AVONDALE, Ariz. — When a fluke accident cost Jimmie Johnson a huge chunk of his points lead, he knew there was no more room for error in his bid to win a NASCAR-record fourth consecutive series championship.
But when it came time to plot a strategy for Phoenix International Raceway, playing it safe was never an option.
Johnson cruised to victory Sunday that moved him to the edge of history, dominating a race in what his rivals considered a “statement” showing.
“I guess in the end it could be looked at like that,” Johnson said. “It was, ‘Hey, guys, you know, we need to step up and get it done . . . We need to show what we’re made of, we need to get this done.’
“I guess in the end, it could have been a statement that we’re sending. I’m very proud of the fact we looked each other in the eyes, knew what we had to do, and delivered.”
Johnson wrecked on the third lap of last week’s race at Texas, and sat inside his disabled race car as his crew did a total rebuild of the Chevrolet. He limped to a 38th-place finish that sliced his lead in the standings to just 73 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin.
Martin is the only driver still in mathematical contention to catch Johnson.
Fellow Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon will be eliminated as soon as Johnson starts next week, and Johnson’s win at Phoenix knocked everyone else out of contention.
Despite the harsh reality of his position, Martin is refusing to concede to Johnson and said he won’t let up next weekend at Homestead as he tries to at least stave off Gordon for second in the final standings. But should John-son coast to the win, Martin will be fine.
“We’ve still got to go to Homestead and run like this again, because we still have heat behind us, Jeff Gordon, especially,” Martin said. “I definitely have been beat by the best — Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt. It wouldn’t embarrass me if it was Jimmie Johnson as well.”
Jeff Burton finished second Sunday and was followed by Denny Hamlin, Martin and polesitter Martin Truex Jr.
Kurt Busch, winner last week at Texas, finished sixth. Clint Bowyer was seventh, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Gordon and David Reutimann.
Nobody was surprised to see Johnson in Victory Lane, particularly since he’d had such a rare race the week before.
“Anytime that Jimmie is down is not usually because of performance, it’s usually because of an incident like last week,” Hamlin said. “There was no doubt in my mind they were going to come this week and make a statement.
“Obviously leading all the laps pretty much sends a statement that he is the best, that they’re not going to be denied.”
