5 Things Jimmie Johnson Must Do to Regain His Championship Form in 2015
Jimmie Johnson is a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, and he’s held to a wildly different standard than all other drivers.
In what other world is four trips to Victory Lane, a berth in the Chase and title contention until the final four races of the season considered a failure?
Welcome to life as the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet.
Johnson came into the 2014 season with a chance to capture his second straight and record-tying seventh overall Sprint Cup, but he finished a distant 11th place in points, the worst single-season finish of his career.
For those coming into the season declaring him the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time), the narrative quickly shifted to wondering what went wrong. After all, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Johnson would match The King and The Intimidator with his seventh title in nine seasons.
What went wrong?
Nothing.
Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, even for as celebrated and accomplished a driver as Johnson.
So how does he get back on track and contend for a title next season?
Here are five things he must do to regain his championship form in 2015.
Use Early Exit as Motivation
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Johnson came into the Geico 500 at Talladega knowing that he needed a win to keep his chances of a record-tying seventh championship alive.
He raced like a man trying to keep his season alive, leading 84 laps but ultimately falling to a disappointing 24th-place finish that ensured his final four races would provide an anticlimactic end to such a historically significant season.
Racing with nothing to race for is not par for the course when it comes to Johnson, who, per Nate Ryan of USA Today, said after Talladega that he’d use it as motivation going into next season.
"I truly believe those moments make you stronger. They make you dig in deeper. It's great medicine for the (team). I don't want to be in this position. This is great medicine to sit and watch this championship unfold. It's going to motivate me (and) all of us on the 48 team. We'll be back next year and ready to roll.
"
Two weeks after being eliminated, Johnson piloted the No. 48 car to a victory at Texas Motor Speedway, his third consecutive fall-race win at Texas, in an affair overshadowed by the post-race brawl between Brad Keselowski and his teammate Jeff Gordon.
Was being on the sidelines for the Chase a motivating factor in that win?
You’d better believe it, and it should be a powerful force driving the No. 48 team in the coming season.
And, if you believe Johnson, it will.
Remain Consistent
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Johnson struggled to find consistency in the early season before finally cracking through with wins in three of four weekends late in the spring.
Victories at Charlotte, Dover and Michigan—mixed in with a solid sixth-place finish at Pocono—announced the resurgence of the six-time champ.
Rumors of his demise, so it seemed, had been greatly overblown.
But things came apart pretty quickly in the weeks following Johnson finally conquering Michigan for his first win on the track in 25 starts.
He didn’t win again until after he was eliminated from the Chase, and his summer began with an awful five-race stretch that saw him finish 42nd on back-to-back weeks at Daytona and New Hampshire, followed by 14th in the Brickyard 400, 39th at Pocono and 28th at Watkins Glen.
It was just that type of season.
Johnson was either up at the front and in contention or well at back of the pack and not even within sniffing distance of the checkered flag. There wasn’t much in the way of middle ground.
It was feast or famine all the way, even in the Chase, where Johnson looked solid with a pair of top-five finishes in the Challenger Round before completely tanking in the Eliminator Round and sealing his fate.
The 48 team will definitely need to find more consistency in the season ahead. The new Chase format rewards it, but it was in short supply last season.
Get a Quick Handle on the New Rules Package
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Let’s get just a bit technical without getting too far into the weeds about the inner workings of a Sprint Cup car, shall we?
Johnson was pretty open about the struggles both he and the rest of the 48 team had adapting to NASCAR’s rules package for the 2014 season. With another new set of changes on the books for the coming year—a couple of them drastic—every driver, not just Johnson, will have to expect a steep learning curve.
Especially with NASCAR’s newly implemented ban on private testing of cars.
The ban on private testing means that drivers and teams will need to rely much more heavily on computer models and race-weekend practice sessions to determine the baseline setups for cars.
The first guy to figure it out could have a huge advantage as the season progresses, and with a guy like Chad Knaus heading a veteran team that began work before the season ended, Johnson could well be that guy.
Under the hood, cars will see a horsepower reduction from 850 to 725, combined with a shortened spoiler in the back to reduce drag and rebalance the car.
The shorter spoiler will also reduce the car’s downforce, something Johnson applauded when it was announced for helping give drivers and teams more control over the outcome of races.
OK, so what does that mean in layman’s terms?
Car setup will be much more similar to the 2013 season than last year.
At least, so we think, and given that Johnson won the Sprint Cup with that setup, it could prove a boon to him.
Johnson and Knaus did put a positive spin on the driver’s earlier-than-anticipated elimination from the Chase, using the final few races of the season—meaningless for him in the title picture—to get a head start on the new rules package.
Every little bit helps.
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Trust in Chad Knaus
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No driver, no matter how good, even gets close to a Sprint Cup without the backing of a strong team, and that begins with a crew chief who you can trust to make good decisions both in the garage and on the track.
Johnson and his crew chief Knaus have been together since 2002, combining to win 61 races in the Sprint Cup Series and six championships. Their relationship has always appeared to be rock solid, and with that level of success, would you expect anything different?
Last season was a trying one for Johnson and Knaus.
They combined for their worst finish—Johnson had never placed below sixth in the final standings—and could be heard sniping at each other over the radio, particularly during October’s Chase race at Charlotte.
Johnson was succinct in explaining the source of the sometimes-contentious exchanges:
“We’re not happy with where we’re at, and I don’t know why we would be,” Johnson said, per Jim Utter of The Charlotte Observer, prior to the Geico 500 at Talladega.
Again, context is key.
Johnson and Knaus aren’t used to losing, and they aren’t used to hanging by a thread in the Chase with five races to go.
That’s the type of competitive mindset and fire that has made them so successful.
You have to hate losing, and both men clearly fit that criteria. That’s why emotions can sometimes boil over during a frustrating season.
Entering their 14th season together—a relative eternity in the life of a crew chief—Johnson and Knaus are obviously still a good fit.
Knaus is hardworking and innovative, and he will be more crucial than ever in making sure the 48 Chevy is in tip-top shape come race day with NASCAR’s new ban on private testing.
Johnson, as he has so often in the past, just needs to continue trusting the man who has helped guide him to the cusp of history.
Stay Focused and Hungry
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This one is deceptively simple, but what else can you really say to a driver like Johnson?
Staying focused and hungry don’t sound like issues that should even come up for a six-time champion, but there is definitely some heavy lifting involved with chasing two of NASCAR’s most hallowed and historic figures.
You need to keep it light, focus on the goal and not let the little things, or struggles, bog you down. Take it one race at a time. You’re not going to win the Chase at Daytona in February or Pocono in June.
Johnson has never been daunted by the moment, but he should expect the pressure, and questions, to mount coming off a season where he had so many ups and downs.
What happens if he gets off to another rough start?
What happens if Knaus and the rest of the 48 team struggle to get a handle on the new rules package and ensure the car remains in optimal condition on a weekly basis without testing?
Granted, the second half is equally applicable to every other driver on the Sprint Cup circuit, but nobody else is staring down the barrel of history or staking claims to be NASCAR’s greatest driver, well, ever.
Questions will mount.
Pressure will mount.
The best way to deal with all that?
Stay focused, hungry and keep your eyes on the prize.
It’s a marathon—forgive the pun—not a sprint to capture the Sprint Cup.
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