Johnson: 'We still have a nice lead'

FORT WORTH, Texas – Jimmie Johnson has been adamant that he had not started counting on winning his NASCAR-record fourth consecutive series title.

Anything could happen, he said.

On Sunday, anything did.

Three laps into the Dickies 500, David Reutimann and Sam Hornish Jr. made contact, which sent Hornish into Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet, which then hit the wall.

Johnson slid back down the track, hit Hornish and the inside wall as well.

Johnson’s car was demolished – or so he thought.

“The first report was we were going to put (the car) on the truck. The car was really torn up,” said Johnson, whose 184-point lead over Mark Martin shrank to 73 with two races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“The guys worked real hard to get it right and we were able to maintain minimum speed.”

Johnson was 43rd in the running order when his repaired car made its way back on the track on Lap 115 of the 334 scheduled. By running the rest of the race, he was able to pick up five more positions – finishing 38th after passing teams that parked early, and drivers Hornish and Carl Edwards, who both wrecked out.

“I’ve been saying all along this thing wasn’t over, even before we got such a big points lead,” Johnson said. “I had some time to sit in the car and think about it. I’m frustrated, but not as much as I was before.

“I’m more disappointed. I just didn’t know how the night was going to turn out. Mark had a great night, Jeff (Gordon) didn’t. We just had to go out there and finish the race.”

A 73-point lead is certainly still strong, especially considering the series moves to Phoenix next weekend, where Johnson has won three of the past four races.

The only other winner in that span is Martin, who won there in the spring.

“We still have a nice lead going into Phoenix,” Johnson said. “So, we’ll dust ourselves off and get ready for next week.”