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By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
Photo Credit: (Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
 
(November 15, 2009)
 
AVONDALE, Ariz.—From his fiasco in Forth Worth, Jimmie Johnson rose like a phoenix in—where else?—Phoenix.
 
A week after teasing his Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors with a 38th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway—his worst of the season—Johnson regained control of his championship run by winning Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

FORT WORTH, Texas (November 3, 2009) – No race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has swung the pendulum in favor of one driver more than the Dickies 500. Three-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson can attest to the importance of Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson has used the eighth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup as a springboard in two of his three consecutive championships and walked away with the points lead following the Dickies 500 in each of those previous three seasons. On two of those occasions, he erased a points deficit with a strong outing in the Dickies 500 to wrestle control of the championship lead

Throughout the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, www.texasmotorspeedway.com will be providing you with the special opportunity to watch the Chase driver press conferences as well as the post-qualifying and post-race press conferences LIVE from those respective speedways.

Now you not only can watch the Chase for the Sprint Cup races each week (ABC-TV), but find out what your favorite Chase drivers are saying as they prepare for the next event in addition to interviews from the top finishers following the conclusion of each race.

By Bill Marx
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
 
(October 27, 2009)
 
After two consecutive wins, Jimmie Johnson came up short and finished … second. Superman now leads the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by 118 points heading into Talladega. Johnson is four races from his fourth straight Cup championship. Here’s the breakdown of the top 12 after Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway.
 
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,098. Only a four-tire call at Kansas—when most of the other cars in the top 10 took two—has kept Johnson from having top-five finishes in each of the first six Chase races. Instead, that ninth-place day has dragged down his average finish in the Chase to 3.0. Horrors!

By Bill Marx
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
 
(October 22, 2009)
 
Here’s a look at the top five drivers and five to watch in Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Martinsville unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past nine races at the track.
 
1. Jimmie Johnson, 124.3. Johnson’s domination at Martinsville is as documented as it is indisputable. He has six wins, including five in the past six races. He also has won the past two weeks and leads Mark Martin by 90 points. Superman is a heavy favorite to win again this week.

By Bill Marx
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
 
(October 15, 2009)
 
Here’s a look at the top five drivers and five to watch in Saturday night’s NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Lowe’s unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past nine races at the track.
 
1. Jimmie Johnson, 116.6. Johnson’s success at Lowe’s is legendary—five wins and 12 top 10s in 16 starts, but did you know he hasn’t won there in four years? Johnson is hot, hot, hot with wins in two of the past three weeks, so a sixth win would surprise no one.

• Edwards Outguns TMS President Eddie Gossage In “Shooting Olympics”
• Defending Dickies 500 Champ Pursuing TMS History In Nov. 8 Chase for the Sprint Cup Race

FORT WORTH, Texas (October 8, 2009) – Carl Edwards has had the honor of firing off the Beretta Stampede six-shooters in Victory Lane to celebrate Sprint Cup Series wins at Texas Motor Speedway on three occasions, but exhibited on Thursday to speedway president Eddie Gossage that he can handle a firearm in competition as well.

WELCOME, N.C. – Have you ever admired the elaborate graphics on a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car and thought, “I wonder how they painted it to look like that?” There’s a very good chance it’s not paint at all – it could well be the car is “wrapped” in a high-tech vinyl.