Team Lowe’s Leaves Vegas with Second-Consecutive Win
Jimmie Johnson earned his second-consecutive Sprint Cup Series win of 2010 with a victory in today’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
In scoring his 49th career win, the four-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion became the all-time winning driver on 1.5-mile tracks with 15 victories. (Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon have 14.) The win moved Johnson to 12th on the all-time wins list, one race behind NASCAR greats Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson.
“Really proud of the car we brought to the track,” offered Johnson, who jumped seven spots in the standings to fifth in driver points. “We had to work on it some through the race. But, you know, it was so fast on the long haul that we could make up ground from the 20th place starting position we had. Worked up into the top 10. Worked up into the top five… Great day. Pit road, our guys had awesome stops. One issue with the lug nut falling off, and they still recovered from that issue very well. I think we’re pretty solid from a team standpoint from across the board.”
Johnson started the 267-lap event from the 20th position but steadily worked his way through the field when the green flag waved, moving into the top five on Lap 64. He remained in top five positions throughout the race, but spent most of his time chasing teammate Jeff Gordon, who led 219 total laps.
Johnson led only one lap during the first 250 circuits. But when he finally caught and passed Gordon on Lap 251, he never looked back, leading the final 17 laps and collecting the win.
“Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports did a great job on this car,” said Chad Knaus. “People back at the shop had to get this car prepared, turned over. We were back in California when they were building this car. To send that car out from the shop, it run as well as what it did, they did a great job.”
“We’re excited. It’s early in the year,” said Johnson, who now has four wins in Las Vegas. “It is a relief to know that we worked in the right areas over the off‑season. But, you know, Richmond is a long way away from right now. We need to keep collecting points, winning races, make the Chase, then get to work for what we’re really here for.”
The Sprint Cup Series will head back to the East Coast for next weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event will be broadcast live on FOX beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
Team Lowe’s Earns 48th Career Win with Victory in California
Jimmie Johnson and Team Lowe’s Racing earned their 48th career-win by picking up the victory in today’s Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, Calif.).
Johnson started the 250-lap event from the seventh spot and quickly made his presence known, taking the lead for the first time on Lap 30. He went on to lead eight times throughout the race for a total of 101 laps, more than any other competitor.
Luck fell Johnson’s way when on Lap 224 he brought the Kobalt Tools Chevy down pit road for a green-flag stop. As Johnson received four tires and fuel, a caution flag waved when Brad Keselowski made contact with the Turn 4 wall. Because of Johnson’s pit stall selection and the speedy stop by the 48 crew, he was able to beat the leaders across the line and took the lead when other cars came down the pit lane under the yellow flag.
“The deal on pit road, we got lucky,” said Johnson, who is now tied for 12th on the all-time wins list. “We were in our pit box and the caution came out. We were able to just beat the 31 (Burton) car off of pit road where the scoring line is at the end of pit road. You know, certainly got lucky. We were running third or fourth or fifth at the time, so it’s not like we totally backed into this thing. But we got a really nice gift with the way things worked out, then it was kind of up to me to hang onto it.”
Johnson led the field back to green when the race restarted on Lap 231 and despite a hard charging Kevin Harvick never lost the lead.
“I got away from the 29 (Harvick) and 31 and thought I was going to be able to motor off, have a nice smooth ride till the end,” added Johnson. “I started losing the handling on the car a little bit. The 29 was really coming on. All I could do was kind of change my line of what he was running because I hadn’t really run there yet over the course of the race, and I started working my way higher in turns three and four, trying to find some more grip and anything to help myself out. I guess he got into the fence at one point, did some damage to his car.
“(It was a) great race. I think today was a great race for NASCAR, great race on this racetrack. I know it’s big and spread out from time to time, but in every situation I was in, there was a lot of great racing going on.”
Johnson’s win moved him from 35th to 12th in the driver point standings.
“We led a bunch of the race so it was obvious we had a fast racecar,” offered crew chief Chad Knaus. “It was a great day for the Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevrolet. Jimmie did a fantastic job of driving the racecar. It’s on to Vegas.
The Sprint Cup Series will travel to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s event. It will be broadcast live on FOX beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
Johnson, Team Lowe’s, Relegated to 35th-Place Finish in Daytona
It was a roller coaster day at Daytona International Speedway for Jimmie Johnson and the Team Lowe’s Racing crew. After overcoming a flat tire on Lap 117 of the scheduled 200, the team waited out two red-flag periods before a final 39-lap run to the finish. But with fewer than 12 laps remaining Johnson reported a problem in the rear end of his Lowe’s Impala SS, which ultimately forced him to the garage and relegated him to a 35th-place finish.
Johnson started the season-opening event third and maintained a top-ten position for most of the race. But when a yellow flag waved just past the halfway mark, Johnson indicated he had a flat tire and brought his machine down pit road for new Goodyears. When he arrived in the 48 pit stall, the team discovered fender damage where the shredded tire had made contact. The crew used the caution period wisely and remained on the led lap while making several trips down pit road for repairs.
But before the race was restarted, NASCAR determined that a pothole between Turns 1 and 2 needed attention and brought the field down pit road under a red flag. NASCAR and track officials spent the next hour and 45 minutes repairing the problem.
“They are doing their best to get the show in,” said Johnson during the red-flag break. “The thing keeps coming out (patch to fill the hole) whatever they’re putting in isn’t getting hard enough to stay. But we were all dodging it. Now we know where it’s at. Everybody is dodging it.”
The event was eventually restarted and when the green flag waved the Team Lowe’s Chevy quickly moved from 34th to 18th, where it was running when a second red flag period began in order to continue working on track repairs.
The drivers once again brought their machines down pit road where they remained for 45 minutes before returning to the track for the final 39 laps. Johnson made a charge through the field when the green flag waved and was running in the top 10 when he reported on Lap 188 of 200 that there was a problem in the back end of his 48 Chevrolet.
“It was something with the drive, either the axel or the rocker broke in the rear end or something with the hub on the left side,” explained Johnson. “We only (had) drive in the right rear tires, so something broke coming through Turns 3 and 4 and I just had the one wheel driving.”
He maneuvered his machine down the pit lane and to the garage before it was deemed unfixable.
“It’s definitely not the finish we wanted,” said Johnson. “It was a really long day and we had a great car so to go home with a 35th-place result is disappointing. Luckily it’s just the first race – we’ll head to California next week and hope for better luck.”
The next stop on the Sprint Cup Series schedule is Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, Calif.). The Feb. 21 race will be broadcast live on FOX beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
