Johnson readies to cement spot in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Indy
Much of Jimmie Johnson’s playoff insurance depends upon Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Of course if the four-time Indy winner scores yet another trophy, it’s very simple. He’s in. A solid finish is imperative for sure, as the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion navigates a playoff berth in one of the more challenging seasons he’s had in a historic 16–year Cup career.
The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is looking for his first win since summer of last season. He has two top-five and eight top-10 finishes through the opening 25 races. As the series prepares for its regular season finale on Sunday, Johnson is ranked 15th in the playoff standings with a 19-point cushion on his teammate Alex Bowman in 16th. Sixteen drivers advance to the playoffs, which begin in Las Vegas next week.
Indy has typically been a bright spot on the race calendar for Johnson, who won in 2006, back-to-back in 2008-09 and then again in 2012. He won the 2008 race from the pole position. Twice more he’s finished among the top three, including a runner-up effort in 2013 when he led a race-best 73 laps.
His 302 laps out front is most in this weekend’s field. He and Kyle Busch (2015-16) are the only two drivers to ever win consecutive races at Indy. And Johnson is ranked first or second in three key statistical categories – Driver Rating, Fastest Laps and Laps Led.
He’s had two top fives in the five years since his last win and was going for the late-race lead when he crashed out in 2017.
“Last year’s race at the Brickyard was pretty exciting – a final lap, three-wide battle for the win,’’ said Johnson, who was among the three drivers vying for the spot, but part of a collision during it.
“It was a good show for the fans. This race is a big one to win.
“Our cars have had a lot of speed lately even though the results haven’t been there, Johnson acknowledged. “But there really is no quit in me, or this team and I think our cars are capable of running in the top five every week. We just need to focus on minimizing mistakes.”
Crunch Time
Having announced that 2018 will be his final full-time NASCAR season, Elliott Sadler would certainly like to wrap up his successful career with another run at the Xfinity Series championship. And Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could be a pivotal race in Sadler earning a second consecutive “regular season” crown along the way.
Sadler’s JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier – a four-time race winner this season – leads the championship by only 16 points over Sadler with two races remaining to set the playoff field. But when it comes to the historic and intimidating Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sadler has shown himself to be most proficient on the championship team.
He won the pole position last year in his No. 1 Chevrolet and has two top-five and five top-10 finishes in six races at the Brickyard. He is looking to hoist his first race trophy since 2016.
Allgaier is on a competitive “roll” with 12 consecutive top-10 finishes, including three wins and an average showing of 4.3. He’ll need to tap into that vibe this weekend, however, as he has only a 21.2 average finish on Indy’s big track.
The seven-race NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Sept. 21 at Richmond Raceway with the regular season champion receiving a 15-point playoff bonus as a sendoff.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard
The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, Ind.)
The Date: Sunday, Sept. 9
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 100), and Final Stage (Ends on lap 160)
What to Watch For: Kevin Harvick boasts the best average finish (9.7) among the top-16 drivers. However, Kyle Busch has the best driver rating (106.9) at the track. … Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender William Byron is a perfect 1-for-1 in his young career at Indy. He won the 2017 Xfinity Series race in his only previous start at the track. … Paul Menard is the only driver to score his first career win (2011) at Indy. Reed Sorenson is the only driver to win his first Cup pole position at Indy (July, 2007). … Newly elected NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with five wins and three pole positions at Indy. Harvick and Kyle Busch are next on the list in poles won (two). … Seven of Indy’s 14 race winners are entered this week. … Ricky Rudd’s 0.183-second win over Bobby Labonte in 1997 marks the closest margin of victory in the Brickyard 400. … In 2016, Kyle Busch made IMS history winning both the Cup and Xfinity races from the pole position. … 50 percent of the race winners have started from a top-five position. The pole position is the most prolific starting spot on the grid, producing four winners. … Four races in history have gone into “overtime,” including the last three. … Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 16 wins in the track’s 24 Cup races. … Roush-Fenway Racing’s Matt Kenseth leads all drivers with 18 starts at the track. His three runner-up finishes tie Rusty Wallace for the most all-time. His 12 top 10s are most among this year’s starting field.
Xfinity Series
Next Race: Lily Diabetes 250
The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, Ind.)
The Date: Saturday, Sept. 8
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 250 miles (100 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 60), and Final Stage (Ends on lap 100)
What to Watch For: JR Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler has never finished worse than sixth in five starts in this race. Last year, Sadler earned the pole for this race and his then-teammate William Byron won the race. …Three of the six race winners have started from the pole position. … Kaulig Racing is expanding to a two-car team this weekend. Cup regular Austin Dillon (No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro) will join full-time Kaulig driver Ryan Truex (No. 11 Chevrolet). Austin’s younger brother Ty Dillon, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are the only Cup drivers in this weekend’s Xfinity field. … Ryan Preece returns to competition fulltime driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing for the remainder of the season. He won at Bristol, Tenn. this Spring and scored a pole position in the summer Daytona race. … This race will again feature the restrictor plate package used last year. … Kyle Busch is the all-time winningest driver in this six-year old race (three wins) but is not entered this week. Ty Dillon (2014) is the only previous winner in the field.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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