Jimmie Johnson Gives Hendrick 200th Win at Darlington

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

The only trip to the Darlington Raceway, the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series becomes one with its roots at one of stock car racing’s oldest paved speedways. A tricky 1.366-mile track presents its own character that can often outwit the best personalities in motorsports.

Becoming a Mother’s Day weekend event in recent years, the Southern 500 race sponsored by Bojangles started Saturday night under sentimentality that quickly turn to the business of racing 500 miles. On pole, Greg Biffle continues has early season stride in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup race when the green flag flew on the Bojangles Southern 500. The Roush Fenway Racing #16 Ford Fusion would lead the first 48 laps of the evening kicking out what would be a 173-lap stretch of green flag racing.

When the first round of pit stops cycled with Kasey Kahne, Landon Cassill and Jimmie Johnson credited with leading a lap through the exchange, the #18 Toyota of Kyle Busch took for 21 laps. Greg Biffle would reassume the lead of the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on lap 73 and would hold it for an additional 26 circuits.

Aside from the leader, intense attention was devoted to deeper in the field to the #10 Chevrolet being driven by Danica Patrick. Only her second career NASCAR Sprint Cup event, Patrick’s run with the GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the Bojangles Southern 500 was more productive than her debut at the Daytona 500. Caught in the lap 1 multi-car wreck at the Daytona International Speedway race, Darlington would see Patrick endure the rigors of an entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Though Danica Patrick finished the race with an intact Chevrolet Impala, she would finish 6 laps down in 31^st spot. Not helping her attempt to adapt to the premier stock car tour was the long green flag run that gave Patrick and other competitors few opportunities to fine-tune their car setups.

Photo Credit: Brian Czobat autostock, USA

On lap 101, the #48 Chevrolet made its way to the top spot in the hands of Jimmie Johnson. Though the first 10 races of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the four-car team of Hendrick Motorsports has set out on a quest for the organization’s 200^th series win. While Johnson and other within the Rick Hendrick group came close to delivering the win number 200, the feat had been eluded early in the season with some efforts coming within laps of the monumental victory. Showing his strength before the one-third mark of the event at Darlington Raceway, the question was will the Bojangles Southern 500 for the site for a major Hendrick Motorsports celebration?

A caution for debris on lap 173 slowed the record pace of the race. After the long competitive run under green, the first cautions as well as several cautions following brought relief to many race cars lapped through the event. By lap 184, only 14 cars resided on the lead lap at Darlington Raceway as the field led predominantly by Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch dominated. At points in the event, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr had their Saturday night race rescued by the NASCAR free pass. By the end of the race, 21 cars would be fortunate enough to be classified on the lead lap after 500 miles.

The #22 Dodge of AJ Allmendinger and the #1 Chevrolet of Jamie McMurray were not among the lead lap finishers after a wreck on lap 317. Also part of late-race mayhem was the #39 car of Ryan Newman. Four cautions through the race’s final 49 scheduled laps would force the hands of various teams contending on the less than predictable Darlington Raceway surface.

Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

 
In the final laps, the battle for the win was between the #48 Lowes Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch’s #18 Doublemint Toyota. Trading the lead several time on-track, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports-owned car grew much stronger than the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch taking the lead affirmatively on lap 325. Leading the final 44 laps that included a final green-white-checkered challenge from the #14 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson sailed to victory of the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington.

In what was one of the biggest celebrations seen for a long-time from the Hendrick Motorsports crew, Jimmie Johnson kicked off the festivities by a wild burn-out on the Darlington Raceway frontstretch. When concluded, talked about his run that involved leading a total of 134 laps. “We led a lot and we ran away once we had the clean air. But once we lost it, man, it was tough to make anything happen deep in the pack. And luckily we had a good enough car that I could work my way through there and still got it done.” said Johnson in post-race interview.

Owner of the #48 race team, Rick Hendrick talked about his race organization‘s milestone saying, “I can’t believe we won 200 of these things. I can’t believe it took this long after 199. I want to remember all those folks we lost. And everybody that helped this thing happen.” However, a telling comment on Johnson’s NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner motivation comes from the Hendrick Motorsports driver."You have got to love that man (Rick Hendrick), he just said 200 is great but let’s go get 250. So that tells you where his head is, I love it. Oh man, what a day.” said Jimmie Johnson.

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

After 368 laps, Denny Hamlin surged into the runner-up spot with his #11 Toyota taking the position from Tony Stewart who finished the Bojangles Southern 500 in 3^rd with a Hendrick Motorsports-prepped customer car. Rounding out the top-5 of the Darlington event was Kyle Busch and the #56 Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. Just before of the top-10, Roush Fenway Racing Fords piloted by Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards took top-10 runs. The pole-sitting Roush Fenway contender would come home 12^th holding onto the points lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

While Jimmie Johnson and his #48 team enjoyed a triumphant victory, the other Hendrick Motorsports cars had a mixed night. Kasey Kahne finished 8^th while Dale Earnhardt Jr brought his #88 Chevrolet across the line 17^th. Suffering a flat rear tire around the mid-point of the event, Jeff Gordon once again met misfortunate on the race track finishing 35^th. “It’s the same old story. We’re running good. We have fast race cars. We’re doing everything we can as a team and just having things like that happen to us.” said Gordon.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ next race is the exhibition event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 19^th serving as the prelude to the Coca-Cola 600 set for Memorial day Sunday night the following week.



2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Bojangles Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Race Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Sponsor/Car Make
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet
2	11	Denny Hamlin	Sport Clips Toyota
3	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot / MOBIL 1 Chevrolet
4	18	Kyle Busch	Wrigley Doublemint Toyota
5	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
6	17	Matt Kenseth	Zest Ford
7	99	Carl Edwards	Ford EcoBoost Fusion Ford
8	5	Kasey Kahne	Rockwell Tools Chevrolet
9	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford
10	20	Joey Logano	The Home Depot Toyota
11	15	Clint Bowyer	5-hour Energy Toyota
12	16	Greg Biffle	3M / OH / ES Ford
13	27	Paul Menard	Menards / Pittsburgh Paints Chevrolet
14	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row / CSX Play it Safe Chevrolet
15	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge
16	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet
17	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard Chevrolet
18	31	Jeff Burton	BB&T Chevrolet
19	43	Aric Almirola	Gravely Mower Ford
20	55	Mark Martin	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
21	51	Kurt Busch	Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet
22	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Ford
23	39	Ryan Newman	WIX Chevrolet
24	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet
25	38	David Gilliland	A&W All American Food Ford
26	83	Landon Cassill	Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota
27	36	Dave Blaney	SealWrap.com Chevrolet
28	34	David Ragan	Peanut Patch / Margaret Holmes Ford
29	47	Bobby Labonte	Scott Products Toyota
30	32	Reed Sorenson	Southern Pride Trucking Ford
31	10	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
32	73	Travis Kvapil	Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota
33	22	AJ Allmendinger	Shell Pennzoil Dodge
34	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops / Allstate Chevrolet
35	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger / AARP Chevrolet
36	93	David Reutimann	Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota
37	49	JJ Yeley	America Israel Racing / JPO Absorbents Toyota
38	74	Cole Whitt	Turn One Racing Chevrolet
39	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Toyota
40	87	Joe Nemechek	AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota
41	52	Mike Skinner	CrusaderStaffing.com Toyota
42	79	Scott Speed	Team Kyle / KOMA Unwind Ford
43	26	Josh Wise	Morristown Drivers Service Ford

Wizard of the Chase Johnson Wins Kansas Cup Race

Photo Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR

 

Kansas Speedway is the second of four 1.5 mile tri-oval track locales in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. At the first so-called "cookie-cutter track", Tony Stewart become an early championship favourite when he won the Chicagoland Speedway event on fuel mileage. With 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup series drivers entered for the Hollywood Casino 400, the 12 Chase drivers continue to be under a microscope as some contenders are attempting to assert themselves in this fourth event in the 10-race championship fight.

 

Non-Chase driver Greg Biffle in the #16 Ford took the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole Friday outrunning his Roush Fenway Racing teammate and Chase points leader Carl Edwards. One of the 29 other cars and teams caught in the delicate spot of racing for wins without performing any costly moves against Chase contenders, Biffle was undaunted from racing to win. However, the #16 driver himself would realize having raced within the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship format in previous years.

 

Starting in 19th place, the Hendrick Motorsports #48 Lowes Chevrolet was led to the front quickly by the skillful Jimmie Johnson. Up to 9th place after only the first 15 laps, Johnson took the lead for the first time in the Hollywood Casino 400 at lap 24. Competitors and race fans would soon realize as the Kansas Speedway Sprint Cup event endured the force of the #48 team was in full force. After a rather dormant existence in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, Jimmie Johnson resided at the front for 197 laps over the 267-lap race distance. At one point in the race, Johnson pulled out a 12-second lead on the second-place running vehicle.

 

Other than Jimmie Johnson, the Roush Fenway Ford Fusions of Matt Kenseth and Kansas race pole winner Greg Biffle recorded the only significant collection of laps at the end of the Hollywood Casino 400. With Biffle leading most of his 23 total laps early in the #16 Ford, Matt Kenseth led for 26 laps in the #17 Crown Royal Ford. Between lap 64 and lap 66, Kenseth and Biffle battled to stay at front prior to pit stops. Important for the 2011 NASCAR Chase standings, Kyle Busch in the #18 Toyota, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon would lead laps during the Kansas Speedway event netting a single championship point a piece.

Photo Credit: Tyler Barrick Autostock USA

 

While Johnson enjoyed a glorious time at the front of the Kansas Speedway event, the rest of the Hendrick Motorsport team participated in a relatively quiet scheduled 400.5-mile event. Previous Kansas track winner Mark Martin came home 10th in the #5 Chevrolet while Dale Earnhardt Jr soldiered through a rather uneventful race in the #88 car. Concluding without a tire issue, the 14th place finish was improved over the previous two NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

 

The final Hendrick Motorsport car, the #24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon, had a dramatic end to his day. Chancing older tires against the force of new tires, Gordon and the #24 Dupont stayed on track improving his track position. Restarting on lap 211, Gordon and the #14 Chevy of Tony Stewart made slight contact causing the #24 car to lose pace, falling out of the top-10 quickly. As the end of the car neared, Jeff Gordon's day turned worse when mechanical problems caused the Hendrick Motorsports engine to break spectacularly with only on lap 265. Dropping to 34th place at the end, the timing of this caution inadvertently threatened what was an almost guaranteed sprint to victory by teammate Jimmie Johnson. 

Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

 

In the late stage of the Hollywood Casino 400, the #4 Red Bull Toyota piloted by Kasey Kahne. Starting 5th and demonstrating strong race pace with the Toyota Camry stock car, Kahne lost considerable ground early at Kansas Speedway on a pit stop under the race's first caution on lap 21. Combined with a broken jack, Kahne's entrance out of pit road was blocked by the #48 car of Jimmie Johnson.

 

Bypassing the #2 Dodge of Brad Keselowski in late laps at Kansas, Kasey Kahne was the closest contender showing any ability of defeating the Lowes-sponsored Chevy. On a green-white-checker restart resulting from the blown engine of the #24 Chevrolet, Jimmie Johnson obtained a major jump that allowed a safe distance ahead of Kahne through the final 2 laps of the race. Winning his 55th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, the Kansas victory was Johnson's first since the Talladega spring 2011 race.

 

Behind second place Kasey Kahne in the finishing order of the Hollywood Casino 400 was Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Besides non-Chase driver Kahne, four other drivers outside of the 12-driver end of season points fight for 2011 were in the Kansas race's top-10. From 7th to 10th were the cars of Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose and Mark Martin.

 

The Hollywood Casino 400 top-4 consisted of a Chevrolet ahead of a Toyota with a Dodge and a Ford resulting in some close manufacturer parity. However, Chevrolet clinches the Sprint Cup Series manufacturer's championship thanks to the #48 Impala's Kansas win.

 

Elevated in the points with the win, Jimmie Johnson is in 3rd place in the Chase points standing. Driver of the #99 Ford Carl Edwards obtains a one-point gap over Kevin Harvick who came home in 6th place. Edwards and Harvick entered the Kansas race tied with the difference of a single position breaking the draw.

 

A 500-mile night race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is next for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jamie McMurray won the Charlotte event in 2010 over Kyle Busch.

  

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway
Race Results


Pos #| Car #| Driver | Sponsor | Car Make

1. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
2. 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota
3. 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge
4. 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
5. 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
6. 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
7. 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
8. 16 Greg Biffle Sherwin-Williams Ford
9. 9 Marcos Ambrose DeWalt Ford
10. 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
11. 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
12. 27 Paul Menard Schrock / Menards Chevrolet
13. 22 Kurt Busch Shell Pennzoil Dodge
14. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
15. 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet
16. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota
17. 51 Landon Cassill Security Benefits / Thank A Teacher Today Chevrolet
18. 39 Ryan Newman HAAS Automation Chevrolet
19. 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
20. 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
21. 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
22. 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Arctic Cat Chevrolet
23. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
24. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing / Farm American Chevrolet
25. 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford
26. 98 Austin Dillon President Ronald Reagan Centennial Chevrolet
27. 38 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford
28. 32 Mike Bliss Street King Ford
29. 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota
30. 47 Bobby Labonte Bush's Beans / Kingsford Toyota
31. 36 Dave Blaney Big Red Chevrolet
32. 34 David Gilliland A&W All American Food Ford
33. 46 Scott Speed ordergreenstuff.com Ford
34. 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
35. 0 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
36. 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
37. 71 Andy Lally # Interstate Moving Services Ford
38. 7 Reed Sorenson SPEED Energy / MAPEI / Menards Dodge
39. 66 Michael McDowell Victory Junction Toyota
40. 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Chevrolet
41. 87 Joe Nemechek AM FM Energy Toyota
42. 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota
43. 55 J J Yeley Front Row Motorsports Ford

Winning from Pole, Jimmie Johnson Wins All at Dover

Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

Entering the AAA 400, Jimmie Johnson's 2010 season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been a roller coaster ride. Five wins prior to the end of June, the four-time Sprint Cup champion and his #48 Hendrick Motorsports team were, at one point, in peril of even making the 2010 Chase for the Cup. Since the July race at Daytona, the #48 Chevrolet had recorded 6 finishes of 22nd or worse. Because of this winless streak starting just before his wife gave birth of his daughter Genevieve Marie, Jimmie Johnson had yet to win a Sprint Cup race as a father.

Collecting his 3rd pole of 2010 on Friday, Jimmie Johnson attacked the one-mile Dover International Speedway prior to the AAA 400 race. Taking the green flag on Sunday, the #48 Lowes Chevrolet led the first 13 laps of the event before fellow front-row starter AJ Allmendinger in the Richard Petty Motorsports #43 Ford assumed the lead at Dover. Between Allmendinger and Johnson, those two drivers would led 334 of the race's 400 laps.

As Allmendinger led the early going of the AAA 400 at Dover, 2008 Dover spring race winner Martin Truex Jr was again showing strength this season in the #56 NAPA Toyota after a 3rd place start. By lap 100, Truex had worked his way into the runner-up place passing Johnson's #48 Chevrolet. Also running well within the first one-quarter of the race event was Juan Pablo Montoya who was maintaining his 5th place starting spot.
A very clean event, the AAA 400 was slowed only 4 times by caution and just one of those cautions was because of an accident. On lap 53, an incident involving the #39 Chevy of Ryan Newman and David Reutimann's #00 Toyota resulted in the Toyota suffering more serious damage than Newman's Chevrolet. With two yellow flags for debris and one for a damaged light, the race's flew through 1/3 distance with Allmendinger hold a lead of more than 4 seconds over second place after lap 150.

Unfortunately, Allmendinger's hopes of victory were thrown off kilter by a mis-timed pit stop on lap 172 when the #43 car driver cited poor handling as the reason to arrive for early service. What made AJ Allmendinger's stop so ill-timed was the debris caution that would slow the field 17 laps later trapping the #43 Ford a lap down in 27th place. Taking advantage of the wave around to get back to the lead lap, Allmendinger and crew worked hard to regain position but would never challenge within the top-five again in the AAA 400. The #43 Ford would come home 10th in the final running order.

Just as Allmendinger's hopes for a Dover victory were ended, Martin Truex Jr would encounter problems shortly afterwards. On lap 208, Truex Jr's day went south when a loose wheel forced the #56 NAPA Toyota to pit road. As the car appears to stall leaving the pits, driver and crew determine a rear axle shaft has broken forcing the Michael Waltrip Racing car to the garage after a spectacular performance in the first half of the AAA 400. Martin Truex Jr would be sent back out on the track to eventually finish at Dover 17 laps down in 34th position.

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/ Getty Images

Because of the downfall of Allmendinger and Truex Jr, Jimmie Johnson was effectively on easy street with a very fast #48 Chevrolet Impala parading the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. The Busch brothers did provide an occasional change of scenery. Kurt Busch's #2 Dodge would led for 3 laps while the #18 Toyota of younger Kyle Busch led a 46 lap stint through lap 293 to 338.

At the end, there was no stopping a hungry Jimmie Johnson planting his #48 Chevy into victory lane at Dover. His 6th time winning on the 'Monster Mile', Johnson finished 2.6 seconds ahead of Jeff Burton on the track. In regards to placement within the Chase points, Johnson now finds himself in second place 35 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. Unable to lead a lap at Dover, Hamlin rolled across the line 9th.

As Johnson moved up 4 places in the Chase standings, drivers Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick lost positions on lackluster runs. Though Gordon finished 11th, several Chase contenders leapfrogged the #24 car driver at the end of the 400-mile event. Working harder again because of a weak qualifying spot, Harvick's efforts from 33rd to 15th were not enough to prevent a 3 spot dive.

Joey Logano and Paul Menard, two non-chase drivers, also enjoyed some very respectable finishes in the AAA 400 at Dover. The track where he made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut just a little more than 2 years ago, Logano finished 4th in his #20 Home Depot Toyota. Menard, teammate to longtime race leader AJ Allmendinger with Richard Petty Motorsports, come home 7th leading the team's efforts.

Next for the NASCAR Sprint Cup tour is the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway with the green flag dropping on Sunday 1 P.M.



2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
Race Results

Top-10:

Pos #    | Car #     | Driver              | Sponsor/ Car Make

1)            48          Jimmie Johnson        Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
2)            31          Jeff Burton               Caterpillar Chevrolet
3)            20          Joey Logano             Home Depot Toyota
4)              2          Kurt Busch               Miller Lite Dodge
5)             99         Carl Edwards            Aflac Ford
6)             18          Kyle Busch               Interstate Batteries Toyota
7)              98         Paul Menard             Sylvania/Menards Ford
8)              39         Ryan Newman          Haas Automation Chevrolet
9)              11         Denny Hamlin            FedEx Express Toyota
10)            43         AJ Allmendinger         Insignia HDTV Ford


Other Notables:

11)            24          Jeff Gordon               DuPont/Law Enforcement Museum Chevrolet
12)              5          Mark Martin              Delphi/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
14)           42          Juan Pablo Montoya  Target Chevrolet
15)           29           Kevin Harvick          Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
18)           17           Matt Kenseth           Crown Royal Ford
19)           16           Greg Biffle                3M Ford
21) 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
23) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet
25) 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet
34) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota

Jimmie Johnson Bump and Run Pays off to Win New Hampshire Cup Race

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

LOUDON, N. H. – One of these days, people will stop doubting Jimmie Johnson.
The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion can lose a race, or two, and folks automatically write him off as a contender.
Sunday, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Johnson played second fiddle, as he sometimes does, for most of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 before putting a payback bump-and-run on Kurt Busch.
Busch had nudged Johnson aside with seven laps remaining with a bumper-tag finesse usually associated with ballet, but this high-speed dance was sheer poetry in motion. Johnson repaid the favor with just a few laps to go, providing high-end drama to a race that had only four caution flags.
Tony Stewart slipped past Busch for second place on the last lap. Busch was third. Jeff Gordon was fourth and NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick finished fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 were Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Joey Logano and A. J. Allmendinger. Kyle Busch, one of the leaders and a contender all day, wound up 11th after colliding with Jeff Burton and spinning during one of the late restarts. Burton, who led 89 laps, was a definite factor before the spin. Kyle Busch led 46 laps.
Sunday’s victory was the 52nd of Johnson's career and his fifth of this season.
Pole winner Juan Pablo Montoya and fellow front-row starter Kasey Kahne led laps before problems sidelined both drivers late in the race. Kahne, who led a race-high 110 laps, lost an engine. Montoya, who led 36 laps, was wrecked by Reed Sorensen.

Montoya jumped off to a good start when the green flag fell, pulling ahead of second-place Kurt Busch by a little more than a second. The top 10 at Lap 25 were Montoya, Busch, Kahne, Newman, Bowyer, Johnson, Newman, Mark Martin, David Reutimann and Gordon.
Debris in Turn 3 brought out the first caution at Lap 35. Kahne beat everyone out of the pits, followed by Martin. Montoya quickly advanced from fifth place to second. Kahne pretty much controlled things during this part of the race. Kyle Busch had moved to second, dropping Montoya to third with Burton on his bumper and Gordon running fifth.
Kyle passed Kahne for the lead shortly before the halfway mark.

Jimmie Johnson Takes Golden Win at Bristol

Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images


The first short track event on the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, the running of the Food City 500 at 0.533 mile Bristol Motor Speedway was an anticipated fan pleaser. The close quarter stock car battles and Saturday Night racing roots has reflected on the Bristol track grandstands morphing the once humble short track into a 160,000 spectator NASCAR stadium.

Friday pole winner Joey Logano in the #20 Home Depot Toyota led the 43-car field for the first time in his short Sprint Cup career. Along with a new pole sitter, competitors immediately enjoyed the widened racing surface which reclaimed most of the room lost when the SAFER barrier was installed. A testament to a well-planned more by Bristol Motor Speedway track organizers, the first 100 laps of the race, there were 9 lead changes with the majority coming as legitimate passes, not pit stop exchanges. While Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski would score early Sprint Cup series bonus points for leading, 5-time Bristol winner Kurt Busch stepped up as an race favourite on the first lap. Fresh off the manic race at Atlanta, the Penske Racing-sponsored #2 Miller Lite Dodge was the lead car for 55% of the event's distance.

With only one caution Two short track favourites Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann both parked their cars due to engine problems. In fact, the fluid from Bowyer's #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet drew the second caution of the Food City 500. Losing a cylinder, Reutimann's failed engine ended what was becoming a top-flight performance for the Aaron's #00 Toyota having been run in 3rd place prior to the lap 113 end. Only a few laps past David Reuitmann's retirement, the Bristol polesitter found trouble. After the first place start, Logano's poor luck at Bristol continued as his day went south early in the event. Dropping to 12th by lap 88, the orange #20 Toyota pitted 16 laps later under green for a flat tire. While Logano lost 3 laps as his Home Depot team tended to the #20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing troubles worsen as teammate Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx draw a caution on lap 115 when he slammed the wall in turn 2. Tire difficulties for the #18 car of Kyle Busch later on lap 263 completed a Joe Gibbs Racing trouble trifecta. However, Busch's #18 Toyota would overcome his tire problems to finish 9th.

The biggest wreck through the Food City 500 came on lap 342 with a turn 3 incident that damaged 13 cars. Contributed by Greg Biffle having radio issues where he could not hear his Roush-Fenway Racing spotter, the accident started on the backstretch. With the #5 Chevrolet of Mark Martin running on the outside, Biffle's #16 Ford edged up the track and drove Martin into the wall. Wounded by the wall impact, Martin's car continued slower and was unable to make the turn 3 corner. Along with Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcus Ambrose suffered the worst damage within the large scale pileup.


Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR


With a wet weather outlook late in the afternoon, the Bristol Motor Speedway started under the optimism that rain would hold off for at least the completion of 500 laps. Ultimately, the race went the full distance despite two cautions resulting due to rain sprinkles which ate 40 laps as the dampness lifted from the concrete surface.

As Kurt Busch asserted authority over the lead position for a likely second-straight victory, the Food City 500 was slowed on lap 483 when a debris flag dropped on the Bristol Motor Speedway. Playing pit strategy with two tires instead of four, Roush-Fenway Racing Fords positioned themselves in the first three positions on the restart with Greg Biffle's #16, Matt Kenseth #17 and Carl Edwards #99.

On the final lap 490 restart, 4th place Tony Stewart driving his #14 Chevrolet stormed through the three-car Ford group taking the late lead two laps later. However, as Stewart's Chevrolet carved his way through the Blue Oval contingent, the Hendrick Motorsports #48 Lowes Chevy of Jimmie Johnson followed. With 4 laps to go, Johnson powered past Stewart to win his 50th NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Lighting up the rear tires through a wide variety of burnouts on track, Johnson's celebration of his milestone win also involved smoking the Goodyear rubber against the dividing wall of the track and pit lane as well as on the way to victory lane. Having beaten the driver whom's nickname was Smoke, Jimmie Johnson seemingly wanted to take that away from Tony Stewart too after the Food City 500.



Photo Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Likely unsatisfied as a 'true racer' driver with 2nd place in the Food City 500, Tony Stewart position as a car owner sees the season-best result in a much more positive light. Having dominated the Bristol Motor Speedway event throughout the day, Kurt Busch captured a 3rd place and elevated himself 5 spots in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup points. The Roush-Fenway Racing trio finished 4th through 6th with Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and Carl Edwards. Embattled by the NASCAR probation and the heightened media attention reflecting back to the Atlanta incident, the #99 of Edwards comfortably raced even with Brad Keselowski in the Food City 500.

Always receiving a high amount of media coverage, Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr showed well in the Bristol race. Despite a pit road speeding penalty on lap 325, the #88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet dodged the lap 342 carnage to finish 7th on the day. With the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season proving better than 2009 for Earnhardt, he now sits 8th in series points.

Kevin Harvick continues to hold the points lead in NASCAR Sprint Cup recovering from another poor qualifying effort to finish 11th in the Food City 500. But the leading margin is only a single point over Matt Kenseth.


Food City 500
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Bristol Motor Speedway

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car Make

1) 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
2) 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
3) 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
4) 16 Greg Biffle U.S. Census Ford
5) 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
6) 99 Carl Edwards Scotts Ford
7) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet
8) 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet
9) 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
10) 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
11) 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
12) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota
13) 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge Dodge
14) 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
15) 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
16) 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevrolet
17) 43 A J Allmendinger Insignia/Best Buy Ford 
18) 98 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford
19) 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 
20) 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford 
21) 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
22) 7 Robby Gordon Warner Music Nashville/Blake Shelton Toyota
23) 38 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
24) 26 David Stremme Air National Guard Ford
25) 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford
26) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
27) 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 
28) 37 Kevin Conway  Extenze Ford
29) 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
30) 90 Casey Mears Keyed-Up Motorsports Chevrolet
31) 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 
32) 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
33) 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Toyota
34) 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
35) 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
36) 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
37) 46 Terry Cook  Whitney Motorsports Dodge 
38) 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
39) 09 Aric Almirola Phoenix Construction/Graceway Chevrolet
40) 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet
41) 55 Michael Waltrip PRISM Motorsports Toyota
42)     66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43)     87 Joe Nemechek ComputerWorks Toyota

Jimmie Johnson Shows His Hand at NASCAR Sprint Cup Shelby American in Vegas

Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR

As a Canadian, I feel my need to apologize to NASCAR for turning my attention away from the 400 mile race Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as I just had to watch the Olympic Men's Hockey finals between Canada and the United States. Judging published accounts of Sunday afternoon's TV Ratings in Canada and the United States, it's fair to say I was not the only one who watched the brilliant 3-2 victory of Team Canada's male athletes in a hard-fought effort through overtime.

Through all the excitement and the sheer volume of the major hockey event, I have to candidly admit that the feeling of watching the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was comparably underwhelming on this afternoon.

Started under a bright sky in front of a reportedly sell-out audience at the 1.5 oval, the Las Vegas native Kurt Busch pole position gave him and his #2 Miller Lite Dodge lane choice for the Shelby American start. Choosing the top side, Busch's decision immediately turned out to be an unwise decision following the drop of the green flag. Holding the lower line, fellow front row starter Jeff Gordon motored his #24 Chevrolet around the #2 Dodge to take the lead. Setting the course of the day, Jeff Gordon would lead often through the 400 mile event.

Gordon led for the first 52 laps until Roush Racing's Greg Biffle was able to sneak by the Hendrick Motorsports #24 car on a restart from a caution. As Biffle claimed the top spot, the green flag period was very short-lived. In fact, according to the track alert lights, the field was still under yellow flag conditions. Wisely acting on the side of driver safety, a yellow flag was thrown by NASCAR so they could correct the signaling error. Taking only 3 laps under caution until the race could be restarted, this signaling problem would creep once more on lap 109 when the issue was fully remedied.

With 7 caution periods overall in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Las Vegas, the incidents are fairly tame for the most part. However, a caution drawn on lap 94 would reflect the only multi-car accident in the race involving three cars which have shown competitiveness through the early stage of the 2010 Sprint Cup season. Creating the 5th caution of the Shelby American race, the Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing #1 Chevrolet of Jamie McMurray slipped up into his teammate, the #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya through turn 4 on the racetrack cited earlier in the race as being slick. Spinning out Montoya, the red #42 car ran up the track striking the turn 4 wall enough to infect serious damage to the car's deck lid area. As Kurt Busch came through the turn 4 area, he became the only non EGR casualty of the situation as he made contact that damaged the right front corner of his blue Dodge. McMurray was apologetic in the aftermath of the accident taking responsibility for the costly day for Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing. All three cars suffered damage requiring extended attention of their crews but finished the event only at most 20 laps down.



Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR


The Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson led all but 30 of the 267 laps of the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Little else happened through the race as only Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and the odd appearance of Scott Speed were some drivers who mixed up the complexion at the front of Las Vegas Motor Speedway when the Hendrick Chevrolet were pitting or were bypassed on pit strategy. The other Hendrick Motorsport cars were having mixed days in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Shelby American as Mark Martin was able to hold on to the top 10 while Dale Earnhardt Jr fell from a 4th place starting spot to the lower part of the top 15 after 200 laps.

Being a match race between Gordon and Johnson at the end, Johnson who was running 2nd place since the mid-way point of the race out-powered his teammate and part-owner on lap 251. In the final run, Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevrolet also gave way to the #29 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick (who fought his way from a 34th place start) relinquishing the runner-up to the Pennzoil car. With considerable distance to Johnson, Harvick ran out of laps to catch Jimmie Johnson for the second straight week.

Again, Jimmie Johnson's #48 Lowes Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports successfully streaked claim to a 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup race trophy. Requiring a methodical climb from 20th place at the beginning of the event, Johnson wins his 49 career event in the major stock car racing series.

Behind Johnson, Harvick and Gordon was the #5 Hendrick car of Mark Martin followed by the Roush Racing's #17 of Matt Kenseth. Finishing 5th, Kenseth is effectively gelling with his new crew chief Todd Parrott working in their second race together in 2010.

After 3 races in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup series season, Kevin Harvick continues to hold the lead in the early going. Last week at Auto Club Speedway, Harvick chuckled in response to the significance of leading this still infant season an told about his lead. Holding a 47 markers ahead of teammate Clint Bowyer, the #29 car's 32 position improvement in the Shelby American 400 miles race and win in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide series round should at least keep a smile on the driver's face. A beneficial event to Hendrick Motorsports two lead teams, Johnson leapfrogs 7 positions to 5th but Jeff Gordon also surged by 9 spots in the overall points standing.



2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Shelby American
Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car Make

1) 48 Jimmie Johnson   Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
2) 29 Kevin Harvick    Pennzoil Ultra Chevrolet
3) 24 Jeff Gordon      DuPont / Pepsi Max Chevrolet
4) 5 Mark Martin      GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
5) 17 Matt Kenseth     Crown Royal Ford
6) 20 Joey Logano      Home Depot Toyota
7) 14 Tony Stewart     Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet
8) 33 Clint Bowyer     Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
9) 9 Kasey Kahne      Budweiser Ford
10) 16 Greg Biffle      3M Ford
11) 31 Jeff Burton      Caterpillar Chevrolet
12) 99 Carl Edwards     Aflac / Kelloggs Ford
13) 00 David Reutimann   TUMS Toyota
14) 47 Marcos Ambrose    Kingsford / Scott Branded Products Toyota
15) 18 Kyle Busch       M&M's Toyota
16) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
17) 98 Paul Menard      Moen / Menards Ford 
18) 39 Ryan Newman      Tornados Chevrolet
19) 11 Denny Hamlin     FedEx Ground Toyota
20) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Gold Filters Toyota
21) 78 Regan Smith      Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
22) 82 Scott Speed      Red Bull Toyota
23) 6 David Ragan      UPS Ford
24) 34 Travis Kvapil    Long John Silver's Ford
25) 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
26) 12 Brad Keselowski         Penske Dodge
27) 19 Elliott Sadler         Stanley Ford
28) 77 Sam Hornish Jr.         Mobil 1 Dodge
29) 66 Dave Blaney         PRISM Motorsports Toyota
30) 38 David Gilliland         Taco Bell Ford 
31) 83 Brian Vickers         Red Bull Toyota
32) 7 Robby Gordon         Monster Energy Toyota
33) 13 Max Papis         GEICO Toyota
34) 1 Jamie McMurray         McDonald's Chevrolet
35) 2 Kurt Busch         Miller Lite Dodge
36) 37 Kevin Conway          Extenze Ford
37) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
38) 71 Bobby Labonte         TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
39) 36 Mike Bliss         Kim Kardashian Fragrance Chevrolet
40) 26 Boris Said        Southern Pride Trucking Ford
41) 87 Joe Nemechek     FrontRowJoe.com Toyota
42) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43)     09 Aric Almirola    Phoenix Racing Chevrolet