Nascar Race Today

The Hendrick Motorsports driver's ability to adapt -- to new cars, new rules, new point systems -- is a hallmark of his run of success

How do Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet remain a title-caliber constant in the Sprint Cup Series?

Change.

During his unprecedented run of six championships in 12 seasons, Johnson has been an annual contender - the only driver to qualify for every edition of the Chase for the Sprint Cup - because of his extraordinary ability to adapt.

Whether it's mastering three iterations of stock cars (most recently the Gen 6), multiple points formats or myriad rules tweaks, the Hendrick Motorsports team has dominated a NASCAR era that is constantly in flux - and will remain just as fluid this year whether it's determining a pole winner through group qualifying, setting up a car under the auspices of a revamped rule book or deciding a champion in the Chase.

Johnson, naturally, seems unfazed about the prospect after a decade of rolling with the punches.

Last season, he and crew chief Chad Knaus won a title while meshing seamlessly with a new lead engineer - turnover that isn't unusual for a team unafraid to make personnel moves while on top.

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"Things always change," said Johnson, who has worked with dozens of crewmembers outside of the continuous core of Knaus and car chief Ron Malec since his 2002 rookie season. "We always look at ourselves as individual members of the team and what we can do better. Last year, I let a lot of races slip away during the regular season that I shouldn't have. So that is an area that I've got to focus on."

Though he notched six victories in 2013 (his highest total since his previous title in '10), Johnson probably could have tallied double-digit wins for only the second time in his career if checkered flags hadn't eluded him at Dover, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Michigan and Pocono.

If that's the facet of Johnson's game that needs shoring up the most entering the 2014 season, it's hard to look past him and the No. 48 on the list of title contenders.

"I think they certainly go in as the championship favorite," ESPN analyst and 1999 champion Dale Jarrett said. "They're just such a polished group, and what's so great about them is they adapt better than everyone else. Jimmie is such a talent in so many ways and just doesn't let anything rattle him. He understands the changes to the cars, and once he gets his mind wrapped around the whole thing, that's what makes him so good. He continues to set the standard for physical conditioning, which makes him strong mentally. He just has it all there.

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"It's going to take a big effort on their part to win another championship, because everyone is gunning for them. But it's going to take a bigger effort from everyone else to stop him."

Another championship would tie him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for a record seven, but Johnson has parried such lofty comparisons while maintaining that he isn't motivated by history.

Going the distance

"I love to compete and to race," he said. "It'd be great to tie (Petty and Earnhardt) or separate myself, but that's not what sends me out there every week. I love my job. I've worked my whole life to get to this point. I understand the equipment and my team. I'm far from slowing down."

Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, right, and the No. 48 crew celebrate their sixth Sprint Cup championship on Nov. 17.(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

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Despite becoming a father for the second time last year, Johnson, 38, didn't lose a step outside the car.

He added another gear to his game by embracing distance running with a newfound passion. Working with personal trainer Jamey Yon, he began running five days a week for a total average of 30 to 40 miles. During one memorable outing halfway through the Chase, Johnson ran 20 miles at Yon's encouragement (with the inspiration being title rival Matt Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota) and finished at a seven-minute clip per mile.

Over the last 18 months, Johnson has trimmed more than three minutes off his pace per mile and is approaching the five-minute bracket. Last year in an Olympic-distance triathlon in Palm Springs, Calif., he finished in 2 hours, 17 minutes. That was 13 minutes better than his goal.

Johnson is mulling his first marathon, but he already is excelling in long-distance events. ESPN analyst Ricky Craven said Johnson's fitness is critical to maintaining his performance in the last 20% of grueling races that often can become 500-mile endurance contests in midsummer heat.

"Certain drivers are so fast but don't have the speed in the last 200 miles," Craven said. "That's one thing that separates Jimmie. He's not like a Terry Labonte who saves the best for last. He's as capable at the end as the beginning.

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"There's a level of determination that I've never seen when you look at Jimmie's commitment and discipline to all aspects of being an athlete. Jimmie enjoys life but isn't a hell-raiser. He's not going to put himself in position where he's distracted."

Key tracks are good fits

Jeff Gordon has perhaps the most in-depth understanding of the successful underpinnings for Johnson, whom he helped pluck from the obscurity of a nondescript Nationwide ride 13 years ago.

The four-time champion watched Johnson quickly blossom into a superstar at Hendrick, which employs an open-book philosophy among its four cars. That has allowed Gordon a window into what makes the No. 48 team tick, whether it's sitting beside Johnson during Hendrick's crew chief-driver debriefings on Tuesdays or accessing the setups of the Chevrolet SS.

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"I know how Jimmie drives the car," Gordon said. "It's as incredible to me as anybody else, but probably more so. Because everyone is saying, 'They must be doing something we're not.' Yet they're just that good. They also have good fortune on (their) side. You make that happen by being the best team.

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"The only way to beat him is put more pressure on him. Even then, it's not going to be guaranteed. He knows how to close out the Chase."

With the exception of Talladega Superspeedway, the 10 tracks that conclude the season suit Johnson well. Martinsville Speedway and Dover are his best with eight wins apiece, and he also has multiple triumphs at Phoenix International Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

Though he hasn't conquered Homestead-Miami Speedway, he also hasn't needed to win the season finale to wrap up a title.

Across 100 Chase starts, Johnson's results break down into roughly impressive quarters with 24 victories, 56 top-fives and 74 top-10s. He has led 5,440 laps in 10 seasons of the 10-race title playoff - nearly twice as many as the second-ranked driver (2013 runner-up Kenseth has 2,763 laps led).

But even more important, Johnson and Knaus seem to have a knack for flipping the switch with the title on the line.

Short on shortcomings?

In the four races leading into last year's Chase, Johnson endured the worst stretch of his career - finishing 40th, 36th, 28th and 40th. He then reeled off the second-best playoff run of his career, averaging a finish of 5.1 and finished outside the top 10 once (13th at Talladega) in the last 10 races.

"It was almost as if Jimmie and Chad were messing around and preparing for the Chase more than I've ever seen," Roush Fenway Racing veteran Carl Edwards said. "That was interesting to see the disparity of performance before the Chase started and after. That was an eye-opener to all of us in how confident those guys are."

So, does that mean more teams will attempt to mimic Johnson's methods for tuning up for the Chase? Not necessarily.

"It's a risky thing to do what I think the 48 guys were doing," Edwards said. "Jimmie was trying different things before the Chase started, but it worked for him. If you're in position to do things like that and lay things on the line before the Chase with a big points lead, that's one more step you have to take to beat guys like Jimmie."

Said Jarrett, "They use that first part of the season to get themselves in a position to be ready for those last 10 races and be at their very best. But if they went back to a 36-race points championship, they'd adapt to that, too."

So are there any weaknesses in Johnson's game?

It's hard to label it as a major shortcoming, but restarts were an Achilles' heel for Johnson during the 2013 Chase. His car didn't accelerate as quickly as others several times when the green flag dropped, and it put Johnson in precarious situations that demanded deft saves after contact at Martinsville, Phoenix and Homestead. Restart miscues also cost him wins at Dover and Kentucky.

Jarrett said Knaus' insistence on setting up Johnson's car for longer green-flag runs makes it more vulnerable on restarts because the handling isn't as stable until the laps begin to mount.

"The competition understands that restarts are the time to attack Jimmie," Jarrett said. "If they can crowd him, they may force him into a mistake. That's the time they can take advantage."

Craven suggests rivals might go a step further.

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"The only thing I haven't seen is guys trying to rough Jimmie up," Craven said. "I think it's because he's earned that. His championships haven't come at someone else's expense. He's either outdriven or outmanaged them. That's why he's so highly regarded and hasn't gotten roughed up."

Declining to play hardball with his crew was listed by Johnson as one of the keys to last year's crown. When a slow pit stop cost him a fifth Brickyard 400 victory, Johnson "didn't bust their asses through the media. That took our bond to a whole new level."

Unlike 2012, when mistakes on setups and in the pits during the last two races of the season knocked Johnson from the points lead and behind champion Brad Keselowski, the team mostly was flawless during the Chase.

It's a brand of constancy and reliability that Johnson can trust with another transformative season in the offing.

"We reaffirmed we can do this," he said. "The ability to execute when the pressure's on and you have to win ... it's nice to know we still can."