From the September, 2006 issue of Stock Car Insider
Singing the Jimmie Johnson Blues
Have you ever heard of the term "seasonal affected disorder”, or SAD for short? SAD refers to people who go into a form of depression with the onset of winter. It's a disorder that affects nearly 20% of the population. My grandmother suffered from SAD and it seems to be ailing Jimmie Johnson as well.Jimmie's variety seems to come about early on in the final 10 races of the season, however. It's the only obvious explanation I can give to Jimmie's all but guaranteed collapse come every September.
Since Jimmie Johnson has come to NASCAR, he has always been a championship contender. Typically, Jimmie lays the foundation for a strong season early on in the year and maintains it through the middle stretch. However, starting in September, the rock solid Lowe's #48 team will start to falter.
Let's rewind and look at Jimmie's 2006 season. Johnson started off with one of the strongest starts in NASCAR history by winning two of the first 3 races. His average finish over the first 10 races was 7th. He maintained his lead in the points by averaging a 9th place finish over the next 10 races. That average began to fall at Watkins Glen where since, he has posted an average finish of 19th.
Jimmie Johnson's 39th place finish yesterday in the Sylvania 300 has all but killed his hopes of winning a championship; a championship that would have capped off a near perfect season. Or I should say a near perfect 2/3 season.
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