Subscibe to our feedJohnson Looks for Another Exciting Finish in Kansas
Coming off career-win number 44, Jimmie Johnson will now travel to Kansas Speedway where he earned his first track win at this event last year in one of the most exciting finishes of the season.
As Carl Edwards followed Johnson around the 1.5-mile track, Edwards made a daring decision coming out of turn four on the final circuit. With a video game pass as inspiration, Edwards made a “bonsai” move on Johnson, sliding up in front of the Lowe’s Chevrolet and hitting the wall, in hopes that the momentum would sling him into first place.
While the pass left Edwards in the runner up spot, Johnson says he was impressed with the move, though it didn’t work.
"I know he caught some criticism, but I thought it was pretty awesome,” said Johnson. “It caught my attention when he went flying by and I could still hear him in the throttle. I thought, where in the hell is he going? His plan was to rim-ride it around, obviously. I thought it was a great move. Some people thought it was risky. But there was enough room for us to cross paths and not get together and that kind of thing. I kind of liked the move myself."
But despite the excitement, Johnson says don’t expect him to make that kind of pass anytime soon.
“I haven’t done that since I've raced on tracks with walls,” explained Johnson. “Some of the dirt track stuff you could go in there and clean someone out and handle things differently but not since I've been on a track with walls. I've never thought, ‘if I hit this wall hard enough and stay in the gas it will redirect me and maybe get me to the finish line first.’ I've never been faced with that decision. I think we all started thinking about it a little more after Carl tried it."
What Johnson is expecting is another strong finish at Kansas this year and hopes he can add a 45th win to his resume.
"It's always been a good track for us,” said Johnson. “We got the win there last year. The track is kind of like Chicago. They are real similar. I think Texas comes in there a little bit the way you run the top and make things work. It's nice to see the track; the asphalt actually, as old as it is, and allowing there to be multiple grooves to race with. I think Carl (Edwards) and I showed that last year that you can run all around the race track and put on a good show and I think we'll put on a good show when we go back."
The race will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
RACE NOTES
Kansas Speedway
- Johnson has made seven Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, earning one win, two top-five and five top-10 finishes.
- Johnson has completed 98.4% (1783 of 1812) of competition laps at the track and has led 251.
- He has an average start and finish of 4.9 and 10.4.
Chassis
- Johnson will pilot chassis number 465 in Sunday’s race. He took that car to Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway in May.
- Johnson drove backup chassis number 534 to a 13th-place result at Pocono Raceway in August.