Team Lowe’s Racing Dominates at Dover
Jimmie Johnson dominated Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at Dover International Speedway, starting from the pole and leading 271 of 400 laps on the way to his 44th-career victory.
When the green-flag waved over the one-mile concrete oval, Johnson immediately reported a much more “stable” Lowe’s Chevrolet from the previous day’s practice. While he had to work with a loose car early in the race, Johnson never fell below 11th and quickly worked his way back to the front.
“Qualifying Friday went really, really well for us,” said Johnson. “Yesterday, we could post a decent lap, and I could slide the car around the corner and run some okay times. But I was a little nervous yesterday after practice, and knew that we needed to build some comfort in the car. If I was in traffic, I was going to really have my hands full.”
“Last night we went through some options and talked about changes,” explained Johnson. “After that Chad worked on a few ideas and talked with Greg Ives and got back with me later in the night. The suggestions he mentioned just kind of hit something in my stomach, and just hit me inside like that is what I need. …So I woke up this morning very optimistic. And by about lap two or three I knew we had a very balanced car, and we’d be competitive all day long, get a solid finish.
“I wasn’t sure it would go as well as it did and lead as many laps and all that kind of thing. But I had a good sign, good indication early that we were going to be competitive.”
Johnson ended up leading the 400-lap race three times for a total of 271 laps, including from Lap 176 to 400.
“You know, obviously it was a great day for us,” said crew chief Chad Knaus. “Jimmie did a fantastic job. He really manned up today. He did a really, really good job of handling the car. The thing that’s always encouraging to me is everybody pictures Jimmie as a calm guy and very fluid with the steering wheel, and very fluid with his inputs. I think he really enjoys coming here because this is a place you have to get up on the wheel, and chew on the steering wheel and be aggressive, and tell the car what to do.”
“It was all Jimmie today,” added Knaus. “Pit crew did a solid job. We did a decent job making adjustments, but it wound up in Jimmie’s hands. He made it fantastic.”
The win moves Johnson to a tie with Bill Elliott for 14th on NASCAR’s All-Time Wins list.
“That’s so cool,” said Johnson. “It really, really is. I can remember growing you and watching Bill in that No. 9 car. And to be able to be that high in the record books and to be with the greats in the sport, it means a lot to me. It’s something that I really never thought would take place, and it’s something I’m experiencing now and the emotions and the thoughts that come with.
“So it’s a great honor. An exciting thing for me is I feel like there is a lot of racing left in me and a lot of competitive racing. I can keep climbing that ladder and be higher up there in the record books.”
Johnson’s five wins at Dover also tie him with David Pearson for victories at the track, behind Richard Petty and Bobby Allison who each have seven. Additionally, he has the most Dover wins of any active driver. Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon have four each.
“We’re just going to have to do what we can,” said Johnson. “There is no free lunch in this sport, and especially racing Mark Martin. You’re going to have to earn every point. And you know, we’ve closed up a little bit on him today. There’s eight more to go.”
“I’m excited to see that we’ve gapped some of the other chase contenders,” continued Johnson. “Might not be exciting for the fans and everybody else, but the bigger gap we can put between us and those guys to single out the cars, the easier my job is. That’s what I hope we can keep doing.”
Martin followed Johnson to the finish line to finish second. Matt Kenseth, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
Next weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway will be the third of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Johnson is the defending race winner of that event.
Johnson Earns Top-5 at New Hampshire
Jimmie Johnson started 16th in the first event of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Johnson ran in the top 10 for nearly the entire event and required minor adjustments to fix a tight center on his No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS early in the race.
Various pit strategies began playing out from the midway point of the race. Johnson even led for 14 laps, earning five bonus points.
The closing laps brought out several cautions and double-file restarts produced some exciting closing laps. Johnson was able to stay out of trouble and maintained a fourth-place spot throughout, bringing home the first top-five finish for the Lowe’s team in the Chase.
“Yeah, good day for us,” said Johnson. “Strategy got a little weird there in the middle part of the race. Cautions at the end really weren’t working for us, we were starting to catch the 2 (Kurt Busch) and the 5 (Mark Martin). The way the tires were cycling around. It worked out well. We were running strong all day long and I’m glad we got a good top-five. Great start to the Chase — very happy with things.”
Johnson’s fourth-place finish puts him in a tie for second in points with Denny Hamlin, 35 points behind leader Mark Martin.
The second race in the Chase takes place at Dover International Speedway where Johnson has four wins and six top-five finishes in 15 starts.
Lowe’s Chevy Finishes 11th and Makes Chase at Richmond
Jimmie Johnson started fourth in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway.
Early in the 400-lap race, Johnson was able to maintain top-five position on the track. But as the laps ticked off, the 48 Team began to struggle with a loose race car on the long runs.
Johnson’s 48 Chevrolet fell back a little, but he managed to stay in the top 10 most of the night. While he was unable to make a charge on the field, Johnson crossed the finish line 11th, salving a decent finish in the last race before The Chase begins.
“We’re disappointed with the night for sure,” said Johnson. “I felt like we had a better shot tonight than what we finished. We started off decent and then just started getting really, really loose on the longer runs. We salvaged a decent finish out of it and had a decent night, so all in all it’s good. We really wanted to get 10 more points and give all the Lowe’s employees something to cheer for. But we’ll have to save that for the Chase and get to work.”
With three wins this season, Johnson will enter next week’s race tied with Tony Stewart for second in the point standings. Mark Martin’s four wins places him first.
The Chase lineup will be: Martin, Stewart, Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Greg Biffle.
Next week’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the first of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Johnson and Team Lowe’s, Finish 36th in Atlanta
Jimmie Johnson started third in Sunday night’s Labor Day weekend race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
When the green-flag waved Johnson, along with a majority of the field, fought a loose racecar as he rounded the 1.54-mile track.
Johnson’s No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet battled in the top-five for many of the first 200 laps before spinning in Turn 2 on Lap 200. The three-time champion didn’t make contact with anything and was able to come down pit road for minor adjustments.
On Lap 245 of 325, Kurt Busch and Reed Sorenson made contact, bringing out the yellow flag and forcing teams down pit road for service. Johnson brought his machine down the pit lane, but before the race could restart Johnson reported a problem and the 48 team diagnosed the Lowe’s Chevrolet with a broken axle.
Johnson took his car to the garage where the 48 crew made repairs, returning Johnson to the track several laps down.
“The Kobalt Tools Impala started out good but then I started to get real loose,” said Johnson. “We had trouble with the rear of the car. We broke the locker and we had to come to the garage to fix it. It was just an unfortunate night for us.”
Johnson rode out the rest of the race and was credited with a 36th-place result.
The Sprint Cup Series travels to Richmond International Raceway next week for the last event before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.
