And he was only fourth in the second.

Pitiful.

OK, so his 10-lap average in the first segment was No. 1 and he qualified second, but still …

And consider this: Johnson and his wife, Chandra, haven't come up with a name for the child. They say they want to take some time to get to know her and figure out her personality.

This has to be a distraction for the four-time defending Sprint Cup champion. Instead of setups and adjustments, Johnson will be wondering if Daytona is better than Joliet or if he should go outside the lines and name her Chadranda after his wife and crew chief Chad Knaus.

Maybe he'll settle for Junior to guarantee she'll be more popular than him. Maybe he'll have a one-hour special on television to announce it.

Yep, that's sarcasm, the same Jeff Burton used early in the day when he said tongue-in-cheek that he was surprised Johnson was running so well.

"I thought when you had children you weren't supposed to run well anymore,'' Burton said. "I mean, Jeff [Gordon] has one coming, so he can't do it because he has another kid coming. We've got a lot of people that they're going to have to find drivers for because they've got kids coming.''

With Johnson, Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler out of the picture with newborns either here or due soon, the door is open for anybody to win the championship.

Maybe even Burton will have a chance now.

Don't hold your breath. Yes, Johnson is somewhat distracted now. He slept in the hospital the past two nights and planned to fly back to Charlotte on Friday night after qualifying to relieve Chandra's mom before returning for Saturday night's race.

He admittedly can't keep his mind off the baby, and Chandra keeps texting pictures to make him even more homesick.

Every time he hears a noise in the garage or motor coach he thinks of the baby.

If that wasn't enough, the media put together a list of potential names to remind him further that there is unfinished business at home.

In case you're wondering, Joliet Johnson if Johnson gets his first win at Chicagoland, Chevy Chase Johnson since he's a Chevrolet driver, Baby J-Lo, Quatro Ocho for his four titles and Chad.

OK, scratch Chad.

"There's only one ugly face that comes with that name,'' Johnson said with a laugh.

Yes, Johnson is tired like all new fathers are. But he's happy, happier than if he'd just won a fifth straight title.

"Wednesday was absolutely the best day of my life,'' Johnson said.

A happy Johnson should scare the competition. He's not only driving for himself now, he's driving for his family.

Let Burton explain.

"I told you guys a couple years ago that y'all were insane when you said that Jeff Gordon wasn't running well because he had a baby,'' Burton said of the driver who is second in points. "It's ridiculous. It's a life-changing experience; there is no question about that.

"We all over use the word 'awesome,' but that is an awesome thing. I will tell you from my perspective what I see in my children's eyes when I do well and what that means to them, and that means more to me than anything else. I see the disappointment in their eyes when I don't do well.''

Johnson doesn't plan on not doing well. Knaus, from nearby Rockford, already has reminded us that they haven't won a race in his home state. Johnson would like to give him that.

"I'm not sure it would be like winning the Daytona 500 for him, but it would be really, really close,'' Johnson said.

Back to Baby J's name: There will be no one-hour special, and Johnson plans to have a name by the time he takes his family home from the hospital because the hospital requires it for the birth certificate.

"I didn't realize there'd be so much interest behind it,'' Johnson said.

When you're the driver to beat every weekend and every season, there's interest in everything.