NASCAR Jimmie Johnson is racing, learning

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Racin' and learnin': Jimmie Johnson is thoroughly enjoying doing both in his sophomore season.
He's won three events and is fourth in the Winston Cup points race, and he's getting lessons in what it takes to be successful in NASCAR's top series.
"I'm just a lot smarter, more competitive," said Johnson, who last Sunday completed a season sweep of the two races at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Big rookie season
A year ago, Johnson turned in one of the best rookie performances in NASCAR history, winning three times and finishing fifth in the points, just behind his car owner and mentor Jeff Gordon, a four-time Winston Cup champion.
That first year included four poles, six top-five finishes and 21 top-10s in 36 races.
The consistency hasn't been quite the same this year. He has eight top-fives in the 27 races, but he has only one pole and 12 top-10 finishes heading into Sunday's MBNA America 400 at Dover International Speedway.
"I've made some mistakes, had some failures, had some bad luck," Johnson said. "But I just feel I'm so much farther ahead as a driver and the team is so much more mature and farther ahead."
The grueling 10-month schedule is like a challenging school year to Johnson.
"Just about every race there's something new to absorb, something to change or work on," he said. "It's just a great feeling to go out there every race and know there's going to be new things to pick up."
Hand-picked by Gordon
Gordon, who has been struggling of late and has fallen to sixth in the season standings, is very proud of his hand-picked driver.
"It's his attitude a lot," Gordon said. "Jimmie doesn't complain or mope around or blame everybody else when things go wrong. He just wants to make it right and keep getting better.
"Nobody doubts his talent. It's just a matter of time until he wins a championship."
No doubt, Johnson will do it quietly.
He has been going about his business with little fanfare while other young drivers like Kurt Busch and 2002 Rookie of the Year Ryan Newman have been making headlines.
"I'm not a guy who likes to make a lot of waves," Johnson said. "I try to keep my head and not get too caught up in any of the unfortunate things that always happen out there on the racetrack."
Johnson has had his moments, especially early in the season when he got tangled up with veteran Sterling Marlin in races at Las Vegas and Darlington. But there was no on-track payback or post-race confrontation.
"I think about how I was raised," Johnson said. "My dad wouldn't put up with poor sportsmanship -- me throwing my helmet, my goggles or doing different things like that when I was doing motocross as a kid. I've carried that with me."
Still, Johnson pointed out that NASCAR racing is simply becoming more like other sports, and he doesn't always blame drivers for their outbursts.
"In baseball, if a batter is hit, he charges the mound and then you've got the dugouts cleaning out," Johnson explained. "You look at football, somebody makes a late hit out of bounds and those guys get upset and get in each other's face."
Emotions run high
He said emotions run just as high in racing.
"Our lives are on the line," Johnson said. "We're in vehicles at 200 mph and, when someone hits you or gives you a late hit while you're out of bounds, whatever comparison you want to make to other sports, you're going to react."
Going to Dover, Johnson is 472 points behind series leader Matt Kenseth, but just nine behind third place Kevin Harvick and 68 behind runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"It's been Matt's year so far," Johnson said. "When it's your year, you better capitalize on it.
"I have no complaints. Of course, I wish I was in Matt's shoes right now. It's hard to win a championship and it takes a lot to do it. Hopefully, we'll have a year like that next year."