Johnson delivers message to Chase field at Dover

DOVER, Del. -- The man Mark Martin calls "Superman" was the master of the Monster Mile once again on Sunday, and unless somebody other than Martin is carrying a pocketful of Kryptonite, the 2009 Sprint Cup championship trophy may very well find a place on Jimmie Johnson's mantle beside the past three.

Johnson sent a clear message to the rest of the Chase field with a dominating victory in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. He led 271 of the 400 laps, including the last 225, to close to within 10 points of Martin after two races in the 10-race postseason.

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• Press Pass: Johnson
• Press Pass: Martin

Actions speak louder than words, and Johnson's win reverberated through the garage area like a car stereo with the bass cranked up.

"As far as sending a message, I hope it does," Johnson said. "I hope people talk about it. I hope people are worried. I hope people are talking about the fact that we tire tested and it was wrong. All these people can get wound up about stuff that really doesn't matter. And we'll keep our heads down, we'll keep our blinders on and we'll go to work.

"At the end of the day, all the talk means nothing. We've still got to show up at Kansas and run that race. That's what we do a really good job at, staying focused."

As Johnson's teammate, Martin has had the chance on a day-to-day basis to analyze what makes the driver of the No. 48 so good. And he's come to one conclusion.

"I had the opportunity to see up close, and I'm telling you, I see why he's so successful," Martin said. "He works harder at it than anybody else, I think, on the circuit."

According to crew chief Chad Knaus, Johnson has a commitment that few can emulate, especially the ability to stay hungry and focused despite so much success. (Continued)