Johnson says change to car not spoiling his season

DOVER, Del. -- Kevin Harvick once joked that Jimmie Johnson had a golden horseshoe implanted in a certain part of his anatomy. If the past few weeks are any indication, that metaphorical good luck charm has become dislodged.

The four-time defending series champion comes to Dover International Speedway after failing to finish two of his past three races, including last weekend at Darlington where he struggled all night with his No. 48 car before being taken out by an out-of-control A.J. Allmendinger. After winning three of the schedule's first five events, Johnson has gone winless in his past six, a stretch that's seen him fall 110 points behind Harvick, the current series leader.

That mini-slump has coincided with the implementation of the spoiler on Sprint Cup cars, which replaced the rear wing beginning with the March 29 event at Martinsville ? and has prompted speculation that adaptation to the new piece of hardware is at the root of the No. 48 team's relative struggles. But the consensus in the garage area is that the spoiler hasn't quite required the dramatic adjustments that some expected, and Johnson believes it has little to do with his current situation.

"For us, I can't say that it's really changed much. I know there's been some conversation that maybe [Hendrick Motorsports] or the 48 team has had some troubles with the spoiler being on the car, and I can't say it's changed much for us," Johnson said Friday.

"I look at the start of the year, and we didn't have the dominant car, but we were able to close the deal and win three races. Since the spoiler came along, we've been in that same situation where we've been competitive. If we've been on track and running, I think our worst finish is 10th. You look at the tracks we've come through, we almost won at Texas, at Phoenix we had a great chance of winning. There's a lot of hope there when you're sitting in our position. You're not where you want to be, but we're still awfully competitive, and not as worried or concerned as the headlines may read or some of the speculation that may be out there."

That doesn't mean the spoiler package, which includes the "shark fin" rising up from the left side of the rear decklid, hasn't had an effect -- Johnson believes the car now handles differently in traffic, where it's a little less stable. But early in the season, there was talk of the spoiler potentially being a game-changer, to the effect that some teams might experience a marked difference in performance, either positively or negatively. To this point, that doesn't seem to be the case. (Continued)