Full Throttle

The last few weeks as Jimmie Johnson has proceeded towards what seems to be the inevitable - a third consecutive Sprint Cup Championship - many have written how the 10 Chase venues favor the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

More times than not the solutions offered to “Jimmy Proof” the Chase center on those ten events and to a lesser extent something along the lines of a sucrose based mixture being introduced to the #48’s fuel tank.

I on the other hand offer a solution based on a long-standing auto racing tradition - superstition.

First the historical perspective. Superstition compels some racers to go to extremes to avoid a bad day at the track. Peanuts. Fried chicken. The number 13. And anything green.

Some drivers believe their racing successes or failures are determined in large part by factors that nonsuperstitious people would quickly dismiss.

The aversion to the pastoral hue is well established in the racing world - a few examples:

Mario Andretti never signs autographs with green ink, and it is said Joe Weatherly (NASCAR’s 1962 and 1963 champion) once removed his socks for a race because rain had changed their color from brown (some claim they were blue) to green.

Weatherly and team owner Bud Moore were enroute to a race, while eating at a roadside restaurant a green taxi cab backed into the race car with a resultant swath of green paint being transferred to the race car. Bud Moore suggested, “We’ll paint over it.” But Joe would have none of that: “No, you’re going to grind that out. If you paint over it, it’s still there.”

While it is true some drivers have won races in green automobiles, Harry Gant The Skoal Bandit a notable exception who broke that mold in modern times, cars of that complexion are rarely found at racetracks because they are regarded as unlucky.

With that as background, and with the help of FoMoCo and NASCAR, the Half-Vast Staff™ of Full Throttle offer the following:

In a first for a hybrid electric vehicle, Ford’s 2010 Fusion Hybrid, along with its Fusion Sport counterpart, will be an official pace car of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading the field to the green flag at the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale.

Because both Fusion variants have yet to be officially unveiled – that will happen shortly at the Los Angeles Auto Show – they will pace the field in wild NASCAR inspired camouflage paint designs to visually mask their exterior styling.

Considering FoMoCo and NASCAR have done the heavy lifting by producing the Fusion Hybrid and allowing it to pace the starting field I’ll complete this picture by suggesting Jimmy Johnson be handed pole position next Sunday.

It’s far from precedent setting - Mother Nature has done it ten times this year - but having the #48 start for the pole and as close as possible to the Fusion Hybrid during the pace laps may, just may “Jimmie Proof” the Chase results and relegate him to a 37th or later finishing position.

And what the hell, whom ever it was involved in the [in]famous Roush-Fenway Stolen Sway-Bar Caper can re-emerge to toss a few Planters Peanuts into #48 cockpit during the National Anthem it wouldn’t hurt either.