Jimmie Johnson wins Texas: Five takeaways

Jimmie Johnson is moving onto the championship round after a win at Texas.

Jimmie Johnson really stuck a wrench into the chase on Sunday.

On a day where Brad Keselowski led a record amount of laps, Jimmie Johnson came from out of nowhere to win at Texas, and pick up his fifth win of the season.

For Johnson, it’s a big win, as it his first in 20 races and is a big boost to morale to his team after being eliminated early on in the chase.

It was a rough day on the track for most drivers as track conditions made it hard on tires. It just was not a good race for those in the chase looking to advance on.

With Jimmie Johnson completing the Texas sweep, here’s five takeaways from the race at Texas.

1. Brad Keselowski went from almost winning to being in danger of being eliminated

Brad Keselowski for all intents and purposes should have won the race at Texas. He did everything that he could to win the race. He led a record amount of laps and dominated the entire day. He pushed the car as hard as he possibly could.

Unfortunately for Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson was the better car at the end of the race and stole a win at Texas from Keselowski.

Had Keselowski won, he would be going onto the championship round. Instead, he’s under the cut-line after his wreck in last week’s race. For Keselowski, he has to win at Phoenix next week, or he can consider his season over as well. He was so close to moving on, but it was not meant to be.

2. Joey Logano is in big trouble

Joey Logano looked unstoppable just a couple of weeks ago. Then he had his season put in peril by Matt Kenseth last week. The woes continued for Logano this week, as early in the race he blew a tire.

As a result of blowing a tire at near full-speed, Logano lost control of his vehicle and wrecked. The ensuing wreck sent Logano to the garage, and he was not able to get his car back out on the track to compete with race leaders, but rather he came back 66 laps down.

Now his season looks all but lost.

Next week at Phoenix, if Logano doesn’t win the race, his season is over. There are no other options at this point for the No. 22 team.

3. It was a bad day for tires

Well, there’s good days and bad days for tires.

After a great day of rain and jet dryers working all night yesterday, the track was pretty rough at Texas on Sunday. As a result, drivers were blowing tires left and right on the track.

It started with Joey Logano blowing a tire early in the race, and it continued with the likes of Kevin Harvick and others. This stunning visual of Trevor Bayne losing a tire probably best describes the day on hand at Texas.

Hopefully next week at Phoenix, the tires will perform a lot better than they did this week. With championship implications on the line, no one wants to see those aspirations ruined because of tire issues.

4. Martin Truex Jr. has the little engine that could

Martin Truex Jr. has been flying under the radar for the latter part of this season. He started off strong and picked up a win early in the summer to earn a spot in the chase. He struggled after that and finally when the chase began, he has quietly been good.

He hasn’t won a race in the chase, but he has been running a good race every single week and as a result, is in good position to have a chance to win his first ever championship this season.

What makes the story of Martin Truex Jr. even more incredible, is that he is a single-car team out of Denver, and doesn’t have the same advantages that other drivers have. He’s just out there driving and it’s hard not to root for a guy like that.

All his hard work and effort is starting to come together toward something special.

5. The championship is drawing near

For four men, they will  be competing for a championship after next week. For four others, they will be wondering what exactly went wrong in the third round of the chase. Next week at Phoenix, it will be the last chance for seven drivers to fight for the final two spots in the championship round at homestead.

It’s going to be frantic on the track and it’s going to be wild. Something’s going to happen and tempers are going to flare up at some point. With each race of the chase, things have gotten more compelling each and every single week.

Next week at Phoenix, things should be no different. A championship awaits.