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♦ SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2005
Third time a charm?
Jimmie Johnson attempts to capture NEXTEL title
Special to the HHJ
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
Only eight points
separated Jimmie
Johnson (No. 48
Lowe’s Chevrolet) from his
first NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup Series title in 2004,
but he’s hardly dwelling
on what might have been
these days.
First, a new season looms.
Second, the same champi
onship challenge remains.
And third, comfort plays
no small role in a driver’s
mindset.
“You just want to know
that if you go to the race
track and put in 100 per
cent, you have a shot at
winning,” said Johnson,
who’s beginning his fourth
fulltime season. “I feel that
now. It’s the first time in
my career where I’ve felt
that.”
A quick learner and a
fast mover, Johnson says
he’d never spent extended
time in any series or vehi
cle until he began NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series com
petition in 2002.
Now, he’s back to work
this past week for NASCAR
Preseason Thunder, the
annual preseason test ses
sions.
Aside from the champi
onship, Johnson also has a
fresh set of goals:
Although he’d love to
capture the season-opening
Daytona 500 on Feb 20, he’d
like to win at Daytona or
Talladega Superspeedway,
the longest tracks on the
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Series schedule and the two
where restrictor plates are
Burton, Labonte ready for new year
Special to the HHJ
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -
With a season of change
behind them, NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series vet
erans Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte
are ready for a season of fine-turning.
Both drivers experienced team
changes in 2004 - Burton depart
ing Roush Racing to join Richard
Childress Racing, and Labonte adjust
ing to a new crew chief at midsea
son. And both finished below where
they’re accustomed in the NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series point standings
- Burton in 18th place and Labonte in
12th place.
So for 2005, regaining NASCAR Top
10 status is a primary goal.
“I feel good about where my team’s
headed,” said Burton, who joined
RCR last August. “I think our pit
crew will be as good as anybody on
pit road. (Crew chief) Kevin (Hamlin)
and I are getting along extremely well.
We have very progressive engineering
and shock programs. I feel good about
it. But I’ve gone into most years feel
ing good about those years, too. All in
all I’m confident. We do have a lot of
questions that need to be answered.”
Perhaps Labonte’s primary ques
tion has been answered: He begins
2005 with a new crew chief, Steve
Addington. Last year’s crew chief
switch in midseason was a change
that resonated with the No. 18 team
for some time and stability remains
a priority.
“That was the biggest thing that
happened to us,” said Labonte, the
2000 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
champion. “If we don’t do that again,
we’ll be better off and that’s what we
plan on not doing. We also have to
know we have to be more competitive.
We have to finish races better than we
have been and than we did last year to
be in the top 10 in points.”
Both are optimistic as they prepare
for the season-opening Daytona 500;
both also plan to coax more speed from
what they’ve seen thus far in testing.
As drivers with plenty of Daytona
experience, Burton and Labonte know
careful, gradual preparations usually
yield reliable results.
For Burton, it’s been a busy off
season. Last week he participated in
a road-course test at Mexico City’s
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez; the
test was in advance of the Mexico 200
on March 6, the first NASCAR Busch
Series points event to be held outside
the United States.
He’s also jumped headlong into a
leadership role at RCR, hoping to
buoy teammates Kevin Harvick,
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NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson looks on in the garage area during
Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway
Tuesday.
used on engines. Johnson
also would like a victory
at Bristol Motor Speedway,
a demanding, high-banked,
half-mile track.
“Last year I said I want
to win at Darlington and
Martinsville,” Johnson
said. “Those were my two
tracks that were the most
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NASCAR
Jeff Burton sits ready for testing during Preseason Thunder at Daytona
International Speedway Tuesday.
'Richard (Childress) has
a lot to prove too. I think
that's going to prove
really good for every
body;'
- NEXTEL Cup driver Jeff Burton
who’s beginning his fifth season at
RCR and new addition Dave Blaney
(No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet). The
mandate? Return RCR to perennial
NASCAR Top 10 competition.
“The timing is good because we’ve
got Dave Blaney who wants to prove
a point,” Burton said. “A lot of people
ask why he (Childress) hired Blaney.
I think you’re going to find out why
Richard Childress hired Dave Blaney.
You’ve got me, who is used to run
ning in the front and who hasn’t for
the last few years. I want to prove a
point.
“Harvick did not have the year he
wanted to have last year. He wants
to prove a point. Richard has a lot to
prove too. I think that’s going to prove
really good for everybody.”
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SOPHOMORE SEASON: It’s hard
to improve on a rookie year that
included Raybestos Reokie of the Year
honors, but Kasey Kahne finished
13th in the final point standings, and
was among the drivers who contended
for a spot in the inaugural “Chase
for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.” He
demanding on me and I
struggled. We were able
to win at both of them.
So, I’ve now set some new
goals with a plate race and
Bristol. Hopefully we’re
able to do that.”
Last season’s suc
cesses and heartbreaks
aside - Johnson drives for
SPORTS
Hendrick Motorsports,
which was shaken by a
team plane crash last
Oct. 24 - he’s looking to
continue the 2004' excel
lence exhibited by his No.
48 team. Johnson won a
series-high eight races last
season and sees no rea
son why he and crew chief
Chad lOiaus can’t aim that
high again.
“To be second two years
in a row - we really, real
ly want a championship,”
said Johnson, who also
finished second in 2003.
“From growing up around
the sport, watching it,
and working in it - it’s
not something you sign up
for and get. We understand
how hard that is.”
One item has changed
from 2004 - Johnson is
a newlywed; he and wife
Chandra said their vows
Dec. 11 in the Caribbean.
He’s also warmed up to the
“Chase for the NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup,” which will
begin its second season in
2005.
A quick reminder; after
race No. 26, the top 10
drivers and anyone within
400 points of the leader
competes for the NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series title
during the season’s final
10 races.
“With the new system
in place, just watching
what it did to the fans and
our viewership - and the
people I see in the streets
when I’m up in my apart
ment in New York - it’s
amazing what it’s done for
our sport,” Johnson said of
fan and media attention.
“There are more positives
also had several oh-so-close finishes
that nearly became his first NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series win, and the
first step toward that goal is the sea
son-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.
Plus, there’s research to do on the
Dodge Charger, which returns to the
track this season, and the desire to
erase last year’s Daytona 500; Kahne
finished 41st thanks to engine trou
ble.
“The track is great, and I think our
new Dodge Charger is a lot better than
what we had last year,” Kahne said. “I
don’t know if it is for everybody, but
that was probably our weakest point
at Evemham Motorsports.
“The guys did an awesome job over
the winter to really work on that
(superspeedway program). Our car
isn’t the fastest, but it’s driving really
well and it goes over the bumps really
good. It’s a lot better than it was last
year.”
BILL IS BACK: Among recent
announcements was the news thqt
1988 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
champion Bill Elliott will participate
in the Feb. 12 Budweiser Shootout.
He’ll run the No. 39 Coors Dodge
for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix
Sabates.
It’s a one-time partnership that has
the blessing of Elliott’s team owner Ray
Evemham of Evemham Motorsports.
Elliott said he will embark on second
season of running a limited sched
ule of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
events for Evemham in 2005.
Past haunts Eagles
By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA - Andy
Reid is tired
of going to
Hawaii.
For the last
three years,
Reid and the
rest of the
Philadelphia
Eagles’ coach
ing staff have
spent the
week after the
F
Atlanta at
Philadelphia,
Sunday, 3 p.m.,
FOX
Super Bowl in Honolulu lead
ing the NFC’s Pro Bowl team,
the result of losing the confer
ence championship game.
Reid will gladly trade those
floral shirts and leis for a trip
to Jacksonville this year.
“I never thought I’d say I
don’t want to go to Hawaii,”
Reid said. “You get to this
point, you really aren’t that
worried about what happened
in the past. You are so focused
in on what you need to do right
now and the type of things
that you are doing right now.”
Playing in the past three
NFC championship games
gives the Eagles a significant
edge over Atlanta in big-game
experience. Losing all three of
those games also puts all the
pressure on Philadelphia to
get to the Super Bowl for the
first time in 24 years.
The Falcons, meanwhile,
have far less to lose. A year ago,
they were 5-11. Now they’re
a victory away from the sec
ond Super Bowl appearance
in franchise history; the other
was in 1999.
“We’re just going to go up
there and play loose and let
it roll,” Falcons rookie coach
Jim Mora said. “We don’t
feel any pressure. It’s house
money we’re gambling with.
So we’re just going to go up
there and fling it around and
see if we can’t stay on the
field with them for a little
while.”
The Eagles have traveled
this road before, only to get
detoured at the last stop before
playing for the NFL title. They
were favorites at home the last
McCrary: From forgotten
to Super Bowl contender
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
FLOWERY BRANCH - Fred
McCrary was stuck at home
and couldn’t figure out why.
Not that it was a bad life.
Workouts in the morning. Golf
in the afternoons. Plenty of
time to spend with his wife
and their young son.
But McCrary wanted more.
He wanted another shot at
the NFL.
“I feel like I’m one of the top
fullbacks in the league,” he
said. “I was like, ‘What’s going
on here?’ I knew I should be
playing.”
Finally, with just three
weeks to go in a season that
had nearly passed him by,
McCrary got a call from the
Atlanta Falcons. One play into
the first game with his new
team, he became a starter.
Now, he’s one victoiy away
from the Super Bowl.
He knows his role. McCrary
has never carried the ball more
than eight times in a season.
But McCrary is a ferocious
blocker, willing to throw his
fireplug of a body (6-foot, 247
pounds) into any defender that
gets in the way. He’s also got
decent hands, slipping out of
the backfield to make a catch
every now and then.
“When Fred stepped in,
things didn’t stop,” said T.J.
Duckett, who shares time with
Dunn in the backfield. “If any
thing, he makes us better.”
McCrary has been through
plenty of ups and downs in his
career.
He started four games
for Philadelphia as a rookie
in 1995, but didn’t play at
all the following year after
being released in the final
cut. There was a seven-game
stint with the Saints in 1997,
but McCrary missed another
entire season after getting cut
again. He earned a living that
year as a prison guard.
In 1999, McCrary landed his
steadiest job yet in San Diego.
He started nearly every game
•
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
two years against teams who
played in a warmer climate
and had trouble winning on
the road and in cold weather.
It could be downright freez
ing when the Eagles (14-3)
host the Falcons (12-5) on
Sunday afternoon, with fore
casters calling for snow.
“I don’t think it’ll be a fac
tor,” Falcons quarterback
Michael Vick said. “Football
is played in all types of con
ditions: rain, sleet, snow or
whatever. The game is not
going to be called off. This is
for all the marbles.”
Last year, Carolina came to
Philadelphia, ignored the ele
ments and stunned the Eagles
14-3. Two years ago, Tampa
Bay closed out Veterans
Stadium with a 27-10 win, its
first playoff victory in tem
peratures under 40 degrees.
In 2002, the Eagles lost at St.
Louis 29-24.
“This is a totally different
team, different players, differ
ent philosophies,” said run
ning back Brian Westbrook,
who missed last year’s playoffs
with an injury. “We’re going
in with a fresh attitude and
we’re ready to play.
“We have some pressure.
We put that pressure on our
selves because we want to win.
Anytime you expect a lot of
success, you’re going to put a
little bit of pressure on your
self. I don’t think as a team
we feel any pressure from
anybody else except from the
people that we have inside our
own locker room.”
The Eagles can’t afford to be
uptight this time. They realize
another loss would be devas
tating for a city that is starved
for a winner. Philly hasn’t
celebrated a major champion
ship since the 76ers won the
NBA title in 1983, and the city
hasn’t had an NFL title since
1960.
Fans have pinned their
hopes on the beloved football
team. But considering how
often teams seem to come up
short around here, no one is
planning a parade down Broad
Street just yet.
'When Fred stepped
in, things didn't
stop. II anything, he
makes us better.'
- Falcons running back T.J.
Duckett
for the Chargers over the next
four seasons, opening holes
for LaDainian Tomlinson and
catching a career-high three
touchdown passes in 2002.
That didn’t stop him from
getting cut again.
He wound up in New
England, getting cut again,
then was re-signed by the
Patriots. McCrary played in
six games before a season-end
ing leg injury.
It would get tougher.
McCrary was cut again by the
Patriots during training camp
and returned to his Atlanta
area home, waiting for anoth
er team to call.
A few expressed interest,
but no one offered a contract.
At 32, it appeared his career
might be over.
Amazingly, his big break
came from the local team.
The Falcons lost fullback
Justin Griffith to an ankle
injury on Dec. 12. The fol
lowing day, McCrary’s agent
called at 7 a.m. and told him to
report to the team’s training
complex - about a 40-minute
drive - for a physical.
Six days later, the Falcons’
new starting fullback, Stanley
Pritchett, broke a thumb on
the first play against Carolina.
Suddenly, McCrary had gone
from unemployed to starting
for a playoff team.
“He really just came in and
fit right in,” coach Jim Mora
said. “I think that had to do
with the fact that he knew a
lot of players on this team and
he’s a confident sort. It just
seems like he’s been here till
year, even though he’s only
been here about five weeks.”