Subscibe to our feedJohnson Finishes 36th in Atlanta
Jimmie Johnson started third in Sunday night’s Labor Day weekend race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
When the green-flag waved Johnson, along with a majority of the field, fought a loose racecar as he rounded the 1.54-mile track.
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Johnson’s No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet battled in the top-five for many of the first 200 laps before spinning in Turn 2 on Lap 200. The three-time champion didn’t make contact with anything and was able to come down pit road for minor adjustments.
On Lap 245 of 325, Kurt Busch and Reed Sorenson made contact, bringing out the yellow flag and forcing teams down pit road for service. Johnson brought his machine down the pit lane, but before the race could restart Johnson reported a problem and the 48 team diagnosed the Lowe’s Chevrolet with a broken axle.
Johnson took his car to the garage where the 48 crew made repairs, returning Johnson to the track several laps down.
“The Kobalt Tools Impala started out good but then I started to get real loose,” said Johnson. “We had trouble with the rear of the car. We broke the locker and we had to come to the garage to fix it. It was just an unfortunate night for us.”
Johnson rode out the rest of the race and was credited with a 36th-place result.
The Sprint Cup Series travels to Richmond International Raceway next week for the last event before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins. The race will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 7 p.m. ET.