CLUTCH PERFORMERS; JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS THIRD-STRAIGHT CUP AFTER ROUGH START.(NEWS)

Byline: AL PEARCE

There were moments throughout 2008 when Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and their No. 48 Hendrick Motor-sports Chevrolet Impala looked downright mortal. From mid-February through late August, for example, they seldom resembled the two-time and defending Sprint Cup championship team that was headed for its record-tying third consecutive title.

Johnson won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500 but led only two laps and finished a forgettable 27th. The team was second a week later in California, then 29th at Las Vegas, 13th at Atlanta and 18th at Bristol. It showed some potential by finishing fourth at Martinsville, second at Texas and first at Phoenix in March and April. Just as quickly, though, it floundered again: 13th at Talladega, 30th at Richmond, 13th at Darlington and 39th at Charlotte in April and May. The team was ninth in points after 12 of 36 races, almost 400 behind three-race winner and series leader Kyle Busch.

But if there was any concern or panic in the No. 48 camp, it never showed.

"I don't think we ever felt we wouldn't have a shot [at the Cup], but we knew we needed to get things together, Johnson said after collecting his latest championship at the season finale at Homestead-Miami in mid-November. "It took a team effort of testing and R&D from the engine shop, the chassis shop and the body shop. Everybody had to buckle down and find out where the speed was. We had to find out where to work and what to work on. It takes a while to recognize when you're off base, then to find the problem and start working in new areas to find speed. It just took us a little time. There aren't many places on these cars where you can do much to make them better. It's a slow, gradual process.

While Johnson struggled, Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing) kicked the tar out of everybody. Edwards won three of the first seven races, and Busch won three of eight during the spring, delivering Toyota's breakthrough Cup-race win at Atlanta in April. They combined to win half of the first 12 races, leaving Johnson, Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne to share the other six wins.

Johnson hit bottom with his embarrassing engine-related 39th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend. He began his championship comeback with eight top-10s in the next 10 starts during June, July and August, including his second Brickyard 400 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He and Knaus found their stride in the weeks leading into the 10-race Chase for the Championship, winning not only at Indy but then at California and Richmond on back-to-back weekends. Johnson opened the fifth-annual Chase as the third seed, just 40 points behind Busch and 10 behind Edwards. Considering its position for much of the season, the No. 48 team's rise to third entering the playoffs was a remarkable achievement.