NASCAR at Phoenix preview: Jimmie Johnson unconcerned by slow start to season

As Martin Truex Jr. rejoiced in winning a race he thought he had lost, Brad Keselowski came to terms with losing a race he thought he had won, Kyle Busch threw a haymaker at Joey Logano setting off a fracas breaking out on pit road, Jimmie Johnson did something unusual last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Johnson’s 11th-place finish in the Kobalt 400 represented his third straight result outside the top 10, the first time he’s ever started a season in such a manner. Certainly not how the defending Monster Energy Cup Series champion thought he’d begin his title defense and pursuit of a record-breaking eighth championship, heading into Sunday’s Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox).

So is Johnson experiencing a championship hangover? Is Hendrick Motorsports still dealing with a rare organization-wide slump that inflicted it last season?

No and no.

In an example where results don’t always accurately reflect performance, Johnson has had a car good enough to finish well in each of the season’s first three races. In fact, with a little luck and better execution, he could’ve taken the win at Daytona, Atlanta, or Las Vegas.

Johnson was running third in the season-opening Daytona 500 when a tap from Jamie McMurray sent him crashing, triggering a 17-car pileup. The following week Johnson would’ve likely finished in the top 10 were it not for a pair of pit road speeding penalties, an issue that also inflicted teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliott.

At Las Vegas, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus elected to go with an alternative pit strategy that unraveled when the cautions didn’t fall in their favor late. Also not helping was the No. 48 team not fastening all five lug nuts on the left front wheel on what was supposed to be Johnson’s final pit stop. Instead of keeping his driver on the track and putting himself at risk of earning a multi-race suspension, Knaus called his driver to pits to correct the problem. Johnson restarted 22nd and charged to finish 11th.

“I know we had some creative strategy working at the end that was going to play well,” Johnson said. “… Then we pitted and we came out in seventh and probably could have had a top five if we wouldn’t have had to come back down.”

But while Johnson going this poorly three races into the season may be unprecedented, what it is not is cause for concern. Twice, actually, he’s ranked lower in points at this juncture of the season than the 18th position he currently resides in, sitting 19th in 2004 and 2009. And as the No. 48 team demonstrated last year, when it struggled for much of the regular season with Johnson going through a career-long 24-race winless streak before embarking on a title run, there is still ample time to correct any issues before the playoffs begin.

“I feel like there is speed in our cars and we’re not as bad as we [look],” Johnson told Fox Sports.

And Johnson isn’t alone among expected title contenders off to less than stellar starts. Kyle Busch is 19th in points, Earnhardt is 26th in points, and both are seeking their first top-10 finish.

Although Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing team is still acclimating to a redesigned Toyota Camry and has lacked overall speed, he’s been competitive. The 2015 series champion was strong at Daytona before a tire failure caused him to crash, and at Las Vegas he was fighting for third when contact with Joey Logano sent him spinning off Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag. Busch finished 22nd.

Earnhardt was also fast at Daytona and was leading when Busch crashed right in front of him, preventing any avenue of escape. He battled assorted hiccups at Atlanta before a trouble-free afternoon allowed him to complete the full race distance at Las Vegas, the first time he was able to do so all season.

Both Earnhardt and Busch enter Phoenix hoping that better days are ahead, a belief that appears to be coming to fruition based off qualifying and practice. Earnhardt qualified third, Busch ninth, and each were among the fastest in Saturday’s final practice session.

“All in all just looking forward to being able to get a good run,” Busch said. “We haven’t had one yet this year. We need one. And just get our rhythm going.”