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Blown tire blows chances of title in season finale at Homestead
Yes, Jimmie Johnson has an Achilles' heel. It's called August.
Johnson has been a fixture on NASCAR's top series for four years, and 2005 was the most bittersweet campaign of them all.
Inside the Numbers
Jimmie Johnson in 2005
Race Start Finish
Daytona 500 2 5
Auto Club 500 8 2
UAW-DaimChrys 400 9 1
Golden Corral 500 3 2
Food City 500 14 6
Advance 500 37 8
Sam./R.Shack 500 18 3
Subway Fresh 500 12 15
Aaron's 499 6 20
Dodge Charger 500 9 7
Chevy 400 28 40
Coca-Cola 600 5 1
RacePoints 400 1 4
Pocono 500 21 6
Batman Begins 400 16 19
Dodge/S. Mart 350 2 36
Pepsi 400 3 6
USG Sheetrock 400 1 3
New England 300 12 13
Pennsylvania 500 9 12
Allstate 400 42 38
Sirius at the Glen 2 5
GFS Marketplace 400 10 10
Sharpie 500 29 36
Sony HD 500 5 16
Chevy 400 24 25
Sylvania 300 10 8
RacePoints 400 5 1
UAW-Ford 500 9 31
Banquet 400 22 6
UAW-GM Quality 500 3 1
Subway 500 6 3
Bass Pro Shops 500 12 16
Dickies 500 11 5
Checker 500 2 7
Ford 400 32 40
Averages 12.2 12.6
There were a ton of victories [four] and a lot of weeks leading the points (16). There were accusations of cheating when his car was found to be too low after the win at Las Vegas.
There were more accusations after Johnson's car took awhile to clear inspection after the win at Dover. In the Dover incident, crew chief Chad Knaus was guilty of using an ingenious shock package, and NASCAR quickly closed the loophole the team had found.
Johnson was in control for much of the first half of the year but like 2004, it was a stretch of four races in August that really cost him a lot of momentum. Johnson crashed at Indianapolis and had an engine die at Bristol, leading to a pair of DNFs that occurred just as Tony Stewart was putting the finishing touches on one of the best summers in NASCAR history.
Johnson nearly recovered. After his win at Dover he led the points, only to cause a barrage of criticism for helping ignite a crash at Talladega the next week. He made up all of the lost points with an improbable fourth consecutive victory at Charlotte, but a poor run at Atlanta all but eliminated him.
The year ended on a sour note at Homestead when Johnson qualified badly and then had a tire explode during the race. He finished fifth in the standings, his lowest since his rookie season.
"It's sad. It's disappointing. You work a long time all season long to get this championship and we've been in this position since this team was first born," Knaus said. "Since 2002 we've battled for the championship. So, as long as we keep doing that, consistency will sooner or later pay off for us. And we'll get the trophy, it's just hasn't been meant to be just yet."
"I look back at the season and we did everything we could," said Johnson, who turned 30 in September. "I'm disappointed, but very proud of my team and everybody involved. It's just too bad. We'll be back next year."
The end of the year hurt, because Johnson opened the season with the same fire he displayed at the close of 2004. Johnson started the season with seven consecutive top-10s, but he was plagued by six finishes of 30th or worse.
"We can bounce back from anything, easy," Knaus said. "We've gone through more trials and tribulations as a team than any other team has possibly tried to overcome, and we have overcome it all.
"And this is a championship-caliber team and it has been since its inception, thanks to Mr. Hendrick [owner Rick] and Jeff Gordon and everybody that put it together. So, we'll come back next year and battle for the championship."
Despite the sour end to the year, Johnson and Knaus continued to show that the No. 48 Chevrolet was the top team within Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson notched more than 20 top-10s for the fourth consecutive year, and he was the lone Hendrick car [and one of only two Chevrolets] to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
"You know, I'm proud of the team, we've been in championship contention for three years so far in our career at the Cup level," Johnson said. "To win the championship is what we're here for and coming so close last year, there's really nowhere else to go in our mind than up to win the championship."
Yes, Jimmie Johnson has an Achilles' heel. It's called August.
Johnson has been a fixture on NASCAR's top series for four years, and 2005 was the most bittersweet campaign of them all.
Inside the Numbers
Jimmie Johnson in 2005
Race Start Finish
Daytona 500 2 5
Auto Club 500 8 2
UAW-DaimChrys 400 9 1
Golden Corral 500 3 2
Food City 500 14 6
Advance 500 37 8
Sam./R.Shack 500 18 3
Subway Fresh 500 12 15
Aaron's 499 6 20
Dodge Charger 500 9 7
Chevy 400 28 40
Coca-Cola 600 5 1
RacePoints 400 1 4
Pocono 500 21 6
Batman Begins 400 16 19
Dodge/S. Mart 350 2 36
Pepsi 400 3 6
USG Sheetrock 400 1 3
New England 300 12 13
Pennsylvania 500 9 12
Allstate 400 42 38
Sirius at the Glen 2 5
GFS Marketplace 400 10 10
Sharpie 500 29 36
Sony HD 500 5 16
Chevy 400 24 25
Sylvania 300 10 8
RacePoints 400 5 1
UAW-Ford 500 9 31
Banquet 400 22 6
UAW-GM Quality 500 3 1
Subway 500 6 3
Bass Pro Shops 500 12 16
Dickies 500 11 5
Checker 500 2 7
Ford 400 32 40
Averages 12.2 12.6
There were a ton of victories [four] and a lot of weeks leading the points (16). There were accusations of cheating when his car was found to be too low after the win at Las Vegas.
There were more accusations after Johnson's car took awhile to clear inspection after the win at Dover. In the Dover incident, crew chief Chad Knaus was guilty of using an ingenious shock package, and NASCAR quickly closed the loophole the team had found.
Johnson was in control for much of the first half of the year but like 2004, it was a stretch of four races in August that really cost him a lot of momentum. Johnson crashed at Indianapolis and had an engine die at Bristol, leading to a pair of DNFs that occurred just as Tony Stewart was putting the finishing touches on one of the best summers in NASCAR history.
Johnson nearly recovered. After his win at Dover he led the points, only to cause a barrage of criticism for helping ignite a crash at Talladega the next week. He made up all of the lost points with an improbable fourth consecutive victory at Charlotte, but a poor run at Atlanta all but eliminated him.
The year ended on a sour note at Homestead when Johnson qualified badly and then had a tire explode during the race. He finished fifth in the standings, his lowest since his rookie season.
"It's sad. It's disappointing. You work a long time all season long to get this championship and we've been in this position since this team was first born," Knaus said. "Since 2002 we've battled for the championship. So, as long as we keep doing that, consistency will sooner or later pay off for us. And we'll get the trophy, it's just hasn't been meant to be just yet."
"I look back at the season and we did everything we could," said Johnson, who turned 30 in September. "I'm disappointed, but very proud of my team and everybody involved. It's just too bad. We'll be back next year."
The end of the year hurt, because Johnson opened the season with the same fire he displayed at the close of 2004. Johnson started the season with seven consecutive top-10s, but he was plagued by six finishes of 30th or worse.
"We can bounce back from anything, easy," Knaus said. "We've gone through more trials and tribulations as a team than any other team has possibly tried to overcome, and we have overcome it all.
"And this is a championship-caliber team and it has been since its inception, thanks to Mr. Hendrick [owner Rick] and Jeff Gordon and everybody that put it together. So, we'll come back next year and battle for the championship."
Despite the sour end to the year, Johnson and Knaus continued to show that the No. 48 Chevrolet was the top team within Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson notched more than 20 top-10s for the fourth consecutive year, and he was the lone Hendrick car [and one of only two Chevrolets] to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
"You know, I'm proud of the team, we've been in championship contention for three years so far in our career at the Cup level," Johnson said. "To win the championship is what we're here for and coming so close last year, there's really nowhere else to go in our mind than up to win the championship."
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