Power Rankings: Glass half full or half empty for Johnson?

Updated Aug. 24

So what do you make of Jimmie Johnson's performance the past couple of weeks?

The glass half full contingent will note that on the track, Johnson and his 48 car were second to none. Two weeks ago at Michigan he led 133 of the 200 laps. At Bristol, he charged to the front from his 21st starting position to pace the field for 107 laps.

Jimmie Johnson has led plenty of laps but hasn't won plenty of races. (Getty Images)

The glass half empty set will argue that it doesn't matter what you do over the course of a race if you can't finish the deal. A passing glance at the final results show Johnson finishing 33rd at Michigan and eighth at Bristol. On the face of it, the results don't exactly point to a fourth consecutive championship.

That's where the team aspect of racing comes into play. No matter how well a driver might be performing behind the wheel, success and failure has as much to do with decisions made by the engineers and mechanics back at the shop, strategy by the crew chief and execution of pit stops by the crew. One little mistake is all it takes to derail a strong effort.

Crew chief Chad Knaus' fuel gamble at Michigan came up empty, while a loose wheel derailed his efforts at Bristol.

"Fastest car out there," Johnson declared after climbing from his car at Bristol. "We should be in Victory Lane. It's just a bummer we had something on pit road screw us up. Just really disappointed."

While he's second in points with three victories, Johnson and the 48 team have had quite their fair share of problems this season.

The fuel fiasco was actually the second time this year he dominated at Michigan only to run out of fuel while leading in the waning laps (he finished 22nd in the first visit back in June after leading 146 laps) and the third time he ran out of fuel period, doing so while running second in the year's first visit to Pocono, where he wound up seventh. A bad spark plug proved his undoing in his second trip to Pocono, where he settled for 13th.

Way back in March, he led a race-high 92 laps at Las Vegas, but a couple of pit road miscues cost him track position and while trying to work his way back to the front, perhaps a bit over-aggressively, he hit the wall and wound up finishing 24th.

For some, the troubles offer hope that the three-time defending series champions aren't unflappable.

Of course, they could just be getting rid of our their bad luck now and fine-tuning for the 10-race Chase where once again all the pieces will come together en route to a fourth consecutive title.

Power Rankings after Bristol: