Johnson on Right Track to Make 3-Peat

Boy, that guy is just sneaky.

Two weeks ago, all the rage was about Carl Edwards finally mounting a charge to overcome Kyle Busch's impressive stranglehold on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Then, Jimmie Johnson won two races (including Sunday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400), came out of hiding, and decided to play the Chase for the Championship game as the veteran ace among championship newbies.
Who woulda thunk it?

You can bet Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have seen this coming for weeks. Johnson was in position to win at Chicagoland in July but failed to convert and then followed it up at Indianapolis for his second win of the season. Now, he's riding a two-race surge with wins at California and Richmond just before the Chase.

Or, in other words, just like he set the tone for the 2007 edition of the Chase for the Championship. And that tone resulted in the No. 48 team's second-straight Sprint Cup title despite Jeff Gordon being the odds-on favorite for much of 2007.

Is anyone else seeing the similarities here?

Sunday afternoon, Johnson didn't appear to be a factor until -- of course -- it mattered in the final 100 laps. From there, Johnson made a beeline to the lead, got some excellent pit work from his No. 48 crew, and wisely held off Tony Stewart in the closing laps by taking the high lane to conserve his tires.

It worked, and the rest of the NASCAR world took note -- especially if they missed Johnson's RSVP for Chase contention last weekend in his dominating run at the Auto Club Speedway in California.

Johnson is primed, almost peaking (in his book), and has the experience to win another title despite not being the most-talked about favorite. That role probably isn't hurting Johnson's feelings, but rather giving him a heavy dose of inspiration.

Can you really pick against the experience of a former Chase-winning team (times two)? Is Jimmie Johnson capable of becoming a three-time (and consecutive) Sprint Cup champion?

That's certainly a bet I won't go against.