After Sunday’s victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson can proclaim justifiably ‘The Boys are Back in Town.’
But for five other Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, all of whom finished 30th or worse in the rain-delayed Bank of America 500, the race ended in a medley of dire straits.
Taking the lead from Matt Kenseth after a restart on lap 317 of 334, Johnson pulled away to win by 1.474 seconds over the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Johnson put his No. 48 Chevrolet in Victory Lane for the third time this season, the eighth time at Charlotte – the third since the repaving of the track in March 2006 – and the 78th time in his career. Continue reading →
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered and yellow flags to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 under caution at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2016 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2016 Photo – Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2016 Photo – Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
With wrecks erupting behind him, Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag in overtime under caution in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway—and then he remembered.
Almost lost in the euphoria of Johnson’s second straight victory at the 1.54-mile track was the realization that, with his 76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, he had tied the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list.
But as the No. 48 Chevrolet rolled around the track on its victory lap, heading in a clockwise direction à la Alan Kulwicki, the six-time champion thrust his arm out the driver’s side window with a three-finger salute to the crowd, acknowledging the bond he now shares with The Intimidator. Continue reading →
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2016 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2016 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2016 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2016 Photo – Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2016 Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway ended with a mere handful of cars undamaged—and race winner Denny Hamlin’s Toyota wasn’t one of them.
But Hamlin got his wreck out of the way early in a two-car incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Ford on Lap 13 and won the race in overtime with a large swatch of silver tape on the right side of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry.
Hamlin triumphed in the season-opening non-points event for the second time in three years (and third time overall) and gave JGR its fourth Sprint Unlimited victory in the last five years. Continue reading →
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with the trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, poses with his team in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 Photo – James Squire/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, applies the winner’s sticker to his car after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
Thanks to a brief but wild Kansas spring storm and the long delay it produced, Jimmie Johnson on Sunday became the first NASCAR Sprint Cup driver to win a race on Mother’s Day since 2007.
Johnson, who is pursuing a record-tying seventh Sprint Cup Series championship this season, held off Kevin Harvick over the last six laps to win Sunday morning’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Johnson’s victory – which was just after midnight local time because of a delay of 2 hours and 16 minutes – was his third of the season and his third at the 1.5-mile Kansas oval.
“It was a long, hard night,” Johnson, who led just ten laps and spun out unassisted early in the race, said in Victory Lane. “Once we got up front, we were able to hang on.”
Reminded about what day it was when he finally took the checkered flag, Johnson said… Continue reading →
