Jimmie Johnson won again.

This time, he won a dramatic, give and take, bump and nudge, back and forth kind of finish that you love to see. Even when it is Johnson who comes out on top in the end.

It could have been worse. Jeff Gordon could have won.  Instead, Gordon settled for fourth place, 160 points, and one more driver vowing revenge on him.

Even though Johnson won for the second week in a row and fifth time this year, he only moved up 45 points on Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick, who continues to hang around the leaders every week.  Harvick’s fifth place finish was enough to keep him solidly in the lead by 105 points.

Overall, the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 only served to solidify the points leaders.  Among the top 12 drivers, the only change was Tony Steward and Greg Biffle flip flopping at the ninth and tenth positions.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished a strong 8th place and is now within a miniscule 3 points of Carl Edwards for the coveted 12th and final spot in the Cup chase.

In a race most well-known for its odd number of laps, the biggest story of the day was the lack of a story on the crash front.  All the talk during the last week about bumping and respect and wrecking and Jeff Gordon and bumping and wrecking Jeff Gordon because of his lack of respect – it all turned out to be just words.  In fact, the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was one of the more civilized races this year.

There were only four cautions all day, only two for wrecks.  The few drivers who did get into the occasional minor bumps were falling all over themselves giving mea culpas and apologizing to one another.  Except for Juan Montoya, who started on the pole and ended creeping into pit row after a fracas with… wait for it… Jeff Gordon.  Sadly for Montoya, he was a week late getting on the “Get Jeff” bandwagon.  NASCAR seems to have slipped something into the drivers’ Gatorade, rendering them all love and sunshine and Kumbaya this week.

This love-fest can’t last forever.  I can hardly wait to see what happens next week in Daytona.

The 2010 NASCAR season is almost here!  The Bud Daytona Shootout is  just days away.  As we look forward to another great season of stock car racing, here are a few predictions for 2010.

#1 – Danica Patrick will make a splash.  I think she’s going to be a better NASCAR driver than she is Indy Car.  A little on-track success could go a very long way for Ms. Patrick with the NASCAR crowd.  My prediction is that 2010 will be the last ‘limited participation’ season for Dale Jr.’s newest protege.

#2 – Jimmie Johnson will fade.  Not to say that he’ll have a bad season.  Not even that he’ll drop to the middle of the pack.  But an athlete just can’t stay at the top of the pyramid forever.  I’m not taking anything away from what he’s accomplished, but Johnson’s record breaking run at the top of the Cup Chase has to come to an end at some point, and I’m thinking that point is 2010.

#3 – Jamie McMurray will surge.  I think that a change of scenery will do him some good.  His new home with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing should afford him the opportunity to improve on his 22nd place finish in 2009.

#4 – There will be two Busches in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  Kurt was a top five contender last year, and Kyle just missed the cut (granted, it was by a lot of points, but just one spot).  I’m looking for Kurt to fade a little, Kyle to jump up some, and the two of them to be in the running by year’s end.

OK, I don’t really know what’s going to happen in the world of NASCAR this year, but I sure am looking forward to finding out.