The three-time reigning Sprint Cup champion was asked about the prospects of winning seven NASCAR Sprint Cup titles -- the number, of course, that Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty share as the most ever. Johnson, ever the modest and self-doubting gentleman, politely answered that it would be "insane" for his team to win four more titles before his career ends.
Great answer, Jimmie. But come on, dude, let's be real -- we all know that answer is about as far from the truth as it can get.
It took just 3 hours, 24 minutes and 20 seconds of racing action Sunday at Dover International Speedway to allow "Superman" to reassert his dominance over NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.
Jimmie Johnson pounded the field around the concrete one-mile oval for his fifth career win at Dover and fourth of the season to take home the AAA 400 trophy. Johnson led some 271 laps and never looked back despite late cautions that brought the competition back to his bumper three times in final 100 laps.
In doing so, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus served notice that they don't expect a change from recent years at the celebration following the season's final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
10 years ago Saturday -- Sept. 26, 1999 -- was the end of an era for Jeff Gordon.
For as long as Gordon had been a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Ray Evernham had been his crew chief. The run produced three championships and 47 wins but came to end when Evernham decided to start his own venture into Sprint Cup ownership. The questions came quickly.
Would Jeff Gordon have the same success? Or would the loss of Evernham spell the end of Gordon's reign in NASCAR?
10 years later, Gordon's success has proved that Gordon could go it alone just fine, but also leaves the question of what could have been.
Based on the last three seasons, Jimmie Johnson has to be a favorite to win his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title. The NASCAR world gets the championship fight under way this weekend in New Hampshire with the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup with 11 other drivers fighting to knock off the No. 48.
Can they do it? FanHouse writers Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller chime in on that and plenty more as they go Wheel2Wheel about Jimmie Johnson: Will Jimmie Johnson make it four championships in-a-row? Geoffrey Miller: If you would have asked me, oh, four weeks ago the answer would be a resounding yes. But since Johnson took over and won at Indianapolis, he hasn't exactly lit up the Sprint Cup Series. There's been no Johnson just flat knocking 'em dead with top-fives and wins, and instead we've seen some chinks in the armor of the No. 48.
The full-time Nationwide Series driver has shown to be one of the brightest up and coming stars in NASCAR, and his surprise Sprint Cup victory at Talladega only added to the hype. Consider that he's got the best shot as a non-Cup regular to overtake Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards for the Nationwide points title and his 3 wins in 2009, and you're looking at a guy who's turned plenty of heads in Cup ownership.
Reports say that Penske Racing has agreed to put him in the No. 12 Cup car for 2010, but how well he'd do there as a full-time driver is very much up in the air.
It's fair to say Mark Martin wasn't always a glass-half-full kinda guy.
Even a decade ago while piling up wins in the midst of four championship runner-up seasons as the lead driver for a more streamlined Jack Roush organization, Martin wasn't exactly effusive or happy-go-lucky. Even in victory circle he tended to analyze what went wrong instead of what went right.
After months of speculation this would or should happen, team owner Rick Hendrick made the move Thursday to replace Tony Eury Jr. as crew chief on the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., effective immediately.
While the other three drivers in the championship Hendrick Motorsports stable have won races this year, Earnhardt has struggled mightily -- including a season-worst 40th-place effort Monday at Charlotte, placing Earnhardt 19th in the points standings.
Although NASCAR banned all test sessions across the board this season, expect to see 100 laps of disguised "testing" Saturday night in the 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (7PM ET on SPEED).
Even when testing was permissible, the All-Star Race traditionally has been a time when teams think outside the box and employ aggressive tactics with their chassis setups to evaluate potential benefits for them in the following week's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The All-Star Race can be a thrill-packed, high-paying, no points test session where almost anything goes and usually does.
A news conference on Wednesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway told you everything you need to know about Jimmie Johnson.
It took just 3 hours, 24 minutes and 20 seconds of racing action Sunday at Dover International Speedway to allow "Superman" to reassert his dominance over NASCAR 
10 years ago Saturday -- Sept. 26, 1999 -- was the end of an era for 
Based on the last three seasons, 
It's got to be tough to be in 
It's fair to say 
Sure, he didn't get the race win and he certainly didn't challenge for it. The No. 88 didn't finish in the Top-10 and it never led a lap.
After months of speculation this would or should happen, team owner 
