Uncomfortable? Johnson trying to come to grips with Richmond

By Tom Jensen
Published

Jimmie Johnson comes into the last race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season in perfect position to kick off his run for a record-tying seventh championship.

But that doesn't mean he's comfortable at Richmond International Raceway this weekend. Far from it, in fact.

Johnson is one of five Sprint Cup drivers with three victories on the season, including his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Team Penske's Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.

In his best-case scenario, Johnson wins at RIR Saturday night and begins the Chase for the Sprint Cup next week with a lead of 3 to 12 points over all of the other 15 Chase drivers. In a worst-case scenario, he starts the Chase tied for second with three other drivers, 3 points off the lead.

Really, there isn't much to gain or lose here for Johnson, unlike some of the Chase bubble drivers.

But the six-time champion said Friday morning that he's frustrated about how he runs here. The numbers back it up: Johnson has finished outside the top 10 in five of his last six visits to the D-shaped 0.75-mile track. In the last six seasons, Johnson has no victories and just one top-five -- a third-place finish in September 2010 -- at RIR. Hardly the shock and awe Johnson is known for at so many other tracks.

"This track has been really tough on us, for whatever reason," Johnson said Friday morning at RIR prior to a marathon three-hour practice session. "So I feel like I have much less pressure on myself due to the Chase side, but a lot more pressure on myself from the personal side. I need to figure this place out. There was a point in time when I was competitive here, but of late, this has been one of our worst tracks."

And that doesn't sit well with Johnson.

"From my standpoint -- the pressure that I'm putting on myself -- there's more pressure here than you would ever expect, because I just hate having these huge weak spots on the schedule and at certain racetracks," Johnson said.

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