HAMPTON, Ga. – It sounded as if Jimmie Johnson was actually trying to convince media members that he wouldn’t win a fifth straight Sprint Cup championship.

            This one, he said, is completely different.

            Oh, yeah, right.

“We have new elements … with the double-file restarts, three attempts at the ‘green-white-checkered’ finish,” Johnson said. “That changes the dynamic of the race a lot. … It is harder this year to decide who will be a favorite.

Incredibly, Johnson said the favorite was Kevin Harvick, who has merely led the points all this year instead of, oh, winning championships for four straight years.

“We aren’t where we want to be yet, but we’ve been in this position before in years past and gone into the Chase looking for a little bit of speed and we’ve found it, so I’m not too concerned with where we are.”

            In other words, Johnson was :poor-mouthing,” not throwing in the towel.

            Johnson has never led the standings at regular season’s end during his unprecedented four-year run.

            It’s been a while – Chase Elliott, son of 1988 Winston Cup champion Bill Elliott (who competed at AMS), won the first race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in nearly 14 years.

            The younger Elliott, now 14, was a week shy of one year old when Jeff Gordon won the final NASCAR race at the Brushy Mountains track in 1996.

            The estimated crowd was 9,000 for the Labor Day Classic 200, even though the race wasn’t actually run on Labor Day..

            The USAR Pro Cup Series will host a race at North Wilkesboro on Oct. 3.

            A healthy sponsorship – Fans – well, some of them -- got tangible benefits from the race’s sponsor. Emory Healthcare offered screenings for head and neck cancer, skin cancer, blood pressure and other maladies.

            Emory officials estimated that 2,000 took advantage of the opportunities.

            What the …? Buffett was at the race. Not Jimmy. Warren Buffett. The famed investor was a guest of NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs, who delivered the prerace prayer shortly after one of the more schmaltzy national anthems ever produced outside Branson, Mo.

You may contact Monte Dutton at mdutton@gastongazette.com.