Team Lowe’s Finishes 12th in Kobalt Tools 500
Johnson started the race 16th but powered through the field when the green flag waved, moving to the sixth spot by Lap 9 of the scheduled 325.
He continued to run up front for the majority of the race, shuffling throughout the top 10 and climbing as high as second place.
Johnson was running sixth and working his way toward the front when a caution flag waved on Lap 293. Because there had been a caution and pit stops on Lap 288, most teams elected not to come down pit road.
But Crew Chief Chad Knaus brought the Kobalt Tools Chevy down the pit lane for four tires after there was an indication of a tire-rub on the No. 48 machine. The team quickly fixed the problem but lost valuable track position when only four lead lap cars pitted.
Johnson restarted deep in the field and worked patiently through traffic during the remaining laps, finishing 12th.
“It definitely wasn’t the finish we were looking for,” said Johnson. “We had to come down pit road to fix the fender and really had no choice. If we got a flat tire we could’ve finished a lot worse than 12th. So not what we hoped for but all-in-all not a bad day.”
The result moves him to fourth in the driver point standings, 74 behind leader Kevin Harvick.
There is no Sprint Cup event next weekend. The series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway on March 21 for the Food City 500. That event will be broadcast live on FOX at 1 p.m. ET.
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.
Jimmie Johnson finishes ninth at Atlanta Motor Speedway
The three-time Sprint Cup Series Champion started seventh in the 330-lap event and led 11 laps on the way to his 158th career top-10 finish.
Piloting the Kobalt Tools Impala SS, Johnson battled a variety of conditions throughout the day but was able to maintain a top 10 position.
During a cycle of green-flag pit stops early in the race, NASCAR was forced to throw a yellow flag when a crew member from another team chasing a loose tire ran into the front-stretch grass.
Because most teams had pitted, only nine cars remained on the lead lap, including Johnson.
After a Lap 261 pit stop, the Team Lowe’s Racing pit crew picked up three spots on pit road and sent Johnson back to the track in second place. But a penalty for speeding sent the Kobalt Tools Chevrolet to the back of the longest line and Johnson restarted the event 15th.
“The pit road penalty hurt us,” said Johnson, who was able to pick up six spots in the closing laps. “I think we had a top five car today, but we really wanted to get out of here with at least a top-10 and we were able to do that.”
“We kept taking swings at it but we just battled a variety of conditions throughout the day in our Kobalt Tools Impala SS,” he added. “The guys did a good job on pit road and we picked up a lot in points.”
Johnson’s finish moved him to 13th in the Sprint Cup Series driver point standings, 177 points behind leader Jeff Gordon, who finished second in Sunday’s race.
Kurt Busch led 234 laps on the way to his second win at the two-mile Atlanta track.
