this summer."

And how does a team "get a hold of it?"

"It just kind of comes back," he said. "We have a close team and we spend a lot of time together regardless. It's not that meetings pick up or things intensify. I don't understand why it works out like it does. If we knew, we would obviously make some changes. But for whatever reason, it follows the same cycle from year to year."

But this year has been a little different. The normally smooth running Hendrick Motorsports has been through crew chief suspensions, manufacturer discussions and, oh yeah, they hired that new guy to replace Kyle Busch. Dale something, I believe.

It would be easy to think that, for a while, what was happening on the track wasn't getting as much focus as what was happening at the shop. Jimmie says, for him, that was not the case.

"My position with Hendrick is maybe a little different than Jeff's," he said. "Some of these things would be more in Jeff's area and things that would occupy his time being a team owner in Hendrick Motorsports. From my perspective, it's really been business as usual. We're focused on the No. 48 car and performing. Obviously we've had conversations with Rick and understand what's going on, but I'm not a part of that decision-making process for any of the teams. So it's been pretty easy for me, to be honest with you.

"I can be focused on our shop. The changes that are coming are in the No. 5 and No. 25 shop, not in the No. 24 and No. 48 shop. So again, going to our crew guys, there really hasn't been a lot of distraction there. I'm sure it's been a little bit of a distraction for the 5 and 25 shop. But for my stuff, it's been pretty much the same all year."

Something else Johnson has been focused on this year is his foundation. On Wednesday, Aug. 29, Jimmie and his wife, Chandra, will host the Jimmie Johnson Foundation Inaugural Golf Tournament in Mission Valley, Calif. Johnson's hometown is El Cajon (San Diego). It is a charity event. There is a dinner the night before, an auction, then some golf with people like teammate Casey Mears, Bobby Labonte, Kyle Petty (who told me Tuesday he should be ready to play by then after a freak incident that broke a bone in his right hand at Watkins Glen) and a guy that can really hit the ball, Marcus Giles.

Thursday Johnson will participate in a Habitat for Humanity home construction project near his home in San Diego. The proceeds from the golf tournament are benefiting the cause. Who knows, Jimmie may even visit his old high school.

Earlier this year, Jimmie and Chandra opened Jimmie Johnson's Victory Lanes at the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C.

"When Chandra and I were first talking about what we wanted to do with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, we knew we wanted to help kids," Johnson said. "The other thing we really wanted to do was to give back in the areas where we grew up. After we built the bowling alley at Victory Junction Gang Camp we decided to concentrate on El Cajon and the San Diego area where I grew up. This is the first time I have ever done anything like this and I am really excited about it. To me, the fact that the golf tournament is sold out and that people are still asking how they can help, shows how much the people in the San Diego area care. Now this golf tournament is my chance to show them how much I appreciate all the support they have given me throughout the years."

So maybe this year the last half of the summer will be a little different for Johnson. August is turning out to be a big month. He has two top-five finishes in the first two races, looks good for the Chase, and is lending a hand to those in need in his hometown and elsewhere. Looks like Jimmie's winning ways on the track are making others a winner, too. See, all those numbers are helping to paint a pretty nice picture.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.