High-five or face palm: Jimmie Johnson’s last-lap move too aggressive?

Bob Pockrass and Ricky Craven discuss Jimmie Johnson‘s move in the final chicane at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course Sunday that knocked him out of the playoffs:

Pockrass: I would imagine a fan loves to see Jimmie Johnson go for the win, but if you were a Jimmie Johnson fan or quite pragmatic, you’d say it’s a stupid move.

Craven: It’s all about perspective. If the discussion centers around the 48 team and winning an eighth title, then the answer is obvious. But if you take that out of the equation, you say, “Why should we be surprised by this?” Jimmie has run on the edge his entire career. He’s got the most remarkable record we’ve seen certainly since Jeff Gordon and arguably ever. I just don’t think you can second-guess it because it’s in his DNA.

Pockrass: I live to second-guess. I make my living to second-guess. Part of me says it’s really stupid and part of me thinks he wasn’t going to win an eighth championship anyway, so why not go for the win? Realistically, how much of a shot did he have if he finished second and advanced?

Craven: From the driver’s seat, I guarantee, I absolutely promise everyone who reads this, that Jimmie Johnson had zero consideration about an eighth title, zero consideration about the points consequence in the last lap or two. It did not exist. Had it existed, it may have been obvious and think about how disappointing that finish would have been from the perspective of the debut, the inaugural event on the oval and reaction from fans.

Pockrass: But Jimmie shouldn’t be concerned about that. If his goal was to win an eighth title, he should have settled for second.

Craven: It’s pretty obvious that when he crawled out of the car, he was pretty dominated by it. I felt so bad for him because I’ve never seen him that somber. The revelation of everything cascaded down upon him. In the heat of the moment, he drove that into the corner because he sniffed a chance for victory, and I admire that. One thing that gets lost is Jimmie didn’t throw away his chance at the win or a title because he just said the heck with it. I think Jimmie was actually surprised for one of the few times in his career that he overdrove that corner. He got a wheel hop and he never got it out. … He lost control of the car the moment he went to the brakes and he was along for the ride from that moment on. You’re talking a fraction of a second.

Pockrass: Part of me says I’m glad he didn’t play it safe. How can you not play it safe?

Craven: He wouldn’t have won a seventh title playing it safe. … You’re talking about a guy that’s in the midst of the longest losing streak of his career. You have people questioning whether he has lost his edge and this is the first time I can remember this year him being in position to win a race.

Pockrass: The hard part of what I’m about to say is that I know that I can’t outrun Jimmie Johnson and I know he will catch me if he sees me. But can I say that Jimmie choked? Because that’s kind of what it looks like. The biggest choke of the year.

Craven: You can say he choked because he wheel-hopped going into the final turn. And you can say that Jeff Gordon choked at Watkins Glen [in 2007] when he wheel-hopped leading and you can say Tony Stewart choked in the same race at Watkins Glen several years ago when he spun and wheel-hopped leading [and then won when Gordon spun]. But you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. The flip side is Jimmie doesn’t race with the fear of choking. He doesn’t race with the fear of being called out. I was worried Jimmie might have lost that component of his driving personality, and I am thankful that he hasn’t lost that. Because if he has lost it, it signals the beginning of the end. How he manages this disappointment will help determine how he handles the next opportunity.

Pockrass: I’m trying to figure out how to handle this by either giving him a high-five or a face palm.

Craven: I think he deserves both. I just don’t know which one I would do first.