Jimmie Johnson dominates 2nd Chase for championship race with his 5th overall win at Dover

Johnson dominates with his 5th victory at Dover

DOVER, Del. — Jimmie Johnson says winning a Chase race gives his No. 48 team direction. If the last three seasons are his map, all roads lead toward another Sprint Cup championship.

Johnson has the Chase for the championship victory. All he needs now is that points lead.

Johnson thumped the competition in the second Chase for the championship race, sweeping the season races at Dover International Speedway to accelerate his bid for an unprecedented fourth straight championship.

“I certainly hope that our performance today scares some people and affects them in a way that benefits us,” Johnson said.

Johnson sliced Mark Martin’s points lead with the victory — his fourth of the year and 44th overall — in the second of 10 races in the Chase. Martin holds a 10-point lead over Johnson heading into Week 3 at Kansas Speedway.

“We’re going to race our guts out no matter where we wind up, and no matter how they are,” Martin said. “That dude still is Superman in my book. Looked like it today.”

Johnson was pretty super on the concrete in the No. 48 Chevrolet. Johnson, who tire-tested in August at Dover, won from the pole. He led 298 laps when he won at Dover in May and added another 271 on the 1-mile concrete track Sunday. Johnson won for the fifth time at Dover.

“That’s right boys, maximum points! Thank you!” Johnson said over the radio.

No winner of the second Dover race has ever gone on to win the Cup championship. If any driver can reverse that trend, it’s Johnson. Much as he did in May, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was out in front for the majority of the 400-mile race.

Chase drivers took nine of the first 11 spots. Martin followed last week’s win at New Hampshire with a second-place finish. Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth and Kurt Busch fifth.

Matt Kenseth was the highest non-Chase driver at third.

Other Chase driver results saw Jeff Gordon finish sixth, Kasey Kahne was eighth, Tony Stewart ninth and Ryan Newman 10th. Carl Edwards was 11th, Greg Biffle 13th, Brian Vickers 18th and Denny Hamlin 22nd.

“It’s just two races,” Martin said. “I still say that there’s 12 in and 12 can win. It might be a challenge for a couple of the ones toward the end of the back.”

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus also won their 15th Chase race. No one is better down the stretch and it’s the main reason why the No. 48 team is going for its record fourth straight title.

“Our team is pretty easily motivated,” Knaus said.

Easy to see why. Cale Yarborough is the only other driver to win three straight championships and Johnson can move past him with more winning performances like this one over the final eight races.

Johnson was so far in front, he had no idea Joe Gibbs Racing driver Joey Logano was involved in an early accident that saw his No. 20 barrel-roll eight times down the concrete and result in the race being red-flagged. It looked scary, but the teenage Logano walked away and was fine.

“It just goes to show how safe these cars are,” Logano said.

Johnson, who won for the first time since July at Indianapolis, crushed Kenseth and the rest of the contenders off the double-file restarts and was never seriously challenged.

He’s in great position, but he’s still not in first. Even with the 10 bonus points for winning, Martin still holds a slim lead.

“It’s only been two races,” Martin said.

The 50-year-old Martin is the sentimental favorite for his first Cup championship and he’s in no rush to yield his spot atop the standings. His 1-2 finish in the first two Chase races proved he’ll be a major factor in his No. 5 car.

“I’m happy with the result,” Martin said. “We just missed it a little bit.”

It’s way too early in the Chase to rule out any driver as a contender, but the Hendrick powerhouse sure looks like it fields the teams to beat.

“They’re strong everywhere,” Hamlin said. “There’s no weakness to their race team at all.”

That’s just what owner Rick Hendrick’s Chase drivers — Johnson, Martin and Gordon — want to hear.

“I think a lot of people thought that Hendrick could be the team to beat,” Gordon said. “Right now, they certainly are.”