Johnson tries to make it his year

AVONDALE, ARIZ. —  Only two races left in NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup, and Jimmie Johnson again is exactly where he hoped to be at exactly the right time.

After four frustrating years of nearly winning his first championship, the El Cajon native is within reach of the Cup once more, leading this year’s Chase by a slim 17-point margin over Matt Kenseth.

It’s Johnson’s title to lose as stock-car racing’s top series ends with races Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway and next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

Besides Kenseth, three other drivers are within 105 points of Johnson and thought to still have a chance: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

Johnson will have his work cut out protecting his lead in Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500 after qualifying his Chevrolet 29th on the 43-car grid with a lap of 131.873 mph.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver was at a disadvantage after drawing the first qualifying spot Friday afternoon, when the track was hot and slippery. As the sun began to set and cooler temperatures gave the drivers more grip, qualifying speeds rose.

Johnson’s teammate Jeff Gordon, who’s sixth in the Chase and thought to be out of title contention, won the pole position in his Chevy with a lap of 134.464 mph on the tricky one-mile, bean-shaped oval.

The car “was just a rocket,” Gordon said. “We knew we drew a great [qualifying] number to go out late as well.”

Harvick, who won the spring race here for Richard Childress Racing, will start next to Gordon after qualifying second in a Chevy at 133.973 mph. Kenseth qualified 10th.

If Johnson is feeling the pressure of not letting another title get away, he’s not showing it.

At 31, Johnson is the epitome of cool in the garage. Standing near his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet and wearing wrap-around sunglasses, he unfailingly delivers clipped, polished answers to reporters’ questions, the upbeat inflection in his voice seldom changing.

“We’re excited, we’ve been performing well,” said Johnson, who lives in Charlotte, N.C. “The 17-point lead is not a big lead by any stretch of the imagination.

“We’re just going to go out and race and do the same things we’ve done that got us in this position and see where the deal ends up,” he said.

Johnson knows he is a favorite -- even among other drivers -- to finally win the Cup, a stature he began nurturing opening day by winning the Daytona 500 in February.

That was followed by four more victories and a recent consistency in the Chase that has lifted Johnson to the top. In the last four races he has finished second three times and won at Martinsville, Va.

“For his team to be that competitive and that consistent in the top five, that’s a huge accomplishment,” said Kasey Kahne, the Evernham Motorsports driver who sits last among the 10 Chase contenders.

“They’re the team to beat at this point,” said Kahne, who qualified 11th in a Dodge. “It would definitely probably be a disappointment for Jimmie if he doesn’t win it because he’s been so close for five years.”

Johnson and his team were the class of the series through the first 26 of the season’s 36 races. Johnson led the points after all but four of those events, giving him momentum leading into the 10-race Chase.

And after the Chase began, he had to overcome two early setbacks that threatened to doom his chances.

He opened the Chase in New Hampshire by finishing 39th. And at the fourth race, in Talladega, Ala., he was poised to pass Earnhardt for the win on the last lap but instead was tapped by another teammate, Brian Vickers, sending Johnson and Earnhardt into a 190-mph spin and leaving Johnson with a 24th-place finish.

But overall, Johnson has 22 top-10 finishes in the first 34 races this year, the best of any Cup driver.

Kenseth said his Roush Racing team might be close to Johnson in points but “we’re certainly not running in the league that he’s running in. Hopefully we can get back to that.”

Johnson agreed that his team has peaked at the right time. But he’s also bracing for disappointment yet again.

“Championships don’t come easily,” he said. “We’re going to be in this sport a long time and I know deep down in my heart that we’ll be champion at some point. I certainly hope it’s this year.”

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james.peltz@latimes.com