Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway
CONCORD, N.C. -- It may have been a familiar car up front in Saturday's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it was hardly just another hum-drum NASCAR championship effort. Jimmie Johnson finished third behind winner Jamie McMurray and the night's most dominant driver, Kyle Busch, and still extended his NASCAR Sprint Cup championship lead to 41 points over second place Denny Hamlin. Most disconcerting to his competition is the fact the four-time defending series champ scored the finish despite an early race spin, pit road collision and uncharacteristic pit stop bobble.
"Ah, Superman; he woke up,'' Busch said at one point midway through the race while exchanging the lead with Johnson, who had just overcome a series of early race setbacks.
With five races remaining in NASCAR's 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs, Johnson has clearly established himself as the odds-on favorite, man-to-beat for an unprecedented and unthinkable fifth consecutive title.
"We've had a little more drama in this situation than we would have wanted to,'' Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus offered Saturday night. Yet somehow, even nights like this haven't derailed his title hopes in the least.
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