FORT WORTH, Texas -- It looked like the Batmobile. The front and rear portions of the usually-familiar blue and silver Chevrolet were covered in plates of generic black sheet metal -- prefabricated for just the kind of emergency the No. 48 team faced at Texas Motor Speedway -- while thick strips of black tape were used to try and make the ragged edges a little more aerodynamically sound. Looking at the vehicle head-on, it resembled one of those stealth military aircraft that specialize in avoiding radar detection. But there was nothing stealthy about Jimmie Johnson's race car on Sunday night.

The thing was a mess, a smoking, scraped-up hodgepodge of replacement parts that was held together by gumption and 200 mph tape. It was the very embodiment of the worst race Johnson has endured in the Chase in more than three seasons, an event marred by a third-lap tangle with Sam Hornish Jr. that forced him to miss more than 100 laps on the race track and slashed 111 points off his championship lead.

“

Even after winning races, fielding questions, the possibility was out there. It's still out there. There's no telling what's going to happen.

”

-- JIMMIE JOHNSON

And yet, in the aftermath, Chad Knaus couldn't help but allow himself a sly smile. In a little over an hour, he and his No. 48 team rebuilt a car that appeared totaled after both ends slammed hard into the inside backstretch wall. Johnson may have finished 38th on Sunday, but in a way, his crew chief had won his own personal race.

"Wasn't that awesome? That car was pretty torn up," Knaus said, clearly pleased. "I couldn't be prouder of the effort the guys put into that. They did a really good job. By all rights, any other team would have parked that car. They did a fantastic job."

In the end, it probably won't be the difference between Johnson winning or losing his fourth consecutive championship in NASCAR's premier division; the effort to repair the No. 48 car essentially netted the team five spots, or 15 points. Johnson heads to Phoenix still with a 73-point advantage over Mark Martin, a substantial lead with only two events remaining. If anything, the big winner Sunday night was Homestead-Miami Speedway, which is now virtually assured of deciding the title given that Johnson would need to gain 122 points on Martin at Phoenix to clinch the championship outright, or pick up 89 to seal the crown only by starting the finale in South Florida.

So yes, it's race again, but only to an extent. For the No. 48 team, the real race Sunday was against the clock, as crewmen scurried to repair a vehicle that looked better suited for a salvage yard. The front and rear ends were caved in, most every other part crumpled or broken. After it limped back into the garage area, a dozen or so crewmen descended upon it, immediately ripping off pieces of damaged sheet metal according to instructions Knaus issued over the radio. Mechanics sprinted back and forth to the transporter or the crash cart to retrieve tools or spare parts. Crewmen from other Hendrick Motorsports teams brought over saws or pitched in to help. Johnson never got out of the car, not wanting to give his guys the impression that their day was over.

"I was going to stay in it until he pushed it up on the ramp," Johnson said. "I wanted them to keep working on it, to find a way to get it on the track." (Continued)