Johnson, Team Lowe’s Dominate at The Monster Mile
Jimmie Johnson dominated Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at Dover International Speedway, leading 298 of 400 laps on the way to his 42nd career win.
But it was a final 26-lap dash to victory that showed the tenacity of Johnson and the No. 48 Kobalt team.
After leading the event eight times for 295 laps and closing in on the win, a caution flag waved on Lap 365 for debris. Johnson led the field down pit road for four tires and adjustments but a slow pit stop placed him ninth when he returned to the track. Crew chief Chad Knaus assured Johnson that he had a car capable of driving back to the front and off Johnson went.
“Unfortunately we had a little hiccup on the last pit stop,” said Knaus. “We felt like we were going to come down pit road leading and be able to leave third or fourth with four fresh tires (behind those who took two) and make quick work of the guys ahead of us. Unfortunately we came out I think it was eighth or ninth and really had to lean on Jimmie a little bit to carry us out, and he did a great job.”
“We were only beat by two cars that took four tires, so it was a small hiccup,” added Johnson. “There’s some guys that took two tires is really what put us back there.”
Because of the double-file restart, Johnson started on the outside of the ninth row and was forced to power his way through traffic to catch leaders.
On Lap 392, Johnson caught second-place running Greg Biffle and then set his sights on leader Tony Stewart. After a hard-fought four-lap battle for the lead, Johnson got around Stewart on Lap 398, going on to earn his fourth win at The Monster Mile.
“I was just trying to get what I could,” explained Johnson. “I didn’t want to make a mistake like I did in Las Vegas and tear the car up trying to get back to the front. And before I knew it I got by the guys that were on 4 (tires) and was in third place, and kind of stalled out for a lap or two and searched around and found a new line. I ran him down and caught the 16 as he was getting passed by the 14 so that helped me make quick work of him, and then set the 14 up and took a few laps.
“It took a lot of commitment to get to his outside. I wasn’t sure the car was going to stop sliding up the track. I thought it was going to hit the fence. Fortunately it grabbed just in time and changed directions and off I went and got alongside of him.”
Stewart, Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch followed Johnson to the finish line.
“When you can come to the racetrack and have a car that runs as well as what the Kobalt Chevrolet did today, it’s the days that crew chiefs dream of,” said Knaus. “We were real fortunate to be able to lead a lot of laps. We were very fast in practice and qualified respectably.
“The thing I’m probably proudest of is the fact that our car actually responded to the adjustments that we were making to it. We could make very minor adjustments as the track was changing and the track would respond. It was nice. It was really a good day, and obviously Jimmie did a fantastic job there at the end.”
The result moved Johnson up one spot in the driver point standings to third, 64 points behind new leader Stewart. Jeff Gordon fell to second. Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman round out the top five.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin finished 10th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12th and Jeff Gordon 26th. Gordon was driving a backup car after he wrecked his primary in qualifying. Martin is 12th in the point standings while Earnhardt Jr. is 18th.
Johnson Finishes 13th in Rain-Delayed / Rain-Shortened 600
Jimmie Johnson finished 13th in Monday’s rain-delayed Memorial Day weekend event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
After the Coca-Cola 600 was postponed due to rain showers in the area Sunday night, Johnson started the event fifth when race activities resumed at Noon Monday.
The three-time champion ran between first and eighth for most of the race, but battled a loose, then tight car as the field worked around rain-delays. When the race was halted for the third time due to weather on Lap 227 of 400, Johnson came down pit road for four tires and fuel and returned to the track 13th. David Reutimann, Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon stayed on the track.
After making five laps under caution, NASCAR brought out the red flag for rain, freezing the field.
“It wasn’t quite how we wanted things to turn out,” said Johnson. “We were up front for most of the race but battled loose and then tight the last run. I think we would’ve been fine if we would have had some more laps. I know we did everything we could to get it in though.”
After a two-plus hour delay, the race was called and Reutimann was declared the winner. Johnson was credited with a 13th-place finish. Newman, Gordon, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.
“I appreciate the fans who stuck around and watched on TV,” added Johnson. “We really wanted to get the Lowe’s Impala SS into Victory Lane for Memorial Day and especially for the more than 12,000 Lowe’s employees who were on our car. We’ll have to go get them at Dover.”
Johnson finishes 13th in Sprint All-Star Challenge
Jimmie Johnson started from the pole and led every lap of Segment 1 in Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. But what looked to be a dominant car in the early stages of the event eventually crossed the finish line 13th.
After coming in for four tires and adjustments to a slightly-tight race car between the first and second segments, Johnson returned to the track to restart fifth. The two-time All-Star race winner quickly moved to third when the green-flag waved and remained there for the entire 20-lap run, despite reporting the 48 Chevrolet had become very tight.
A yellow flag for an optional pit stop was presented to teams between Segments 2 and 3. While many cars remained on the track, Johnson came down pit road for four tires and adjustments. He returned to the track 14th to begin Segment 3.
Johnson had driven to ninth place when the first caution of the night came at Lap 73. By the end of the third installment, he had moved to fifth, where he would restart for Segment 4, a 10-lap shootout to the finish.
But on the first lap of the final chapter, Johnson was tapped from behind by Denny Hamlin in Turn 4, and went spinning wildly across the track. Johnson made an incredible save and didn’t hit anything, but had to bring the Kobalt Tools Chevy down pit lane for four fresh tires.
“Fortunately I didn’t hit anything and nobody ran into us,” said Johnson. “But we lost so much track position and at that point we just kept coming to pit road and making changes to the car to try to get some more data for next weekend’s race. If you weren’t in those first two or three rows, you really didn’t have a shot. And I was there, but unfortunately got spun around on the back and lost all that track position and was just kind of riding from there.”
Johnson slowly and patiently worked his way through the field for the remaining laps, including two more caution periods, and finished 13th.
“We led a bunch at the beginning and we had a car that was really good for 10 laps,” explained Johnson. “With the final segment being a 10-lap shootout, I thought we were in great shape. I just wish I was on the front stretch partying after the race.”
Tony Stewart won the non-points event, collecting the $1 million dollar prize. Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five.
Mark Martin finished sixth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. crossed the line 10th. Jeff Gordon was involved in a wreck and was credited with a 19th-place result.
Team Lowe’s Honors Military, Lowe’s Employees With Patriotic Scheme
Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, along with six Lowe’s employees with more than 30 years of military duty, unveiled the No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS Johnson will run in the Memorial Day weekend Sprint Cup event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway today.
“We typically don’t have a lot of special paint schemes throughout the year,” said Johnson, who will be trying for this fourth win in the Memorial Day weekend race. “This event is usually an exception though. It means a lot to honor our country and all the people in the military. Both my grandfathers served so I understand the importance of showing our support.”
The car’s design carries the names of 12,548 Lowe’s employees who are military veterans or reservists. The names are showcased on the car’s hood and deck lid. The remaining paint scheme was inspired partly by Knaus who worked with Lowe’s to create the patriotic-themed car to help honor the military.
“For some reason those patriotic schemes we used to run back home have always stuck in my mind,” said Knaus. “They were special and meant something to us. Last year a serviceman approached me at Pocono and told me how much the paint schemes Lowe’s has during Memorial Day weekend meant to those that serve. So I really wanted to work with Lowe’s and the team to create an extra-special one this year.”
Knaus, who got his start in racing by working with his father’s team in Rockford, Ill., used images of the red, white and blue schemes his father drove to help develop the concept for the Memorial Day weekend car. (For images see media.lowesracing.com)
Lowe’s and the 48 team have a history of supporting the military and honoring the country over the years. In 2001, Johnson’s first Sprint Cup race came at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the No. 48 Lowe’s car, which was specially painted to honor the country. (For images see media.lowesracing.com.) Johnson started 15th and finished 39th.
“Lowe’s began as its founders returned from serving their country in World War II, and for more than 60 years we have had a long tradition of hiring veterans and reservists to work on our team,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s SVP of Marketing. “We are proud to celebrate their service to the USA with this very special one of a kind paint scheme of the Team Lowe’s 48 Impala and to honor all of our nation’s military this Memorial Day weekend.”
View photos from the 2009 Pit Crew Challenge
Johnson, Team Lowe’s, Finish Runner-Up to No. 5
Whether it was the full moon or the track they say is too tough to tame, Darlington Raceway threw everything it had at the 48 Lowe’s team Saturday night.
Jimmie Johnson started the 367-lap event 42nd after a spin in qualifying sent him to a back up car. But it didn’t take the No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS long to get to the front of the field early in the race. When a caution flag waved on Lap 4, crew chief Chad Knaus called Johnson down pit road to top off on fuel. The move paid off when a caution came out on Lap 21, allowing Johnson to remain on the track while most of the field pitted.
Johnson restarted the race fourth and was keeping pace with the leaders when the track tried to tame the 48 team once again.
Because of its earlier pit strategy, the 48 team had to pit a few laps earlier than the rest of the field on the subsequent pit stop. While the Lowe’s Chevrolet was getting two fresh tires during the green-flag stop, the caution came out for a spinning car, trapping Johnson on pit road and putting him a lap down.
The championship team didn’t give up and stayed in position for the free pass which it got on Lap 119. Johnson returned to the lead lap and continued to battle for position throughout the night with a race car that tended to be loose in Turns 1 and 2 and tight in Turns 3 and 4.
As the race continued to unfold, Johnson dealt with a variety of on-track problems including being hit in the rear on Lap 185. He also recovered from a pit-road incident after being tapped while entering his box on Lap 215. He wound up facing the pit road wall and lost valuable track position, but overcame that as well, steadily driving back through the field.
When a yellow flag waved for debris with fewer than 50 laps remaining, Johnson was running in the seventh position. Knaus took a risk, along with eventual race winner Mark Martin and five other cars, and remained on the track while others pitted for a final splash of fuel. Johnson lined up behind Martin for the restart and made a charge for the lead several times in the closing laps, but was unable to make the pass. Martin and Johnson remained in the 1-2 positions and crossed the finish line in that order.
“Once we got some track position, it took me a little while to recognize that I had a good car because when you’re back in traffic, the car drives so bad that you can’t fix the handling,” said Johnson. “Once I got up behind Mark, got comfortable with the car, understood the grip level, I’m like, ‘I got a great racecar.’ Then I realized I had a shot at winning it. I pushed Mark as hard as I could. He made one small mistake. We needed to go into fuel-save mode at that point. Unfortunately, I just had to ride home.”
“We had four or five things pop up through the night, from being trapped on pit road, spun out trying to get my pit stall, just a bunch of stuff,” added Johnson. “It was a chaotic night. I’m very relieved and proud of the race team. We kept our heads and fought through it all night long and got ourselves a good finish. We’ll take second after what we went through tonight.”
Martin’s win moves him to 11th in the driver point standings, the first time this season he has been in the top-12. Johnson picked up two spots to fourth.
Johnson, Team Lowe’s, Can’t Catch a Break at Richmond
Saturday evening started out promising for Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 at Richmond International Raceway. Johnson moved up quickly from his 15th-place starting spot but several incidents throughout the race relegated him to a 36th-place finish.
Johnson first experienced a problem just under the midway point of the event when he radioed that he was having brake issues. The team worked to identify the possible source of the problem and when a caution came out the group examined the front brakes, determining they weren’t functioning correctly. The over-the-wall crew worked on fixing the problem over the course of the next few laps and saved Johnson a trip to the garage with its fast and efficient work.
Johnson wouldn’t be so lucky with less than 75 laps to go. An on-track incident involving several cars forced Johnson’s Lowe’s Chevrolet to the garage for extensive work. Once again, the team made many repairs, including installing a new radiator, and were able to get him back out to finish the race.
“We were losing fluid in the left-front brake line, the front master cylinder,” said Johnson. “Once I started losing brake pressure and the pedal was going to the floor, it worked for a few laps until I pushed all the fluid out of it and then I went into Turn 1 and all I had was rear brakes and I spun. At that time, we had to pinch off the left front line and pour fluid back into it, which just gave me the right front tire. And we ran there and unfortunately got caught up in some other stuff and tore up our car.”
“We had a very fast race car, we just had a brake problem.”
Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates had varying results with Mark Martin (5th) and Jeff Gordon (8th) finishing in the top 10 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishing 27th.
Kyle Busch won the race and once again the point standings shuffled. Johnson dropped three spots to sixth place, 151 points behind the leader. The top spot changed as well with Gordon assuming first place followed by Kurt Busch, 10 points back. Tony Stewart (-39), Denny Hamlin (-120) and Kyle Busch (-127) round out the top five.
