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.
Team Lowe’s Picks Up Fourth Consecutive Championship
Jimmie Johnson clinched his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Series Championship by finishing fifth in Sunday’s event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, becoming the first driver in NASCAR’s 60-year history to accomplish the feat.
“I am just blown away by the things we’ve been able to accomplish over the last eight years in the sport,” said Johnson following the race. “Obviously the last four years have been just unbelievable. To love the sport like I do and respect it like I do, and the history, the pioneers of this sport from Bill France, Sr., to the Petty family, you go through many eras up to Mr. Hendrick and what he’s done over the last 25, to look at all of that and to have done something that’s never been done in the sport before is so, so amazing and something I am so proud of.
“I’ve always set my marks high and really wanted to try to set high marks and all those kinds of things, but I had no clue this stuff would happen,” continued Johnson. “(I’m) just so honored, so happy, so fortunate.
Crew Chief Chad Knaus extended his crew chief record for consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships to four. In 2008, Knaus set the record with three consecutive Cups.
“I’m really excited,” said Knaus. “Man, what a fantastic job by this team this year. I can’t say enough about the way that the guys worked. They really focused on what we needed to do to get into the Chase, get ourselves in position to be able to go out there and try to battle for this championship. I couldn’t be prouder of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. To have three cars in the top 5, that’s pretty amazing.
“I think that with Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports behind us, I think we can go into the next few years comfortable and aggressive and be able to get after it. We’re very fortunate to have Lowe’s and sign those guys back up. Jimmie just signed back with HMS for a few more years, and that’s a great thing. I think we’ve got some good stuff coming in the future. I’m really, really excited about it. Our team is stronger than it’s ever been. It’s a bit of a dream.”
Heading into the 267-lap race, Team Lowe’s Racing led second-place Mark Martin by 108 points and had to finish 25th or better to clinch. Johnson started the race first, ran in the top 10 throughout the event and led two times for 28 laps on the way to his 16th top-10 finish of 2009.
Martin took the checkered flag 12th and finished 141 points behind Johnson in the final point standings.
Johnson has 18 Chase wins in 60 Chase races, a winning percentage of 30%. The next highest number of Chase wins by a driver is six. In this season’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Johnson collected four wins, seven top fives, nine top-10s and had an average finish of 6.8. Johnson finished the 2009 season with seven wins, 16 top fives and 24 top 10s.
“It is unbelievable,” said Johnson. “Four championships in eight years. 47 wins. Everything this team has done is truly amazing. I know that the fans and everybody respects what this race team has done. I can’t wait where this race team ends up. We’ve got a lot of racing ahead of us. I know that we are solidly in the record books. But I know we have a lot more to accomplish.”
Johnson, Team Lowe’s, Earn 47th-Career Win in Phoenix
Jimmie Johnson earned his 47th-career victory on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, extending his lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship to 108 points over second-place Mark Martin.
Johnson dominated the 312-lap race Sunday, leading 238 laps to win for the fourth time in the last five races at Phoenix. It was his seventh victory of the season, and fourth since this year’s start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
“First of all I have to thank this race team for having the strength and mental attitude and everything that they do to bounce back last week, to show up and put a butt-kickin’ on everybody today,” said Johnson. “Very proud of Chad and the guys. Great stops, great car. At the start of the race we were a little loose but still running second and third.
“When we put new tires on, the car came to life and then we had a couple of small adjustments that really, really helped it. I could get out to a nice comfortable lead and ride and protect what I had and work my way through traffic. Not with ease, but better than the other guys. We had a great finish.”
Johnson now needs to finish 25th or better next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway to grab a spot in NASCAR’s record books, becoming the first driver to ever win four consecutive championships.
“That’s a great position to be in,” said Johnson. “We finished 38th last week so I can’t put my guard down. Anything and everything that could go wrong last week did. Going into this next week we just need to show up and race smart and do our thing.”
Martin is the only driver still in mathematical contention to catch Johnson. Once Johnson starts the race at Homestead, Jeff Gordon will no longer be able to catch him.
“Obviously one more race to go,” explained Johnson. “We saw in Texas anything can happen so we don’t need to get too excited about things. One-o-something is better than 73. I’m very excited about it and I hope all the employee owners at Lowe’s are excited. We’ll see what we can do.”
Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, and Martin Truex Jr. followed the Lowe’s Chevy to the finish line.
Johnson now leads Martin (-108), Jeff Gordon (-169), Busch (-211) and Tony Stewart (-285) in the Championship standings with one race remaining.
The Sprint Cup Series will visit its last stop on the circuit next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The event will be broadcast live Nov. 22 on ABC beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Rough days ends with 38th-place finish in Texas
Jimmie Johnson started 12th in Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway but was involved in a Lap 3 accident and credited with a 38th-place result. He is now 73 points ahead of Mark Martin in the point standings.
“It was definitely not the day we wanted,” said Johnson. “We did not want to lose points like that. Luckily we had a big margin. We’re going to two great tracks for us here and we’ll just keep racing. We’ve been saying all along that anything can happen, I just wish the Sam (Hornish) could have waited a little while longer before he hit something. Instead, he lost it and hit me and off we went.”
When Johnson took the green flag, he quickly began moving through the field and passed a couple of cars in the first two laps. But as the Lowe’s Chevy went three-wide and moved to the outside of Sam Hornish on Lap 3 to take a top 10 position, Hornish’s car was tapped by David Reutimann who was on the inside.
That forced Hornish to become loose and he made contact with the left side of Johnson’s machine, sending him scurrying up the track. Johnson managed to avoid contact with the outside wall, but crossed back down the 1.5-mile oval and slammed into the inside retaining wall on the backstretch.
Crew chief Chad Knaus called Johnson to the garage area where the team went to work on the No. 48 Impala SS, including replacing the front and rear suspension as well as the drive shaft.
Johnson spent an hour and eight minutes in the garage before returning to the track, over 100 laps down.
“I just played back through the crash (while sitting in the garage) and what happened and if I could have done anything differently,” explained Johnson. “I could have maybe given him more room, but I would have had a more direct angle at the wall and would have hit the outside wall.
“So, when I think back, I was just hoping he’d get out and hoping there would be some cautions and we could make up some spots and the first report Chad (Knaus) gave me wasn’t good. He thought we were going to have to put the car on the truck because it was so torn up. So, as time went on I could see their spirits lift and I knew we could at least get back out on track. I started to focus on things I needed to.”
Johnson went on to pick up six spots in the remaining laps, finishing 38th.
“It’s just one of those things,” added Johnson. “There’s not a lot we can do about it. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The guys did a great job to get this car back out on track to pick up some more spots. And we’ll go to Phoenix and race.
“We’ve got two great race tracks for us (coming up, Phoenix and Homestead). We didn’t want this by any means but we’re still in a great position and we’ll go to Phoenix and race.”
Kurt Busch went on to win the 334-lap event, moving to fourth place in the point standings.
Johnson now leads Martin (-73), Jeff Gordon (-112), Busch (-171) and Tony Stewart (-178) in the Championship standings with two races remaining.
Team Lowe’s Finishes 6th at Talladega; Extends Points Lead
Jimmie Johnson once again extended his lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship by finishing sixth at Talladega Superspeedway.
Johnson started the race from the pole position after qualifying was canceled for weather and the field was set by driver points.
Shortly after the race began, Johnson found himself riding in the back of the pack after green-flag pit stops put him off sequence with the leaders. He remained there for most of the race until fewer than 20 laps remained, when he began to make a charge toward the front.
He barely avoided a late-race crash on Lap 184 of 188 that took out five cars and left the No. 39 machine of Ryan Newman resting on its roof as emergency workers cut him out. He had no injuries.
Crew chief Chad Knaus sensed a lengthy delay and called the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy down pit road for fuel. When cars ahead of Johnson began to run out of gas because of the red-flag period, Johnson moved up on the track, restarting 11th when the green-flag waved.
The field was forced to a green-white-checker restart when a 13-car accident took place on the final lap, leaving Johnson with a sixth-place result.
“I feel good about things,” said Johnson. “I am very, very happy. I hate to see so many (torn) up cars and the big wreck that took place, but for us what really made the difference, obviously we were conservative all day long. But (crew chief) Chad’s (Knaus) decision to take fuel; there were just a few of us that took fuel, and we had the wreck and the red flag. At that point guys just started running out of fuel.
“The caution came back out and waved off the restart a few times,” added Johnson. “Then more guys ran out and hit pit road. And we went from 25th up to, I think, 11th before we took the green. We had some good moves I made through that opening lap to get up to speed and all that kind of thing. I was far enough ahead to not be caught up in the (final) wreck – because at least the car on the outside of me and right behind me was cleaned out.”
Jamie McMurray went on to be the unlikely winner, followed by Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton.
Johnson now leads Mark Martin (-184), Jeff Gordon (-192), Juan Pablo Montoya (-239) and Tony Stewart (-279) in the Championship standings with three races remaining.
“I’m not going to let up and lose focus of the job I need to do and allow the championship to be in the forefront of my mind until it’s mathematically locked out” said Johnson. “I can lose 165 points next week if I miss a shift and blow the engine at the start of the Texas race and Mark (Martin) has a perfect day.”
“So with all that in mind, yes, I am feeling much better about things,” Johnson continued. “I was so concerned about this race. I thought I was going to lose points with about three or four to go. So to have it turn around and lead with points over the guys, I didn’t expect it. Very, very good situation we’re in. But I just can’t stop doing what I do… Racing will reach up and bite you at any point and anything can happen.”
The next stop on the Sprint Cup Series schedule will be Texas Motor Speedway.
Team Extends Points Lead at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson extended his lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship to 118 points over Mark Martin by finishing second in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway.
Johnson started the 500-lap event 15th and quickly showed the field how good the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet was by cruising into the lead in under 60 laps.
The runner-up finish is Johnson’s ninth top-five result in his last nine starts at the half-mile track. It is also his 15th top-10 in 16 career starts there.
After taking the lead for the first time on Lap 59, Johnson went on to lead five more times for a total of 164 laps. But when Denny Hamlin passed the Lowe’s Chevy on a long green-flag run late in the race (Lap 363), Johnson was never able to regain the top spot.
He concentrated on a hard-charging Juan Pablo Montoya and teammate Jeff Gordon in a series of late-race restarts to hold on to the runner-up finish.
“Yeah, it went well for us,” said Johnson. “At times had a really fast car and the best car. The last run or two at the end the 11 had their stuff right. I was just a little too loose to do anything with him. Over the long haul we were probably the second best car the last two or three stops and finished where we should have, so I’m happy with that.
“I was nervous with those restarts at the end,” continued Johnson. “I hoped that I might have a chance to get by Denny, but at the same time being stuck in that outside lane there was so much too lose, I was really nervous about just getting to the bottom and protecting the position I was in. All in all, a good day. I wish we could have won, but we just didn’t have anything for the 11 on that last run.”
Hamlin led the final 139 laps for the win. Montoya, Kyle Busch and Gordon rounded out the top five.
Johnson now leads Martin (-118), Gordon (-150), Tony Stewart (-192) and Montoya (-200) in the Championship standings with four races remaining.
The Sprint Cup Series circuit will now travel to Talladega Superspeedway for the next event on the schedule.
Team Lowe’s Racing has Perfect Weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Jimmie Johnson and Team Lowe’s Racing pulled off the perfect weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, leading all three practice sessions, earning the pole position Thursday evening (by posting the fastest qualifying lap of any Sprint Cup race this season) and leading 92 of 334 laps on the way to Victory Lane in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series event.
This is Johnson’s sixth win at the hometown track and his first since 2005. He has extended his Championship lead to 90 points over Mark Martin.
“It is a big boost,” said Johnson, the first driver to ever win three of the first five races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. “We’ve taken a lot of pride in the years to run well here in everyone’s backyard. The fact that Lowe’s is our sponsor and the track sponsor has always been something cool to win and celebrate and spend that moment with the Lowe’s executives in victory lane has been special, and to do it here for the last race that the track is sponsored by Lowe’s is cool. Glad to be back.”
When the green flag waved high above the 1.5-mile track, Johnson shuffled his way around the top 10. He remained there for most of the event, but eventually found himself upfront.
The No. 48 Lowe’s Impala led the race five times for a total of 92 laps (more than any other car), including the final 14, where Johnson pulled away from Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne for his 46th career win.
“We really struggled trying to get things right,” explained Johnson. “Trying to get the balance right on the short-run, the long-run. I thought the No. 9 (Kasey Kahne) had this thing in the bag. On that last pit stop on when it came to the restarts we had what we needed for five or six quick laps. This thing was fast. It worked.
“The perfect weekend which is what Chad (Knaus) always wanted to do. Win every practice, qualifying and the race and we got it.”
Kenseth, Kahne, Gordon and Joey Lagano followed Johnson to the finish line.
Johnson now leads Martin (-90), Gordon (-135), Tony Stewart (-155) and Kurt Busch -177 in the Championship standings.
Next weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway will be the sixth of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Johnson has won five of the last six races at the half-mile Virginia track, including last fall’s event.
First-place finish at California leads Team Lowe’s to Top of the Chase
Jimmie Johnson held on during a frantic finish to Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway to earn his fifth win of the season. He now leads the standings in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Johnson started the race third and maintained top 10 position throughout the day. He battled Juan Pablo Montoya for the lead early in the race and swapped the top position with teammate Jeff Gordon several times in the closing laps.
“It is such a long race and so much takes place,” said Johnson, who led 126 of 250 laps on the way to his 45th career win. “Just a solid day all along. I’m so proud of this Lowe’s team. I’m so thankful to Lowe’s for allowing me to put the (Jimmie Johnson) foundation on the side of the car. Man what an awesome car and what an awesome day. Those cautions at the end really had me nervous. I just didn’t know what to do on the restarts.”
While there were only three cautions in the first half of the event, the yellow flag waved five times in the final 65 laps, including an eight-car accident that brought out the red flag with six laps remaining.
When the race restarted for the final time, there were three laps to go. Johnson lined up on the inside of Gordon and led the field to the green flag.
After several tight double-file restarts, Johnson had no problem the final time, cruising away from Gordon and Montoya and crossing the finish line 1.603 seconds ahead of Gordon.
“The restarts were really tough because it’s such a long straightaway and the draft is so important that the guy who is in the second row really controls who ends up with the lead going into Turn 1,” explained Johnson. “So I was doing it wrong for a while and finally on that last restart I got it right and we had such a good car that I felt like if somebody did pass me I could get back by him in a couple of laps. So with the green-white-checkered at the end I had to get it right and luckily I did.”
Johnson is now in first place in the standings, 12 points ahead of Mark Martin.
“That’s awesome,” said Johnson. “That’s what we wanted. Keep chipping away at it but obviously there’s a lot of racing left. We’re in good shape. My home state, Jimmie Johnson Foundation on the side of the car, fans are going crazy, I can’t thank them enough. I’m just really, really happy.”
The next stop on the Sprint Cup Series circuit is Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
