Head2Head: Will spoiler slow down Johnson?

Since the beginning of 2008, the full-time start of the wing era, Jimmie Johnson has 17 wins. If you include the new car races in 2007, 22 of Johnson's 50 Cup wins have come on a wing and a prayer.

Those are the stats that everyone is going to throw out there the next seven days, but they really don't tell the story. Here are some numbers that do.

Since the beginning of 2008:
• Jeff Gordon has one win
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one win
• Ryan Newman has one win
• Greg Biffle has two wins and none since Dover in the fall of '08

All of the above names are top-tier drivers -- arguably in some cases Hall of Fame caliber. They've combined for 127 total Cup wins and exactly zero in the past 12 months. If you don't think those stats and others like them were a determining factor in the decision to bring the spoiler back, you're out of your mind.

Granted, TV ratings and attendance figures probably had more than a little to do with it, but I think that more than that, the fan favorites just weren't winning races. When Jimmie Johnson and the Busch brothers are in Victory Lane every other week for two years, most NASCAR fans are going to leave the easy chair or worse yet, the race track, unhappy.

The field is about to come back to the 48 -- and it couldn't happen at a better time for NASCAR.

There are many who hope the departure of the wing on the Cup car will bring Jimmie Johnson back to the rest of the field. Sorry guys, but it's going to take more than a change to the car to corral Johnson and the No. 48 team.

There is no question, the three-year wing era, while short, became a Johnson highlight reel. The No. 48 went to Victory Lane 22 times with the wing and for every year the wing was in play, Johnson won the championship.

But Johnson's career was in full bloom well before the wing ever made an appearance.

Johnson has 28 wins with a spoiler on the car and his two best seasons statistically have come when the spoiler was in play. Not to mention, Johnson was the last driver to win a championship with the spoiler.

But the biggest reason the change to a spoiler will not have a negative effect on Johnson -- Chad Knaus.

Knaus is the best in the garage, there is no disputing it. Knaus has his team so dialed-in, so prepared for anything that comes their way, I guarantee you, this team isn't only ready for the spoiler, they are ahead of the rest of the field.

After the win at Bristol, Knaus said Hendrick teams "adapt quicker than most" when it comes to major changes and history backs his statement. Look for it to be business as usual at Martinsville for the No. 48 while other teams have to battle with adjustments.