It didn't seem that long ago that Jimmie Johnson was sputtering, his chances of taking back his Sprint Cup championship all but doomed after a disastrous Speedweeks.
Crew chief Chad Knaus got busted for having an illegal C-post — the pieces of sheet metal connecting the roof to the rear quarter panel — on the No. 48 Chevy. Johnson got docked 25 points from the get-go, which only added to the misery of a 43rd-place finish in the Daytona 500.
Johnson, it seemed, was only intent on chasing misery, not championships, this season.
But an appeals process reversed the penalties. And Johnson has since taken care of the rest.
His victory at Darlington last weekend moves him to No. 5 in the standings, up three slots from the previous week (which ended with a blown engine at Talladega). Johnson now has five Top 5 finishes and seems fully locked and loaded to resume his habit of winning titles. He snagged five consecutive ones until Tony Stewart snapped the streak last season.
Johnson added a historic notch in Darlington by claiming the 200th career victory for Hendrick Motorsports.
"My focus really has been on making sure the 48 does the best job that it can," Johnson said. "If we're able to win, we'd hopefully be able to be the guy to get the 200th win. We've been very close, especially through the start of the season.
"I'm so glad to have it behind us and glad for this moment to be here for Rick [Hendrick], the company, all the people that have contributed to the 200th win. It's a special day."
Johnson has celebrated a bunch of those during his illustrious career. He's a consummate professional, which coincides with the fact that the NASCAR media named him as the driver to beat in 2012 — not Stewart, or anybody else.
He took some extra time to decompress following the 2011 season, choosing not to race in the Rolex24 at Daytona. He wanted to come back, he said, "refreshed and excited."
"There is just an energy you have when you walk through those gates as a rookie and every veteran comes in excited and hungry," he said in Daytona in February. "There is something a little different when you come in and you are early in your career. I feel like I have found those things again.
"I'm walking in here with a different set of eyes than I have the last five or six years."
Right now, those eyes are focused on another Cup title.
Wouldn't bet against him.
Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego or e-mail him at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com
Busch burnout
It's official: We have our first Busch brouhaha.
Most skeptics figured it was only a matter of time before one of the Busch brothers — Kyle or Kurt — went over the edge despite promises to be on their best behavior this season.
Congratulations if you had Kurt in your Busch Brothers pool.
To review, Kurt Busch cut a tire and wrecked with six laps to go in Darlington last Saturday night, collecting Ryan Newman's car as he lost control. But inexplicably, Busch did a burnout and went through Newman's pit box after the race, bumping Newman's car. Busch claims he didn't do it on purpose.
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