Johnson struggles to regain rhythm ahead of playoff cutoff

As Jimmie Johnson & Company continue to find the answer to their qualifying woes, the defending series champion has begun exploring a new area: Himself. Or more specifically, his rhythm.

"It seems that the more effort we put into it, in some respects I think we're overthinking it – or I'm overthinking it and causing more problems," Johnson told RACER. "I could say that when we went to a five-hour break between the end of practice and qualifying, it's impacted me more than others; I'm much more of a rhythm guy and I'm trying to identify with something in that that's hurt me.

"Last year we had the super long break and before it was two hours, which is still a lot, but now it's five and that five-hour break ... I've tried everything else and nothing's helped. That's where I'm looking now to try to see if there's something in that."

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Qualifying has been the arch nemesis of the No. 48 team this year, which has led to an extensive effort to improve. A small victory was had Friday at Kansas Speedway when Johnson improved in each of the first two rounds and outran his Hendrick Motorsports teammates. But that was still only good enough for 13th on the grid (he will start 12th after Ryan Blaney's time was disallowed).

Johnson will take whatever momentum he can find when it comes to the playoffs. Like last weekend at Talladega when Johnson was eighth fastest. Something he cracked was a result of him being taken out of the equation and just letting the car do the work.

In his last 10 qualifying sessions, Johnson has started in the top 10 only twice. The emphasis on starting up front has magnified this season because of the implementation of stages and added points to score during a race. That's where Johnson admits the possible overthinking of things comes in.

What Johnson does know for sure is that his qualifying saga is hindering his playoff efforts. Mediocre Friday results are leading to the same on Sundays, or at least a much tougher battle than needed. The inability to earn stage points and playoff points also has Johnson near the bottom of the playoff grid.

Going into this weekend's elimination race, it is Johnson the drivers on the outside looking in are trying to overcome. He holds just a seven-point advantage over Kyle Busch.

That much is clear, but what's going wrong in qualifying is still not clear to Johnson and his crew, and could end up being the ultimate downfall of a team that has always seemed to find the answers.

"Where [qualifying] could hurt us the most is going to Homestead. Being eligible for the Round of 8 or the Round of 4," Johnson said. "I look at Dover – it took me 350 miles to get to the front because I qualified so bad.

"I think it's definitely hurt the bottom line with race results and without a doubt, it can really hurt us looking to transfer into the final four."