Even when he doesn't win, Johnson gains on the rest

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Now it's time for some real investigation by NASCAR.

What the heck is going on with Jimmie Johnson's slump? Perhaps taking his No. 48 Chevrolet back to NASCAR's Research & Development Center for a complete teardown is in order now like never before -- and it's been going back to the R&D Center pretty much on a weekly basis for some time now.

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Jimmie Johnson says he had a second-place car all day and didn't think he had anything for winner Denny Hamlin.

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But get this: Johnson didn't win Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He finished second to race winner Denny Hamlin.

That's the lowest Johnson has finished in the past three races during the Chase to the Sprint Cup. And therein lies the problem for the competitors pursuing Johnson in the Chase: Even on a day when he "struggles" to some degree, he's still better than most.

That was the case Sunday, when Hamlin was the only Chaser to gain points on the three-time defending champion. And after gaining a total of 20 by virtue of the victory, Hamlin, who moved up two spots to ninth in the standings, still trails Johnson by an obviously insurmountable 352 points with only four races left in the season.

Everyone else fell farther behind Johnson in the standings by virtue of Sunday's results. His two Hendrick Motorsports teammates who also happen to be the two drivers closest to him in points now head into next Sunday's race at Talladega behind by more than 100 points -- with Mark Martin in second trailing by 118, and Jeff Gordon in third down by 150.

"For them all to have one less race to gain points on us is huge," Johnson admitted. "We opened up a few points on those guys who were closest to us in the standings. So mission accomplished. One more race down on the 5 [Martin] and the 24 [Gordon], and four to go." (Continued)