Tag Archives: Jimmie Johnson

Fuel Shortage Puts Harvick in Dire Straits, Kenseth in Victory Lane

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Kevin Harvick clarified his championship status on Sunday—but not the way he had planned.

After dominating the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for most of the afternoon, Harvick ran out of fuel while leading on lap 298 of 300, handing the top spot and the victory to Matt Kenseth, who joined teammate Denny Hamlin as an automatic qualifier for the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Despite leading 216 laps on Sunday, Harvick, the defending series champion, heads to next Sunday’s Chase race at Dover almost certainly needing a victory at a track where he has never won, to escape the Challenger Round of the Chase and keep his title hopes alive.

Kenseth, who came to pit road for fuel and tires on lap 239, triumphed for the fifth time this season (tops in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series), for the second time at the Magic Mile and for the 36th time in his career. He finished 8.941 seconds ahead of Hamlin, who nursed his car to a runner-up finish despite a late-race issue with the right front wheel. Continue reading →

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Next Race: Sylvania 300

The Place: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

The Date: Sunday, Sept. 27

The Time: 2 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBCSN, 1:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 317.14 miles (300 laps)

 

Gordon Set to Become NASCAR’s All-Time Consecutive Starts Leader

When Jeff Gordon starts his engine in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he will pass Ricky Rudd as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series consecutive starts leader by beginning his 789th straight race.

NASCAR’s new Iron Man has not missed a start since making his series debut at Atlanta on Nov. 15, 1992 – a span of 22 years, 10 months and 12 days. Continue reading →

Hamlin Survives Spin, Steals Win in First Chase Race at Chicagoland

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In the theater, using the expression ‘Break a leg’ is a way to wish an actor good luck on opening night.

Twelve days before Sunday’s opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, Denny Hamlin tore the ACL in his right leg playing basketball.

Late in the myAFibRisk.com 400 at the 1.5-mile track, Hamlin found his good fortune in the form of a serendipitous pit call on the part of crew chief Dave Rogers.

Staying out on old tires, Hamlin grabbed the lead moments after a restart with five laps left and streaked away to a .963-second victory over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards, who surged from sixth to second during that restart on lap 263 of 267.

Hamlin saw an opening as the cars roared toward turn one on the restart. Continue reading →

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Next Race: MyAFibRisk.com 400

The Place: Chicagoland Speedway

The Date: Sunday, Sept. 20

The Time: 3 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps)

 

‘Chasing’ Earnhardt And Petty: Johnson Sets Sites on Seventh Series Title

Ten races separate Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup No. 1 seed Jimmie Johnson from potential immortality. If Johnson wins NASCAR’s 16-driver, four-knockout round playoff, he will capture his seventh series title, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the all-time lead.

Johnson begins his quest in Sunday’s MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. He has never won at the Windy City track, but boasts seven top-fives, and seven top-tens to go along with the series-best average running position (7.129) and driver rating (115.5) there. Chicago remains one of four active tracks at which Johnson has not won – Homestead, Kentucky and Watkins Glen.

The No. 48 Chevrolet driver has won four races this season, but has made 13 starts since his last victory. He tends to elevate his élite skill to an even higher level during NASCAR’s playoffs though, as he leads all drivers with 25 total Chase wins.

Johnson is the only driver to make all 12 Chases since NASCAR first implemented the playoff format in 2004. Click here to see how others compare to Johnson in terms of Chases made. Continue reading →

2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Field is Set

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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway is in the books and the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is now set.

On the subject of the Sprint Cup Chase field at Richmond, there were no surprises and no drama as the field looks the same after the Federated Auto Parts 400 as it did before the race began.

Matt Kenseth securely put his team in the top-three Chase contenders with his fourth win of the season at Richmond on Saturday night.  Also at the top of the field with four wins are first-place seeded Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch in second-place.

The only driver with three wins is Joey Logano, who is also the only non-Joe Gibbs Racing driver with a victory over the last ten races and he sits fourth in the Chase standings.

Four drivers with two victories include Kevin Harvick in fifth-place, Dale Earnhardt Jr in sixth-place, Kurt Busch in seventh-place and Carl Edwards in eighth-place.

Three drivers with one win for the season are Brad Keselowski in ninth, Martin Truex Jr in tenth and Denny Hamlin is 11th in the Chase point standings.

The five drivers without a win this season – Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Paul Menard take the last five spots – are all now part of the 16-driver field chasing a championship title over the next ten races.

This is where all the serious speculation begins as fans complete their Chase Grid and name their choice for the Sprint Cup Series champion at Homestead Miami Speedway in November.

The drivers will race the next ten tracks to decide the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champ and it all begins at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20th.