Race: Dickies 500
Date: Sunday November 2, 2008
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Time: 3 pm ET
Channel: ABC
As we head into the close of the season, it’s hard to imagine how Johnson can lose the trophy. As sick and tired as everyone is of hearing his name, Jimmie has truly earned his reputation as a consistent, level-headed, and smart driver. His crew chief doesn’t hurt too much either. I think that’s really what Hendrick teams have above everyone else. They are in synch with each other. Johnson and Knaus, Gordon and Letarte, and Earnhardt and Eury JrI’m going to leave Casey Mears out of this one.
Anyway, Texas Motor Speedway doesn’t have a long history. We began racing here in ’97 and have run 2 races a year since 2005. The defending winner of the race this weekend is Johnson. The winner from the spring race here is Edwards. What a pick. We have number 1 and number 2 in the points as the last two winners at this track. I have to think that should tell us something about the caliber of these teams and the fact that those two guys certainly deserve to be where they’re at.
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This track is an intermediate track as a 1.5 mile quad-oval. The turns boast 24 degree banking with 5 degree banking on the straights. The frontstretch is 2,250 feet long with 1,330 feet on the backstretch. As a matter of fact, this track is virtually identical to the house of Jimmieif you don’t know what track that is, you are wayyyyyy out of the loop. It’s Charlotte Motor Speedway, the place that holds Johnson’s sponsorship. With the exception of a longer frontstretch, Texas really is a mirror image of Charlotte.
If that doesn’t tell ya something, then you aren’t a real fan. Johnson should and will own the race this weekend. Coming off such an incredible comeback last week, Johnson and his crew chief are going to have an awesome weekend. So long as they manage to keep their mistakes at null, these guys are a shoe-in for the win. That’s not to say that Edwards won’t be up there, but he certainly doesn’t maintain the composure that Johnson and his team do during the end of the Chase. (As I’m saying this, my husband is telling me that he has a hunch that Harvick is going to win or at least contendtake that for what it’s worth).
Minus the pit-road errors, which are a rarity for Johnson anyway, he shouldn’t have a problem defending his title. Sorry for those who are sick of him. You’re going to have to wait for another great driver to come in and take his place because it seems like everyone else is missing what this golden boy has.
Here’s a recap of your current top 12:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Carl Edwards
3. Greg Biffle
4. Jeff Burton
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Clint Bowyer
8. Tony Stewart
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
11. Denny Hamlin
12. Kyle Busch
This is one of the final three races before we crown another *ahem* champion at Homestead (who will be Johnson unless he hits the wall on the first lap for the next three races). Honestly, I’m kind of sick of talking about Johnson, but it’s my job to pick and to pick winners. So there you have itJohnson for the win this weekend. Try not to cry as he heads for victory laneagain.
