Jimmie Johnson won the Shelby American 400 in Las Vegas this weekend. Yep, Jimmie Johnson. Again. By the time Jimmie Johnson and the number 48 car won his 49th race, the Canadians had put the American hockey team on ice, and the day’s sweep of sport’s disappointment was complete.
Not to belabor the point I made just last week, but come on. NASCAR fans want to see Jimmie Johnson win another Sprint Cup like baseball fans want to see the Yankees win another World Series or PGA fans want to see Tiger Woods bed another Denny’s waitress. It’s been done.
Johnson’s victory was his 15th on a mile and a half track. No big deal, except that until today he was tied with Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt for the most wins on a 1.5 mile track. That’s pretty good company to be in. Incredible company to be looking down on.
The great thing about the race on Sunday was that it came down to strategy. With 34 laps to go, Johnson pitted and took four new tires. Johnson’s teammate, Jeff Gordon, took just two tires to save precious seconds on pit row.
For the next 17 laps Gordon looked the wiser, leading the race from a vantage point just in front of his friend’s front bumper. Then, with jut 17 laps to go, Johnson made his move, and there was nothing that Gordon could do but watch and try to hold on to second place. Even second ultimately eluded Gordon’s grasp. After leading for 218 of the 267 laps of the Shelby American, he trailed across the finish line in third place behind Kevin Harvick.
Scott Speed lead briefly, only to fall by the wayside. Yep, Scott Speed. Again. His race is coming. Any week now.
