Lowe’s Chevy Involved in Late-Race Accident at Talladega

Jimmie Johnson was involved in a late-race accident in Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at Talladega Superspeedway, relegating him to a 31st-place result.

Johnson started the race from the top spot after qualifying was canceled for weather and the lineup was set by driver points. Johnson quickly showed his No. 48 Chevrolet was one of the fastest on the track when the race began. He led seven times for a total of nine laps.

As the race wound down, Johnson looked to be closing in on a top-10 finish but made contact with teammate Jeff Gordon on Lap 181 of the scheduled 188, causing left-rear fender damage to the Lowe’s Impala.

Just two laps later, the caution flag waved when five cars wrecked in the tri-oval, extending the race past its scheduled length and forcing the field to execute its first green-white-checkered restart.

Because of the caution, Johnson was able to come down pit road under the yellow flag for repairs but returned to the 2.66-mile oval deep in the pack. The race restarted and Johnson made his way to the front. But before the leader could take the white flag, nine cars wrecked just in front of Johnson in Turn 4. He avoided the collision and moved up the leader board for the second attempt at a green-white-checker finish.

As drivers took the green, Johnson worked his way through the field. But as he attempted to move to the high line on first lap, he made contact with Greg Biffle, spinning across the track and slamming into the inside wall.

The Lowe’s Impala suffered significant damage and was loaded on the truck with two laps remaining.

The final attempt at a green-white-checker finish ended with Harvick edging past Jamie McMurray at the finish line by .011 seconds.

Johnson maintains the Sprint Cup Series points lead, 26 over race winner Kevin Harvick.

The Sprint Cup Series will be under the lights next weekend when they visit Richmond International Raceway for Saturday night’s event. The race will be broadcast live on FOX beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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.

Late-Race Accident Relegates Team Lowe’s to 30th-Place Finish

It was typical Talladega for Team Lowe’s Racing and driver Jimmie Johnson Sunday as a late-race accident relegated the championship team to a 30th-place finish in the second restrictor-plate race of the season.

“It’s tough to race here,” said Johnson. “I mean it’s just disappointing how many hours go into these cars and then we come out here and tear them up like we do.

“We were smart all day long and I think the field in general did a pretty good job of using their heads. Then there at the end some guys were beat and were trying to cram their way back in the line and caused a wreck. It’s too bad that it happened.”

Like most other cars in the field, Johnson’s Kobalt Tools Impala SS shuffled its way up and down the scoreboard throughout the 188-lap, 500.8-mile race. But in the later stages of the event, Johnson looked to be closing in a solid finish.

“I felt like I had a car that could do something at the end,” explained Johnson. “It was really a matter of the momentum and when your group of cars surged to the front. I think there were probably 30 cars that could have won that race. It’s just about when it’s your turn to be up front and make a move.”

But before he could make his move, two cars got together on the racetrack, triggering a 10-car incident with only eight laps remaining and collecting Johnson in the carnage.

“I just saw a bunch of guys trying to fight back into line that didn’t have a spot,” explained Johnson. “When they did, they came across another car’s nose and tore up a bunch of racecars in the process. It’s unfortunate to go that long and get to the end of the race and waste a day like that.”

Johnson brought his Kobalt Tools Chevrolet down pit road, but the damage was too severe to repair with just six laps remaining.

“I’m just disappointed,” Johnson said. “It looked to me like some guys were beat and didn’t have the position and tried to force their way into the outside and that started that wreck. It’s just too bad. I wish this Kobalt Tools Impala was out there at the end.”