Johnson Shows He's Ready For the Chase

By Rick Bradham

Jimmie Johnson showed that he is ready for the 2008 Chase. Winning from the pole and leading 228 of 250 laps, Johnson dominated the Pepsi 250 here Saturday night in his Chevrolet.

With his victory, Johnson moves up one spot in the points standings into third and secured his position in the Chase. Johnson is trying to match NASCAR legend Cale Yarbrough as the only other driver to win three Cup championships. Johnson's win tonight is also his 36th career victory and breaks a tie he had with Mark Martin at 17th in all-time career victories.

All attention this year has been focused on Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards as they have won a combined 14 of 25 races. Johnson has now won three races. Perhaps Busch and Edwards should be concerned with the two-time champion as it appears that Johnson is getting warmed up for the Chase. They should also remember that Johnson won four of the ten races in the Chase last year. The first 26 races will get you in the Chase but it's the last ten that gets you the Championship.

Johnson showed that he had the dominate car all night with only Ford driver Greg Biffle close to him at the end. Behind Biffle, Denny Hamlin finished third in a Toyota. Fourth place went to Kevin Harvick in a Chevrolet and fifth went to Ford driver Matt Kenseth.

Carl Edwards drove his Ford to sixth place with his nemesis Kyle Busch behind him in the Toyota for seventh. Busch continues to lead the series with Edwards in second place. With Johnson moving up to third, his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. slipped to fourth place. Jeff Burton remains in fifth place in series points. These five drivers have all now qualified for the Chase.

The remaining seven spots are still open with one race to go, next week in Richmond. Biffle moved up one spot into sixth and Harvick moved up one spot to seventh. Tony Stewart slipped two spots to eighth after finishing 22nd tonight. Kenseth moved up one spot to ninth while Jeff Gordon moved down one spot to tenth with his 15th place finish tonight. Denny Hamlin remains in 11th with Clint Bowyer holding onto the 12th and final qualifying position. David Ragan remains in 13th only 17 points behind Bowyer and Kasey Kahne remains in 14th only 48 points behind Bowyer.

Only one race to go before the Chase begins, and this is where your season can begin or end. Watch for plenty of action and risk taking moves next weekend.

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