Johnson Pocono Finish Predictable?

Jimmie Johnson is in an odd, yet productive, and some may say predictable cycle when it comes to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Johnson has won each of the races leading into Pocono’s 400-mile events this year. He won at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in June and leading into Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pennsylvania 400, Johnson is once again coming off a victorious weekend. In fact, it was a record-setting weekend as Johnson won an impressive fourth Brickyard 400 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The win also put him in elite company as one of five drivers with four or more wins. Jeff Gordon, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears and Michael Schumacher are the others.

Johnson’s cycle of finishes the past two seasons at Pocono has been just as consistent. He has finished fourth in his last three races at the “Tricky Triangle.” A win at Indianapolis is often an indicator of a good Pocono run, both tracks having similar driving characteristics with their unconventional shapes. However, Johnson’s two wins at Pocono occurred in 2004, when he swept the season, meaning he has never won at the 2.5-mile triangular oval in any of his championship years of 2006 through 2010.

He has been fairly consistent at the odd-shaped track, however. His nine top-five finishes and 14-top-10s in 21 races places him second in NASCAR’s driver rating system. Except for a 42nd-place finish in June 2007, he has finished 15th or better in every race.

Johnson’s successful run at Indy bodes well for a good finish at Pocono. Could it be another fourth-place showing, making it his 11th top-five finish of the year? Or could it be a victory, which would be his fourth of the season? The outcome is predictably unknown.

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