Is Jimmie Johnson once again peaking at the right time? - MotorSportsTalk

Jimmie Johnson knows all about the old phrase, “When you’re hot, you’re hot.”

Johnson has been hot, hot, hot in six of the last eight seasons, capturing the Sprint Cup championship.

And after enduring the worst five-race run of his entire Cup career, Johnson appears back on-track – and just in time for the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s kickoff race this Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

Starting with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in early July, Johnson recorded finishes of 42nd, 42nd again (Loudon), 14th (Indianapolis), 39th (Pocono 2) and 28th (Watkins Glen).

But since then, JJ has definitely been on a role: ninth at Michigan, followed by a pair of fourth-place finishes at Bristol and Atlanta and an eighth-place showing this past Saturday at Richmond.

To say Johnson is riding into the Chase with momentum is an understatement. As he’s done during most of his Chase runs to date, Johnson appears to be peaking at the right time.

“I’m excited to get started with the Chase,” Johnson said in a media release. “It’s an exciting time for our sport and an exciting time for the Lowe’s team. I’m hoping to get started this weekend in Chicago with a win.”

Other drivers come into the Chase in various stages of success – or not:

* Kyle Busch can empathize with what Johnson went through. The younger Busch brother is finally coming out of one of the worst slides of his career. Starting with last month’s race at Pocono, where he finished 42nd, Busch went on to finish 40th at Watkins Glen, 39th at Michigan and 36th at Bristol. He finally started working his way back into the top-20 with a 16th-place finish at Atlanta and 14th at Richmond. Could a top-10 finish at Chicago, where he has a win and finished second last year (and again the following week at Loudon), be in the cards next?

“It’s important to win (races in the Chase), but I don’t think you need to be ultra-aggressive to get those wins,” Busch said in a team media release. “If you finish second every week, it’s going to get you to Homestead, but you have to win Homestead. Last year, we started out with a second and a second – those would be two great finishes to have again this year if we could have them and try to move on and get into the second round.”

* It’s not time to worry yet, but there may be some concern for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. Since their favorite driver won the second race at Pocono last month, Junior has just one top-five finish in the following five races. He was 11th at Watkins Glen, fifth at Michigan, 39th at Bristol, 11th at Atlanta and 12th at Richmond. Junior, who has 11 top-fives and five other top-10 finishes thus far in 2014, doesn’t seem overly concerned, though.

“It’s time to get to it,” Earnhardt said in a team media release. “I’m looking forward to sitting down with (crew chief) Steve (Letarte) and our engineers to prepare, set our goals for each individual race. Steve has some great ideas and I really believe in his direction. We’ve got a great team around us. We want to put our best foot forward in the Chase and be one of those teams in the battle going into Homestead. But as a company, I don’t think we could be any more prepared than we are.”

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The biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series season (and in the world) is over, and NBC Sports’ power rankings look very similar to the finishing results in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou entered the Indy 500 at the top and remains there after his impressive rebound to a fourth after a midway crash in the pits. Top two Indianapolis 500 finishers Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson also improved multiple spots in the power rankings just as they gained ground during the course of the 500-mile race on the 2.5-mile oval. Though Alexander Rossi dropped a position, he still shined at the Brickyard with a fifth place finish.

Santino Ferrucci, the other driver in the top five at Indy, made his first appearance in the 2023 power rankings this year and now will be tasked with keeping his A.J. Foyt Racing team toward the front as the IndyCar circuit makes its debut on a new layout..

Heading into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through six of 17 races this year (with previous ranking in parenthesis):

Alex Palou (1): Three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Indy 500, and yet the 2021 IndyCar champion still seems slightly snake-bitten at the Brickyard. A few different circumstances and a dash of experience, and Palou could have three Indy 500 wins. But he at least has the points lead.
Marcus Ericsson (4): Some want to say the Indy 500 runner-up’s unhappiness with IndyCar race control was sour grapes, but the Swede had a legitimate gripe about the consistency of red flag protocols. Still a magnificent May for Ericsson, especially while the questions swirl about his future.
Josef Newgarden (7): Strategist Tim Cindric and team did a fantastic job catapulting Newgarden from 17^th into contention, and the two-time series champion did the rest. Particularly on a late three-wide pass for the lead, it can’t be overstated how brilliant the Team Penske driver was in his finest hour.
Alexander Rossi (3): He winds up being the best Arrow McLaren finisher in a mostly disappointing Indy 500 for a team that seemed poised to become dominant. With a third in the GMR GP and a fifth in the Indy 500, this easily was Rossi’s best May since his second place in 2019.
Pato O’Ward (2): Unlike last year, the Arrow McLaren star sent it this time against Ericsson and came out on the wrong side (and with lingering bitterness toward his Chip Ganassi Racing rival). The lead mostly was the wrong place to be at Indy, but O’Ward managed to be in first for a race-high 39 laps.
Scott Dixon (5): He overcame brutal handling issues from a wicked set of tires during his first stint, and then the team struggled with a clutch problem while posting a typical Dixon-esque finish on “a very tough day.” The six-time champion hopes things are cleaner the rest of the season after the first three months.
Santino Ferrucci (NR): Pound for pound, he and A.J. Foyt Racing had the best two weeks at Indianapolis. Ferrucci said Wednesday he still believes he had “by far the best car at the end” and if not for the timing of the final yellow and red, he would have won the Indy 500. Now the goal is maintaining into Detroit.
Colton Herta (NR): He was the best in a mostly forgettable month for Andretti Autosport and now is facing a pivotal weekend. Andretti has reigned on street courses so far this season, and few have been better on new circuits than Herta. A major chance for his first victory since last year’s big-money extension.
Scott McLaughlin (6): Ran in the top 10 at Indy after a strong opening stint but then lost positions while getting caught out on several restarts. A penalty for unintentionally rear-ending Simon Pagenaud in O’Ward’s crash then sent him to the rear, but McLaughlin still rallied for 14th. Detroit will be a fresh start.
Rinus VeeKay (10): Crashing into Palou in the pits was less than ideal. But a front row start and 10^th-place finish in the Indy 500 still were 2023 highlights for VeeKay in what’s been the toughest season of his career. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars have been slow on road and street courses, so Detroit is another test.

Falling out: Will Power (8), Felix Rosenqvist (9), Romain Grosjean (10)

PAST NBC SPORTS INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS

PRESEASON: Josef Newgarden is a favorite to win third championship

RACE 1: Pato O’Ward to first; Newgarden drops out after St. Pete

RACE 2: O’Ward stays firmly on top of standings after Texas

RACE 3: Marcus Ericsson leads powerhouses at the top

RACE 4: Grosjean, Palou flex in bids for first victory

RACE 5: Alex Palou carrying all the momentum into Indy 500