Chasing NASCAR's Chase Leader

It’s like facing a 3-2 count in the bottom of the ninth, down three games to none in the World Series. It’s almost like being down a touchdown with three seconds to go and you have the ball 99 yards away from the endzone. It’s like needing to hit a half court shot with less than a second left on the clock to win game four of the NBA Finals, with your team facing elimination.

Pretty dire, right? Well, welcome to NASCAR’s final three races for those trying to dethrone Jimmie Johnson. After Sunday’s race at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson’s only competition is himself. Only he or his crew can stand between themselves and the record breaking fourth consecutive Cup title.

He left Talladega with an improbable 6th place finish, and got help from a last lap crash that took out teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, his two closest competitors in the Chase. He now leads Martin by 184 points and Gordon by 192. The maximum amount of points that can be made up in one race is 161 points.

It’s not over yet, but it’s getting there. Mark Martin’s crew chief Alan Gustafson said, “We have a pulse, albeit a faint one.” Johnson was glad to escape Talladega unscathed. “Yes, I do feel better than a race win with today's finish,” he commented to reporters.

Jeff Gordon voiced his displeasure with the finish as well, stating sarcastically, “I'm kind of glad we ran out [of gas] when we did because we were at least able to get back out there and destroy our car.”

Martin was less than happy as well, saying that he saw, “Nothing,” when asked about his first ever flip.

So on runs Johnson, and while it’s tough for most to credit him, it’s been interesting to see him dominate. Even if it is partially through luck. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Ask the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Yet the fans have raged on about this weekend’s show, or lack thereof. And even some have gone so far as to suggest that the drivers actually sent a message to NASCAR about the sudden last second rule change that the supreme being threw on them at the last second.

Ed Hinton of ESPN.com wrote this, and I feel that it’s a good place to start: “And NASCAR had better yield on the Car of Tomorrow, bring back springs instead of bump stops, bring back spoilers instead of wings, bring back air dams instead of splitters. Then the drivers can race, if only just a little.”

As the character named Mr. Applegate (the devil) said in Damn Yankees, “Those were the good old days…”

And even the Fab Four would sing, “How I long for yesterday…”

After Sunday, I think I do. The only question is, do you?