LAS VEGAS -- Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Chevy team are human after all.

Johnson never came close to earning a fourth consecutive victory at Las Vegas, finishing 29th Sunday in the UAW-Dodge 400, two laps down.

Johnson had an ill-handling car all day. The surprise was that crew chief Chad Knaus never found a way to make the car better.

Johnson finished in the top 14 in his last 12 starts of 2007, including six victories. But he has two results of 27th or worse in the first three races of 2008. He ranks 14th in the points standings.

Newman: Drivers Fear Change

A lot of drivers were complaining over the weekend about how the new car drives at Las Vegas, but Ryan Newman said everyone should take the griping with a grain of salt.

"We as drivers will complain anytime there is a change," Newman said. "When they change the tires, when they change the cars, when they change the track, when they repave the track -- we always complain.

"There's never a time when someone has said, 'Man, I think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread' when they make a big change. We're reluctant to change as drivers, as teams, as people that are basing everything off of the past when it comes to cars and setups and things that we do."

Terry Blount covers motorsports for ESPN.com. He can be reached at terry@blountspeak.com.