Autoblog

Regardless of whether or not you're a NASCAR fan, there's no denying that the motorsport is starting off its 2008 season in the best possible way. Early festivities for the season opener Daytona 500 began this past weekend and resulted in Jimmie Johnson, last season's champion, taking the pole position. Next to him on the grid will be a somewhat redeemed Michael Waltrip, who was embroiled in a scandal at last year's Daytona 500 that resulted in the largest ever fine handed down from NASCAR at the time.

That would probably be enough for a great kick off to the season, but the newly minted NASCAR Sprint Cup is swimming in merchandise sales after Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Bud Shootout on Saturday in his first race as a member of Hendrick Motorsports. Driving his new No. 88 Chevy, Earnhardt Jr. came out swinging in this exhibition that nets no points for the winner, but is a good omen for winning the 500 next weekend.

[Source: ESPN, Photo by John Harrelson/Getty]

No, Cadillac has not decided to slap their grille and headlight stickers on one of the standardized NASCAR body shells. The SCCA World Challenge will be running a 50 minute sprint race as one of the supporting events for the Memorial Day weekend festivities at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I refuse to call venues that once had real names by their bought and paid for names, hence Pine Knob and Laguna Seca will always go by those names as far as I'm concerned, but I digress.

2006 NASCAR Champ Jimmie Johnson will make a special appearance behind the wheel of one of the Cadillac CTS-Vs campaigned by Team Cadillac at the May race in Charlotte. Apparently, they'll be putting some barrels or other obstacles on the high banks to force the drivers to swing the steering wheel to the right occasionally for this race. The 2007 World Challenge Series opens up at Sebring next weekend. The GM press release is after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

Just because Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup doesn't mean that it's all about him. At the annual Myers Brothers Awards last Thursday, General Motors presented Jimmie's wife Chandra with the key to a 2007 Corvette convertible. Which is really nice, because that's a $55,000 financial hit he won't have to shell out from the $15,770,125 (!) in prize money he collected at NASCAR awards banquet the following night. Honestly, we don't know what he'd have done otherwise.

For her part, the lovely Mrs. J playfully said that Jimmie could "be her chauffeur."

Jimmie Johnson is, by all accounts, a very lucky guy...

[Source: San Jose Mercury News]

Nine years ago, from his couch in El Cajon, California, Jimmie Johnson watched his future team's co-owner, Jeff Gordon, win the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship (then the NASCAR Winston Cup Series). Last night, he raised the chalice himself after finishing 9th at Homestead, 56 points ahead of Matt Kenseth for the season, as the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup series champion.

The #48 Lowes Home Improvement Chevrolet team overcame a hole in the grille and no tape to fix it, a fantastic call by crew chief Chad Knaus, catching a loose left front lug nut before Jimmy left the pits that kept them from going a lap down, and a near-miss with Robbie Gordon in the closing laps to complete the chase for his first NASCAR Nextel Cup championship. Greg Biffle, who finished second to Tony Stewart for the championship last year, won the season-ender Ford 400 for the third year in a row.

Follow the jump for a brief history lesson on how the 10-race NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship Race went for Jimmie Johnson.

This Sunday the Chase for the 2006 Nextel Cup will cross the finish line. At the end of the day, as long as No. 48 Jimmie Johnson finishes 12th or better at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he will walk away with his long-awaited championship. According to the guys who crunch the numbers, that's even if No. 17 Matt Kenseth, who trails Johnson by 63 points, wins the race and leads the most laps.

But No. 29 Kevin Harvick, third in the standings going into this weekend's race, will not end the year empty-handed. Harvick's done even better in the Busch Series. He had that title wrapped up in October. He can just coast through Saturday's Busch race (Ford 300 on TNT at 7 p.m. ET). No. 11 Denny Hamlin, fourth in Nextel Cup standings, looks good to take home rookie-of-the-year trophy.
Sorry No. 8 fans, at 115 points behind Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. is a long shot. There's always next year, Dale. Rounding out Nextel Cup's top 10 are No. 24 Jeff Gordon, No. 31 Jeff Burton, No. 6 Mark Martin, No. 9 Kasey Kahne and No. 5 Kyle Busch.

Watch the Ford 400/Nextel Cup Series Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

For the Craftsman Truck Series championship, Johnny Benson trails Todd Bodine by 112 points before Friday's Ford 200 in Miami. Watch that race on Speed Channel at 7:30 p.m. ET

Check the NASCAR TV schedule for official airing times.