Jimmie Johnson is back at his winning ways. The reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titleholder poured it on during the month of June, making up for some lost time this past spring. Johnson posted back-to-back wins at Sonoma and Loudon races in mid-June, racking up the points and reemerging in a Cup Series previously dominated this year by Denny Hamlin and the Busch brothers.

Johnson posted his second win in a row at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 27, besting Tony Stewart (No. 2), Kurt Busch (No. 3), Jeff Gordon (No. 4) and Kevin Harvick (No. 5) for top honors at the Loudon race. While all eyes were on Danica Patrick’s return to stock car racing that weekend, Jimmie Johnson had plans of his own and put them into place perfectly, setting July up to be one red-hot month on the racing circuit.

Johnson’s big win at Loudon places him back at the top in title contention for the year, now only trailing Kevin Harvick for the No. 1 position on driver standings in the Cup Series. There are scores of races yet to come this season and the series championship will be up for grabs for months still, but if Jimmie “Superman” Johnson continues heating up, the Cup Series could be toast.

While Jimmie Johnson continues dominating races going into the second part of NASCAR season, another driver is giving him competition – though not in the Cup Series. Danica Patrick is another name selling just as many NASCAR tickets as Johnson after IndyCar’s golden girl made her grand entrance onto the stock car racing scene earlier this year.

Patrick is a new addition to NASCAR’s Nationwide Series this season, and after a four-month hiatus to focus on IndyCar racing she made her return to the track in a stock car at Nationwide’s New England 200 at Loudon. Anticipation had been building for weeks leading up to the New Hampshire race, but once again NASCAR’s leading lady ended up in a wall, putting a damper on her day.

This time, Patrick was taken out by Morgan Shepherd, instantly blaming him for making contact. Shepherd’s car drifted up the track a little but Patrick turned down quickly, perhaps instigating the collision that sent her in a tizzy both on and off the track.
Danica Patrick is known for her fiery temper and outcries during/after races, and it was no different at Loudon. She ultimately finished the race five laps down from race winner Kyle Busch, snagging the No. 30 position and bringing up the rear once again. Even if Patrick hadn’t crashed her No. 7 stock car during the race, though, things weren’t looking great for the rookie NASCAR driver. She was down two laps after 32 of 200 and didn’t look to be improving much when she suffered the setback in a collision with Morgan Shepherd.

Still, Tadacip Patrick considers the Loudon race another dose of experience, which is sure to be the theme of her inaugural year in NASCAR. Speaking about her current rendezvous with the Nationwide Series, Patrick told the USA Today, “It’s a learning process, and it’s a learning process for (crew chief) Tony (Eury Jr.) to come here with a car that may be just right and maybe a little more conservative for me. What I had to remind myself of this morning was to trust my instincts, go a little faster and try a little harder.”
Patrick will still be running the rest of the IndyCar schedule this season while alternating with Nationwide Races for the rest of 2010. Her progress in both NASCAR and the IRL will be well monitored throughout the season by her many dedicated fans, who get tickets to all her races online.

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