Jimmie Johnson said that when NASCAR took away the trick shocks that helped him win the second Chase race at Dover, it might have cost him the championship.
"Our deal with the shock was it wasn't a limiting device," he said. "It met the specifications, and NASCAR commended us for finding something so advanced and so good.
"But we had way too much time built into that. When it was taken away, we needed to get the aero attitude of the car back. How do we do it? Well, we knew everybody else was working with [spring] coil binding, so we said, 'Let's try that.' Then, we ended up on a path where we were searching two or three races into the Chase."
The trick shocks, which NASCAR admitted were technically legal, kept the rear of the car elevated while it was at speed. NASCAR essentially outlawed the shocks, saying they defeated the spirit of the rules that establish the maximum height for the back for the car.
Johnson said Thursday that other teams -- ostensibly, champion Tony Stewart's -- were getting the same result through coil binding, which he said is clearly illegal. Johnson did win a race after Dover (Charlotte), but he finished the season with finishes of 16th, fifth, seventh and 40th and wound up fourth in the points.
Greg Engle, the Editor of the Cup Scene Daily is seeking employment within the motorsports journalism industry. If you are interested, please contact him at: greg@cupscene.com
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