Johnson Fights for Top-10 Finish in Richmond

Jimmie Johnson and Team Lowe’s Racing fought a tough battle Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, but ultimately came away with a 10th-place result.

Johnson started the race third but was challenged quickly by a loose condition in the Kobalt Tools Chevrolet during the first 50 circuits of the 400-lap race.

Crew chief Chad Knaus and the Lowe’s team worked diligently in the pits to make changes to the car but soon Johnson reported a tight feeling, one he would struggle with throughout the night.

Johnson shuffled his way throughout the top 10 for the majority of the event and was running fifth when the race restarted on Lap 177 following the third caution.

Johnson quickly reported the Kobalt machine to be tighter than the previous run and fell back in the pack during an ensuing 191-lap green flag period. But by the time green-flag pit stops rolled around on Lap 267, Johnson was running fourth, but still fighting a “tight-in-the-center” feeling.

A yellow flag eventually waved on Lap 378 and Johnson restarted 10th after coming down pit road for changes. Just three laps later another caution took place and the No. 48 Chevy returned to its pit to continue adjustments.

The Lowe’s Chevrolet restarted 13th on Lap 386 but had driven to ninth by the time the final caution came out on Lap 390.

When the final green-flag waved on Lap 396, Johnson took off, battling traffic and looking to maintain a top-10 position with four laps remaining. But as he and Clint Bowyer’s No. 33 car fought their way around the .75-mile track for the final time, they made contact, resulting in both cars spinning as they crossed the line.

“I guess a little bit of both to be honest with you,” offered Johnson when asked if he was frustrated or glad to have a top-10 result. “Tough night to earn points tonight where we had competitive speed, not dominant speed where we could run with leaders. There at the end, we had guys on tires and I wasn’t on tires and we were just fighting really hard for that spot. Clint (Bowyer) got inside of me off of four and I could hear him in the gas and I wasn’t going to let off. We touched tires and around we went and luckily, I don’t think anyone hit anything hard. Exciting finish for the fans.”

Johnson dropped to second in the driver point standings, 10 points behind current leader Kevin Harvick.

For the second race in a row, the Sprint Cup Series will be under the lights next weekend when they visit Darlington Raceway for a Saturday night event. The race will be broadcast live on FOX beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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, 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.