by Darrell Waltrip

Updated: November 6, 2007, 12:50 PM EST

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It's not very often that you get all of those things together all at once, but there's no question that the No. 48 team has and that they are on fire. I used to tell people, "My car is red hot, and your car ain't doodly squat."

Well, when Jimmie Johnson blows by you, I'm sure there are probably guys that feel that way. He puts a Linda Ronstadt on those guys just about every week. He has for the last few weeks anyway. (That's "Blue Bayou," by the way.)

Watching the Texas race Sunday, it was the same old, same old. When the money is on the line, that No. 48 team just has the ability to step up. The pit crew gets Johnson out of the pits first. Crew chief Chad Knaus makes great calls. Last week, he won on two tires. That was the right call. This week, he won on four tires. That was the right call yet again.

That's just being in the game, having racetrack presence and knowing what you need to get to victory circle. It's not following the leader or doing what everybody else does. It's running your own race. That's what I always called it, and that's what Chad does. He doesn't allow other teams or situations dictate what he's going to do. He's the guy people should copy. Whatever he does, I'd be doing the same thing.

The only problem with the other teams is they don't have as fast a car. I don't give all the credit to the car. It always reminds me — and I think I've told you this before — what Jeff Gordon told me about his car. After I talked about how great and fast his car was, he looked me as serious as he could be and said, "DW, the last time I looked around, they're ain't nobody in there but me."

That's kind of the way Jimmie Johnson is. He's obviously a talented, great driver. We talk about Jeff Gordon's success, week in and week out, and what he's done in a short period of time. But the way Jimmie Johnson is going, he could overshadow what Gordon has done.

Here's a man looking at another championship with 32 wins, including 9 this season alone. Good grief, that's supreme performance right there. I knew Jimmie had the edge going to Texas. I do think that Phoenix is going to be a toss-up. I felt that all along. Sure, Jeff won there in the spring for the first time, but he won on a gutsy call by his crew chief, Steve Letarte.

If you recall, there was a caution-flag issue where they were in the pits when the caution came out. They were able to assume the lead once everybody cycled through their pit stops. There's no question that Gordon won the race, but it's not one of Gordon's best tracks.

With a 30-point lead now, if Jimmie gains anything at all on Jeff coming out of Phoenix, it's pretty much a done deal because the No. 48 car will fly around Homestead-Miami Speedway. That's their kind of racetrack. It's a mile and a half with a little banking. You have to have the car cut through the center of the corner, riding on the right rear, and that's what Jimmie Johnson loves to do.

It ain't over, but the fat lady is definitely warming up.

Oh, by the way

Next year when they run the Car of Tomorrow full time, A lot of people wonder what they're going to call it. I like COT. It's the COT now, and that's for the Car of Tomorrow. But when we start running it next year, it'll be the COT, the Car of Today. I kind of like COT.

I know we'll all get around to where we finally call them Avengers, Impalas, Fusions and Camrys. I'm sure we'll get there eventually, but in the interim, I still think the COT works for me. The Car of Tomorrow will soon be the Car of Today.

Oh, by the way, too

Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith's purchase of New Hampshire is going to be a win-win for everybody. When you look at what Bruton has done to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Infineon Raceway, there's no question in my mind that when you'll dig up a track like Vegas to make the racing better, you will probably dig up New Hampshire ASAP and make it better.

I see them shortening up the track to a 3/4-mile and giving it some progressive banking. I see them making it kind of a mix between Richmond and Bristol, putting seats all the way around it with suites and building a little coliseum like what you see at Bristol. I see the New England fans having a racetrack like they've never had before.

The only problem is they're probably going to wind up with just one race a year there. I think that one of those dates in 2009 will definitely go to Vegas. One of the deals that Bruton and former NHIS track owner Bob Bahre may have made is that he would not stop racing in New Hampshire. Then Bruton probably told him what he wanted to do to the track, and Bob said, "Go for it."

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I know Bob Bahre and I have had our differences, and I know he doesn't always say nice things about me. But I do appreciate the effort that he and his son put forth for the fans of New England and the job they have done up there. I look forward to seeing what Bruton is going to do now that he owns the real estate and what his vision for the future of that racetrack will be. I know it's going to be exciting.

Another oh, by the way

Just so you don't think I contradict myself or that I change my opinions about things, you can look on the AllWaltrip.com archive. Go back and read some of the old stories. As a matter of fact, what made me think of it is a fan of mine reminded me of some things that I had said in 2004 that were coming true today.

I've always had a favorite saying. It's sort of arrogant so please know that I'm not trying to be arrogant. But I tell my children and a lot of guys that have worked for me through the years, "Hear me now; believe me later." I don't mean that to be obnoxious, but I try to be as good a visionary as I can when I talk about what I think will happen and what the future will look like.

In the very near future, I'm going to write about not being happy with some of the things I'm hearing about the Busch Series. I have an opinion on what they ought to do to the Busch Series and the reason why the things I'm hearing are not things that I would be in favor of. You can look forward to that later this week.