Johnson’s late surge cancels Edwards win

Carl Edwards did all he could last Sunday to bring Jimmie Johnson and the Chase for the Sprint Cup back into reach.

But despite his best effort in winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Edwards made little ground on Johnson after the two-time defending champ finished with his No. 48 in second place on the scoring pylon.

With 10 laps to go, a runner-up result didn’t look possible for Johnson.

Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus made a call for Johnson to hit pit road for four fresh tires. When Johnson returned to the track, he sat deep in the top 10 – as the first car with fresh tires.

In the remaining eight green-flag laps, Johnson sliced through the field’s frontrunners and made a daring pass around Denny Hamlin in the final corner to secure a second-place finish, and more importantly, to give up only 15 points to Edwards with three races left.

Roush makes interesting appeal for Chase changes

Jack Roush, owner of Carl Edwards’ race-winning car at Atlanta, thinks the current Chase for the Sprint Cup format needs some tweaking for excitement.

Roush proposed in a post-race press conference that NASCAR institute a “mulligan” system for the 10-race run that allows an eligible driver to have a bad race – and the lack of points that comes with it – tossed out.

Edwards, who has had two bad races – a wreck at Talladega and ignition problems at Charlotte – sits a distant and virtually insurmountable 183 points behind Johnson in the point standings. With a mulligan system, Edwards would still trail by a hefty 104 points.

The Chase was crafted to create more postseason excitement by giving more drivers a chance at the title. It rewards perfection, and Johnson’s No. 48 team has excelled under such demands.

Instead, it seems Roush should be arguing for NASCAR to return to its old point system of simply totalling all of the points a driver earns through the course of the 36-race season. That way, the length of the schedule nearly guarantees all drivers have a bad race here and there, instead of the 10-race schedule a driver like Johnson can consistently dominate.

Dropping the green flag: Texas

Race Dickies 500
When 3:30 p.m. Sunday (TV coverage 3 p.m.)
TV/Radio ABC/105.1 FM
Location Texas Motor
Speedway Fort Worth, Texas
Distance 334 laps, 501 miles
Track Layout 1.5-mile D-shaped oval
2007 Winner Jimmie Johnson

Miller’s Preview

I think it’s pretty obvious Johnson would be the safest of all picks for this race. He has all but locked up his third straight Sprint Cup title with a commanding 183-point lead over Edwards and is heading, for the third straight week, to a track where he won a year ago. That being said, Johnson’s confidence and dominance won’t necessitate an overbearing performance.

As a result, I’m picking a long shot this week to secure his first victory of 2008. Jamie McMurray posted a seventh-place finish last week and a fifth-place three weeks ago at Charlotte – both of which are incredibly similar tracks to Texas. He has the momentum for an upset victory.

Miller’s Pick: Jamie McMurray