By Sam Atwell

When you talk about the season that Jimmie Johnson has had, in particular, the Chase for the Cup you run out of adjectives!  To win three championships in a row is something that has only happened one other time.  Its not that Jimmie was dominant all season long.  It was the fact that they figured out their shortcomings and fixed the problems and was able to get into championship form by race number 26.  Once the 48 team gets into the chase they have a blueprint to follow and they follow it to the letter. 

Their blueprint for a championship includes plans on how to deal with adversity.  They do it better than anyone else in the Sprint Cup Series does.  When they stumbled at Texas, they came out in Phoenix and did what champions do they won.  When Jimmie was caught speeding on pit road and goes a lap down they come back and finish in the top ten.   They are not rattled, they do not panic, and they look at the plan and do what they have laid out in front of them.  Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have such an amazing relationship!  It almost sounds freakish, but they complete each other.  Jimmie is one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR; Chad is the brains behind the driver.  Chad never lets Jimmie get ahead of himself.  Chad never lets the team get down on themselves.  They are the most dominant team in NASCAR. The challenge for all the other teams during this off-season is to try to steal a copy of the 48-team blueprint.  Without that, they will not have a chance next season.  Is it too early to talk about four in a row?   Probably, oh well, the off-season has begun and we can talk about four in a row for the next two months.

By Sam Atwell 

If anyone has watched to performance over the last six to eight weeks of the 48 team, you now know why they are the 2008 Sprint Cup Series Champs, well not officially yet.  We do still have to run four more races, a mere formality.  Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have a blueprint for the chase and they have followed the blueprint line by line.  I must admit that early in the season I thought that Jimmie was going to have an okay year, just not a championship season.  No one, since Cale Yarborough, has won three championships in a row, Hendrick had apparently lost their edge with the new car, Jimmie was having some bad luck and on and on and on.  I just thought no team was going to match what Kyle Busch and the 18 team had accomplished what a colossal collapse that has been. 

The thing about the 48 team is they can deal with adversity!  Last week in Charlotte they have a bad day and finish sixth!  No other driver/crew chief combination has the same look in their eye, the refuse to lose look.  I believe the realization has set in or the other drivers are in denial.  Just ask Jeff Gordon, he had one of the best seasons ever with 30 top ten finishes and he finished a distant second to Jimmie last season. I just do not see any team matching Jimmie the last four races, remember he won four in a row after Martinsville last season.  Will he do that again?  I would not be surprised.  It is not just that they won on Sunday, it is how they won, and they dominated the competition.  Look for more of that in the next four weeks.  A 146-point lead is not bullet proof, but it is enough for the 48 team. 

Jimmie or Chad will not say it yet, but I will, Jimmie is the 2008 Sprint Cup Champ, prepare a spot in the trophy room for the third cup in three years!

By Sam  Atwell